The Manchurian Candidate, Jameson "Mardi Gras" mask

original movie prop

This production used mask was originally sold at auction listred as a "Mardi Gras" mask.  It is obvious however that this is a one-off resin mask, created from a life cast of the actor Tim Artz (the mask has a small sticker on the back with the actor's name) who played Jameson in the movie - one of the group of soldiers who is ambushed and brainwashed.

The life cast has been made to create a hollow mask, lined with velvet in the back.  It has been painted with the tribal markings seen on the Kuwaiti women who helped operate the brainwashing centre.

There is no "Mardi Gras" scene in the movie, so this mask was either made for use in a deleted scene (probably one of the brainwashing dream sequences/flashbacks) or was made as a wrap party gift for the cast (the black velvet lining, printed sticker and lack of attachment points or straps make me think that this was not actually intended to be worn in the movie).  Several such "Mardi Gras" masks have been sold in the past - each a one-off lifecast of one of the actors playing a soldier who was captured and brainwashed, painted with Kuwaiti tribal markings.

If anyone has any more information about the origins of this mask, I would be very interested to find out more.