The Man In The Iron Mask (1977)

A young man (Richard Chamberlain) is abducted and imprisoned by the corrupt superintendent of finances (Patrick McGoohan) to King Louis XIV (Richard Chamberlain) of France. He has no idea why he has been arrested and imprisoned as he is unaware that he is the older twin brother of Louis and the true heir to the French throne. Loosely based on part of THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE by Alexandre Dumas and directed by Mike Newell (HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE). This adaptation of the oft filmed Dumas work (as a silent in 1909 and most recently in 1998 with Leonard DiCaprio and some ten versions in between) was made for television but it has the rich look of a feature film thanks to the detailed cinematography of Freddie Young (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA). It's a respectable adaptation which benefits from the French locations and solid cast. This was Chamberlain's third foray into Dumas following THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973) and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1975). With Louis Jourdan as D'Artagnan, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Jenny Agutter and Vivien Merchant.