This period Shaw Brothers drama is loosely based
on the Dumas book, The Man in the Iron Mask, with a few swerves and inventions.
It appears to be a co-production with Korea and was filmed there. It is directed
by Ho Meng-hua but a number of the other staff are Korean and two of the
producers are as well. So is the main male lead which is in truth the main
weakness in an otherwise fine film. Shin Young-kyun was to appear in seven
Shaw Brothers films from 1963 to 1970 and he has around 200 acting credits
back in Korea, which might explain how he came to star in these Shaw films.
He has two roles here - the King and the Man in the Iron Mask. As the psychotic
bullying king he is fine - he had a very similar role in The Last Woman of
Shang - but as the hero, he is an empty suit with the electricity of a burnt
out bulb. He over plays the King and under plays the hero.
The King is obsessed with his concubine
Gi Chin (given some sexual razzle dazzle by Shen Yi) and when she complains
about one of his advisors, the King simply kills him. She is still pouting
so he promises to build her a new palace (again similar to The Last Woman
of Shang). She is pouting because he has agreed to marry the Princess of
Cai without even seeing her. When he does, he literally tosses Gi Chin off
her chair. No wonder. The Princess is played by Li Ching as adorable as a
slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. Before that happens though
the King arrests Shing Tien (Ching Miao) and his son Shing An for not contributing
to the building of the palace.
And what do you know - Shing An looks exactly
like him. So instead of killing him he uses him as a double to meet and greet
the Princess who is visiting. Love blooms. Then she meets the real King and
love fades. Why is he so different she asks her maid (Lily Li Li-li). At
this point it begins to follow the Dumas novel as Sing An is too dangerous
to have around - he is in fact the elder of the twins who as a baby was lost
in a battle and adopted - and so the King locks him up with the Iron Mask.
More palace intrigue is to follow. This works pretty well and it pulled me
in. I only wish the Sing An character was more proactive and not so passive.
In the first scene we meet him he saves some women from the King's men and
sends them on their way. And then after that he just accepts his fate and
does nothing. Excellent music from Wang Fu-ling and Eddie Wang. Between the
two of them they are credited with over 500 film compositions.
