Still, evidence indicates that only two prisoners were in custody during the same timeframe as the “Mask”: Ercole Matthiole and Eustache Dauger. Hundreds of different candidates have been proposed ranging from a member of the royal family to a disgraced French general and even the playwright Molière. The anonymous prisoner has since inspired countless stories and legends-writings by Voltaire and Alexandre Dumas helped popularized the myth that his mask was made of iron-yet most historians agree that he existed. Even stranger, no one knew what he looked like-the prisoner was never seen without a black velvet mask covering his face. No one knew his identity or why he was in jail. The scene between Richard Chamberlain and McGoohan in the coach was superb and only topped by the sequence of Chamberlain being fitted with his mask as McGoohan regards him like a cat does, its victimised mouse.During the reign of King Louis XIV, an enigmatic man spent several decades confined to the Bastille and other French prisons. For me, the first half of the production was by far superior. His clipped, calculating tones were brilliant as the scheming Fouquet. I knew things were going to be good when he made no attempt at one of those dodgy accents he is prone to. ![]() Could he really have been so rude to his wife in public? It was so outrageous that 'you couldn't make it up'! So it must be true! The main attraction was of course McGoohan and he did not disappoint. The scenes of the Sun Kings' soirées at his châteaux were splendidly staged and, one can only hope, historically accurate. McGoohan is Number 2 to Chamberlain's Number 6 (Moor-Larkin): I had never read Dumas' novel, or made it through any filmed versions before, so only had the vaguest notion of what the story was about.
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