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15 Famous Masked Men

Men in masks have been darting across the movie screen since the days of silents and serials.

The Dark Knight Rises
Photo: Warner Bros.

In The Dark Knight Rises, a film that got a tragic boost of unexpected publicity yesterday, Batman returns in all his superheroic glory, a growly pariah back to restore the city for which he marred his image. The black-clad character emerges from the shadows, yet still keeps himself concealed, thanks to that trusty cowl that’s become one of pop culture’s most iconic disguises. Men in masks have been darting across the movie screen since the days of silents and serials, and their popularity shows no signs of diminishing. In honor of this crime-fighting, blockbuster weekend, we’ve rallied together 15 other films that also place masked men front and center.


The Mark of Zorro

Tyrone Power in The Mark of Zorro (1940)

Based on Johnston McCulley’s original story, The Curse of Capistrano, this old-Hollywood swashbuckler saw Tyrone Power assume the role eventually inherited by Antonio Banderas, and cross swords with debonair Basil Rathbone, one of the finest fencers in the business. An originator of the vigilante’s wrist-flicking “Z” signature, Power’s character goes by Don Diego before taking the name of “El Zorro,” which, in English, aptly translates as “the fox.”


Black Mask

Jet Li in Black Mask (1996)

Before he was introduced to U.S. audiences in Lethal Weapon 4, Jet Li played an ex-military test subject trying to live as a librarian in this Hong Kong action hit. The movie ultimately proved a crossover success, and Lee’s disguise famously nodded to the character of Kato from The Green Hornet, putting a hard-edged spin on the classic sidekick’s face mask and chauffeur’s cap.


The Princess Bride

Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride (1987)

In Rob Reiner’s beloved fairy-tale send-up, Cary Elwes was a lot more swoon-worthy without his leather mask and bandana, but there was still much fun to be had with his character’s dark alter-ego, The Dread Pirate Roberts. A persona adopted during a tumultuous journey at sea, Roberts is a master swordsman and cunning manipulator, who ably defeats Mandy Patinkin’s vengenace-seeker, Andre the Giant’s kindly thug, and Wallace Shawn’s shrill mastermind. And let’s not forget those R.O.U.S.’s…


Blankman

Damon Wayans in Blankman (1994)

A blink-and-miss-it 1990s parody film, Blankman offers an endearing slice of urban comedy, wherein the bumbling everyman (Damon Wayans) dons homespun garb to aspire to be a superman. With David Alan Grier as his sidekick, Wayans plays a whip-smart, pure-of-heart repairman, who fights back against crime when his city’s cops go on strike. This film seems to have been wiped from director Mike Binder’s resume, but it surely influenced later masked-avenger spoofs, like Super and Kick-Ass.


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The Mask

Jim Carrey in The Mask (1994)

Jim Carrey famously went green to play The Grinch, but years earlier, he achieved superstardom in a little movie called The Mask, which also saw the rubbery actor take on a Margaret-Hamilton hue, playing the mad, untamed id of a lowly, repressed banker. The Mask was one of the first films to wave its Carrey freak flag proudly, and the budding A-Lister made the most of his kinetic role, singing, dancing, and wooing the heels off of Cameron Diaz’s saucy lounge crooner.


The Phantom of the Opera

Claude Rains in The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Lon Chaney and Gerard Butler got more publicity for their takes on the shady antihero of Gaston Leroux’s novel, but character actor Claude Rains rocked the phantom’s mask, too, playing the lovelorn, outcast violinist of the Paris Opera House. Sharing the screen with Susanna Foster and Nelson Eddy, Rains brought his usual urbane aura to the part, a trait that helped to make his portrayal all the more watchable and tragic.


Halloween

Nick Castle in Halloween (1978)

One of the most feared masks in all of cinema, the William-Shatner-lookalike disguise worn by Nick Castle in Halloween can still ably induce heebie-jeebies, despite rebooter Rob Zombie’s attempts to grunge-ify the ghostly look. At this point, the stark-white, ginger-coiffed mask looks right at home alongside a giant butcher knife, and both props have lent themselves to many a Halloween costume. Few know that Castle went on to be a successful filmmaker, penning the scripts for Hook and Escape From New York, and directing Mr. Wrong, Major Payne, and Dennis the Menace. Freaky.


Point Break

Patrick Swayze and Company in Point Break (1991)

“We are the Ex-Presidents!” Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi declares to a shuddering crowd during Point Break’s pivotal bank heist. A surfer who moonlights as an unhinged, wanted criminal, Bodhi leads a pack of wired adrenaline junkies, who follow John Dillinger’s philosophy of not thinking about tomorrow. Before breaking into a slew of California vaults, the four men don rubber masks of former heads of state, namely Nixon, Reagan, Carter, and LBJ. The result? A surprisingly haunting and memorable display.


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Batman: The Movie

Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman: The Movie (1966)

If you think Christian Bale is badass, get a load of Adam West in a cowl and a codpiece, heating up the screen in this film adaptation of the popular ’60s camp series. One of the few Batmen to rock the blue and the gray instead of the black, West brought variety to the caped crusader, not to mention a little homoeroticism alongside co-star Burt Ward’s Robin. In the movie, the duo square off against a full roster of villains, including The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman, and The Joker. Holy foursome, Batman!


Donnie Darko

James Duval in Donnie Darko (2001)

Serving as Donnie Darko’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) demonic harbinger of doom, Frank (James Duval) couldn’t look weirder if he were doused in pig’s blood. The tall, toothy rabbit man speaks of portals and apocalyptic countdowns, and later, his bloody wound proves to have been an icky bit of foreshadowing, tying together this unique thriller’s twisted pretzel of fate. What relation does Donnie hold to his freaky, furry friend? Director Richard Kelly provides only cryptic, tantalizing answers.


The Man in the Iron Mask

Louis Hayward in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio made this dual role popular in a 1998 remake, but let’s focus on Louis Hayward’s portrayal in James Whale’s original, a bit of a departure for the Bride of Frankenstein auteur. Starring opposite Joan Bennett and Peter Cushing, Hayward plays both King Louis XIV and his identical twin, Phillippe of Gascony, whose benevolence winds up leaving him imprisoned by his own kin. A story directly linked to that of The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask offers up a meaty leading role, and one Hayward handily nails.

V for Vendetta

Hugo Weaving in V for Vendetta (2005)

Hugo Weaving has rapidly cemented himself as a monolithic geek icon, a pillar of coolness who’s put his stamp on properties that include The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Captain America, and, yes, V for Vendetta. As the title character in this revolution-minded actioner, Weaving is more voice than face, always hiding behind a Guy Fawkes mask while whisking Natalie Portman to safety. Kick-starting a revolution and saving the Black Swan? Did we mention this guy is geek royalty?


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Mrs. Doubtfire

Michael Palin in Brazil (1944)

In Terry Gilliam’s Orwellian, dystopian cult classic, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) finds himself accused of treason by his bureaucratic oppressors, a detour during his quest to find out more about the woman of his dreams (Kim Greist). As punishment, Sam is bound to a chair in a vast, silo-like clean room, where Michael Palin’s Jack Lint, a former friend of Sam’s, will torture the hero while wearing a grotesque baby mask. It’s one of the more chilling moments when Sam’s dreams and reality overlap.


A Clockwork Orange

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange (1971)

In Stanley Kubrick’s notoriously ultraviolent take on Anthony Burgess’s novel, Malcolm McDowell’s Alex and his unruly army of “droogs” cap off their introductory crime spree by breaking into the home of writer F. Alexander (Patrick Magee), whom they batter to a pulp before raping his helpless wife. To make matters creepier, Alex belts out “Singin’ in the Rain,” and rocks a phallic carnival mask he repeatedly thrusts at the camera. It’s a twisted sexual look for McDowell, who imbues Alex’s mania with his own perverse verve.


The Lone Ranger

Clayton Moore in The Lone Ranger (1956)

Making the leap from small to big screen, Clayton Moore reprises his role as The Lone Ranger in this Stuart Heisler film, the first of two based on Moore’s popular series. Hired by a governor to aid in a brewing war between white settlers and Native Americans, both of whom have something to gain from the majestic Silver Mountain, our masked rider makes good on the promise of his TV adventures, offering cinematic excitement in Warnercolor, and, of course, keeping Tonto (Jay Silverheels) in tow.

This article was originally published on The House Next Door.

R. Kurt Osenlund

R. Kurt Osenlund is a creative director and account supervisor at Mark Allen & Co. He is the former editor of Out magazine.

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