The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) User Reviews (52)

V for Vendetta...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 15 November 2022]

There's a sentence but no trial to make your case, those you trust have had you interred at great haste, you've lost your love and future wife, must live in conflict and in strife, to wither in a cell while being laid to waste. But there's hope when you find out you're not alone, as a pair you set to work removing stone, excavating day and night, searching for the sight of light, until a tragedy, and your future is resewn. You inherit your dead partners wealth and riches, it allows you to acquire the finest britches, plus a title and some land, now revenge can be well planned, all because of nimble hands and threaded stitches.

A perpetually enduring tale, magnificently performed and presented, albeit with poetic license.

Fine old film

[artzau · 8/10 · 27 January 2002]

Robert Donat was a fine actor who went on to win our hearts with Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr. Chips. People often forget that he was slated to play the lead in the Sabatini novel, Captain Blood, which went to Errol Flynn, thus establishing his career and mark on Hollywood (and what a mark!). Donat, according to his biographers, detested Hollywood and made several films in Great Britain. His role in the Hitchcock 39 steps is legend. This film, which is a slightly more faithful adaptation of the Dumas book than the one only recently (1/02) released, is superior to its predecessor in several ways. Alas, the other reviewer here is likely too young to have seen in its original B/W but it is a fine film. the lovely Elissa Landi plays Mercedes and Sidney Blackmer, Donat's betrayer. The character actor, O.P. Heggie plays the priest and fellow prisoner of Dantes. Veteran Louis Calhern, here youthful, plays the other betrayer and villain. There's no video or DVD, so if this shows up on the late show, by all means, check it out.

O. P. Heggie as Abbe Faria

[d_anast · 8/10 · 7 July 2008]

Delightful film of the classic stage warhorse, a bit creaky and slow starting, but with cumulative power sustained by the subtle yet vivid characterizations. Each principal has a uniquely nuanced personality, brought forth by gesture and language -- something sorely lacking in today's 90 percent trash. NOTE FOR CINASTES: I never fully appreciated the comic outrages of Jame's Whale's use of the Hermit in Bride of Frankenstein until I saw the prototype, created here by the same actor, O. P. Heggie. The Hermit in "Bride" is a gleeful, unabashed parody of Faria, even in the crescendo of music that mimics the "Ave Maria" in the Whale picture. I'm sure Whale wondered if his in-joke would be caught, and by how many. See the picture and you'll understand.

Dantes' Revenge

[lugonian · 9/10 · 24 January 2003]

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (United Artists/Reliance, 1934), directed by Rowland V. Lee, from the immortal novel by Alexandre Dumas, and personally supervised by Edward Small, capitalized on the current trend of literary works adapted to the motion picture screen. It stars British import Robert Donat, making his Hollywood debut, in fact, his only one as a leading performer on U.S. soil. He would spend the duration of his career in British-made productions, thus, later winning an Academy Award as best actor in another memorable performance in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (MGM, 1939) opposite Greer Garson.

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with either the book or the motion picture(s), here is a brief summary: The story, which begins in 1815, finds Edmund Dantes (Robert Donat) a young sailor on a French ship who has honored the dying request of his captain, LeClere (William Farnum), to carry a private letter to Napoleon on Elba. While ashore, he meets with Mercedes De Rosas (Elissa Landi), the woman he loves. Because Fernand (Sidney Blackner) loves Mercedes, he, along with others in his scheme, succeed to have Dantes arrested for carrying a secret letter and for this reason, unjustly imprisoned in the Château d'If. While in prison, Dantes is treated harshly and cruely by the guards, and Mercedes, although still in love with Dantes, finds herself marrying Fernand, later to bear him a son. Later, Dantes encounters Abbe Faria (O.P. Heggie), an old man imprisoned there for many years who spends his free time cutting his way through prison walls and digging a tunnel that would someday get him through to freedom. Over the years, Abbe Faria educates his friend Dantes by showing him a chart of the location of fabulous treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. While digging through the tunnel, there is a cave-in that crushes Abbe Faria's ribs, later the cause of his death. As the guards prepare to take the old man's body away, Dante switches places with the deceased, and hides himself in the burial sack. After being thrown into the ocean, Dantes breaks himself free.He is then rescued and picked up by Captain Camp (Mitchell Lewis), who makes him part of his crew. After shaving off his long beard, Dante locates the island of Monte Cristo and he goes ashore to possess the treasure, making him a very rich man. He then returns to France in the guise of The Count of Monte Cristo to then avenge his three enemies, Fernand, Raymond DeVillefort (Louis Calhern) and Danglars (Raymond Walburn), the men who had him unjustly sent to prison where he stayed for twenty years. How Dantes achieves his vengeance adds to the suspense and pleasure of the avid "revenge is sweet" viewer.

Also seen in the supporting cast are Georgia Caine as Madame De Rosas; Luis ALberni as Jacopo; Clarence Muse as the muted Ali; Douglas Walton as Albert De Mondego; Juliette Compton and Lionel Bellmore, among others. The memorable musical score by Alfred Newman would be repeated in latter films, notably the "Ave Maria" underscoring portion used for LES MISERABLES (20th Century, 1935) starring Fredric March.

Hailed by many as the very best and most memorable screen adaptation to the Dumas novel, this obviously goes without question. Aside from it being faithful to the book, the movie itself holds interest throughout, and Robert Donat's performance, ranks one of his best in his long but occasional screen career. Had this movie been produced a few years later, chances are that the Dantes character would have been played by the likes of future swashbuckling kings as Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power, or even Douglas Fairbanks Jr., for example, but although Donat's Edmund Dantes is one of the best ever to be recaptured on film, asthma and ill heath would prevent him from performing similar duties in future Hollywood swashbuckling adventures.

Unfortunately, film prints to THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO that have circulated on television and video since the early 1980s was the abridged 97 minute version, eliminating about 20 minutes worth of footage. If one were to locate a rare video copy either at a local library or a video store, chances are they would acquire a 1990s VHS format from Video Treasures, also being a shorter and "colorized" copy. While it's hard indicate what's been actually edited, the cuts are obvious, particularly through sudden blackouts during the plot followed by fade-ins to the middle of scenes that play like reading a middle of a chapter of a book without a new beginning. Also missing from those VHS copies is the cast of actors and their roles, something that existed on TV prints prior to 1980. Restoration to the film's original length (114 minutes) and crisp black and white photography finally turned up on Turner Classic Movies on July 6, 2008.

The success of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO spawned sequels "in name only" in later years, including THE SON OF MONTE CRISTO (United Artists, 1940); THE RETURN OF MONTE CRISTO (Columbia, 1946), both featuring Louis Hayward as a descendant of Edmund Dantes; among others, as well as countless remakes and imitations, but this 1934 version still should hold interest today. Rarely seen in recent years, it did have a "colorized" television presentation on the Disney Channel in the early 1990s as part of its "Best of Hollywood" program, but like the Video Treasures copy, was not the complete version.

Regardless of print availability, the 1934 first sound version to THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO remains an adventure classic from the "golden age of Hollywood" that has stood the test of time. (***1/2)

Never surpassed

[palinurus2 · 10/10 · 14 April 2005]

I was lucky enough to obtain a video copy of an excellent black & white print of this movie, as I believe the colourisation of current copies falsifies the viewing experience. The photography and lighting are so exquisite, only the 1930's movie-making artists - it was an art form then - could accomplish it and it has to be appreciated like an antique: old, but immensely valuable for that.

They truly don't make them like this any more, and after having seen some of the subsequent screen versions, I still don't believe this one has ever been surpassed. I have also read Dumas' novel and would say that except for some minor alterations to the plot, the movie is largely true to the book.

Robert Donat is a dashing Dantes, whose ageing in body and spirit during the course of the movie is utterly believable (but he even improved on his ability to portray a physical and mental journey a few years later, when he made "Goodbye Mr. Chips"). Elissa Landi is a sweet and witty heroine, and the villains are so beautifully characterised (notably Sidney Blackmer's Mondego) that it becomes all the more satisfying when Dantes deals with them according to their own villainous traits.

I particularly enjoyed the intelligent flashes of irony with which the grim story is suffused, such as Dantes' double-speak as he flatters his enemies, at the same time telling them truth which they choose to misunderstand. The script is fantastic, the acting luminous. I feel sorry for those who hesitate to watch black & white classics like this one - they miss out on the very essence of what the art of movie-making and acting really used to be about.

A wonderful movie

[p38at6 · 6 February 2000]

This should be a classic. It is a superb motion picture. It has a brilliant cast. An excellent interpretation of what the author of the book wrote. The director and producer was of the top class.

Focus on Edmond and Mercedes

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 7/10 · 12 April 2008]

The good news is that this turns out to be, as I hoped it might, my "long-lost Monte Cristo" -- the film I once caught the end of, thanks to the BBC, on holiday twenty years ago, and have never been able to find again since. The bad news is that, alas, the part I missed then isn't actually nearly so good as the remainder...

The Reliance Pictures production of "Count of Monte Cristo" is a queer mixture of success and banality; of studio polish and poverty-row shortcuts; of efficient editing and crass musical indirection; of genuine emotional power and thumping cliché; of briskly-moving adaptation and bizarre moments of staging (revolving witness-box, anybody?) A literal version of Dumas it is not -- one would not expect it from any film spectacular of this period -- but many of the changes made are entertaining or effective, and the happy ending provided works at least as well as Dumas' rather unsatisfactory version. The meandering original is reduced to a bare two hours' running time by dint of concise scripting and cutting out most of the sub-plots involving the de Villefort and Morrel families, an attempt which is by and large successful. It works less well at the beginning, where there are simply too many unidentified characters popping up and scheming without any of them really being established properly, particularly as Morrel and de Villefort's father are then pruned from the plot, never to appear again. And de Villefort's downfall as presented here really doesn't work for me: lacking the damning evidence of infanticide, the script doesn't seem to come up with any terribly convincing alternative to turn the tables on the prosecutor. On the other hand, introduced material such as Mercedes' (completely uncanonical) aristocratic snob of a mother, or the tableaux in praise of Fernand at which Haydee accuses him, works very well.

Ironically -- given the Hollywood studio's doubts as to their unknown English import's ability to pull off anything but a fresh-faced lead -- Robert Donat shines mainly in the latter half of the picture as the older, embittered and sophisticated Monte Cristo. His guileless Dantes makes little impression, for it could be any generic juvenile lead role -- the character as written is not so much naive as uninteresting. Donat fares better where he can give a sense of some hidden depths to the part, and his best features are his strong eyes and brows rather than his cheery grin. As Monte Cristo, however, he is both debonair and dangerous, an intelligent schemer with a dry wit at his enemies' unknowing expense, and he is supported ably by both Douglas Walton as the young Albert and Elissa Landi as Mercedes.

It was Miss Landi's performance with which I was truly impressed here; she ages with utter conviction from the wilful girl to the resolute mother, and lends her scenes opposite Donat the real impact that is lacking from so much of the film. In a plot that has been re-angled to concentrate far more closely on the Edmond/Mercedes relationship, her role is vital, and her character provides most of the emotional engagement of the story, from light-hearted charm to heartbreak (Valentine de Villefort, here paired off with Albert, is a mere cypher in comparison).

The film starts off in outright formulaic guise, from Napoleon's appearance (in full uniform and cocked hat, with his hand duly thrust in his breast 'like that') to the standard storm-at-sea sequence with water poured across the screen. It continues to suffer from crude musical underlining more or less throughout, almost sabotaging for example Donat's scene with the dying Abbe Faria, which he otherwise pulls off with conviction, while certain characters, such as Morrel and the mute Nubian Ali, appear to have been retained despite the loss of the plot elements which actually involved them (possibly as a result of cuts to the script later in filming?) Overall, however, the adaptation does a pretty good job of conveying information quickly and concisely -- Albert's entire Italian adventure is dealt with effectively in a matter of a few minutes with none of the essentials lost, and Haydee's brief role introduced without any seeming contrivance. It borrows little in practice from Dumas' wordy original save the bare outlines of its plot, and sometimes not even those; but as an initially uninspired Hollywood screen adaptation it improves considerably as it goes on. Literary fidelity isn't everything, and if it were not let down by certain sections I would have rated it considerably higher; alas, this production remains an odd mixture of the powerful and the pedestrian.

The Best Known Version

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 22 May 2005]

I like Robert Donat. He had marvelous stage presence, and a fine speaking voice (ironically, as he suffered from asthma). He was a terrific actor, who did get an Oscar for his portrayal of MR. CHIPS, but due to poor health made far too few movies. And we are the poorer for it.

His performance as Edmond Dantes, in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, is the one most people recall seeing. It is the best known performance in that role on film. But is it the best performance? I think it is one of the two best performances. The other one was by Gerald Depardieu in a film version for television that was shown on two nights a few years back as a mini-series. It told far more of the details of the thousand page plot than this film version with Donat did. But that might be a serious defect.

It sometimes helps to plow through a long classic work to see what all the shouting is about. Alexander Dumas Sr.'s novel was an adventure tale set in the years 1815 to 1830/35. It was more than an adventure novel. The son of a French Revolutionary War General, Dumas recognized that the Bourbon restoration of 1814, and 1815 - 1830 was a step backward for French liberties - that despite Napoleon's egomania he had straightened out France's constitutional rights and had restored it's glories. So the novel, looking at the careers of it's three (or four) villains notes who is considered favorably by the new regime: the business swindler Danglars (who becomes a banker), the questionable military hero De Mondego, and the ruthless, hypocritical legal master De Villefort. The fourth villain, Caderrouse, is a born criminal, who is in and out of jail. He is really a human parasite in the story. He doesn't even appear in this version with Donat.

The idea of the novel is that circumstances twist the fate of Edmond Dantes into the hands of these swine. Danglars is jealous that his employers by-passed him, and made Dantes (a younger man) the captain of the merchant ship they work on. De Mondego is in love with Mercedes, and she is to marry Dantes, so he hates his shipmate as well. De Villefort finds that Dantes unwittingly knows information about the return of Napoleon from Elba that could blast his career with the Bourbons (the information implicates De Villefort's father, a longtime supporter of the Emperor). So it is that these three act together to put Dantes out of the way - in the infamous Château D'If prison.

The novel shows how Dantes tunnels into the cell of the Abbe Faria, how the latter teaches him the sciences, history, culture, and bequeaths to him a buried treasure he was protecting. After a remarkable escape, Dantes gets to the isle of Monte Cristo off Italy and finds the treasure. And he uses it to destroy his enemies.

Because the three have Achilles heels it is not too difficult, but if the film was shown as the novel reads a film director would have a serious problem: After four hundred pages of plot, one begins to resent Dantes - now the Count of Monte Cristo. He is so determined to destroy these three (and Caderrouse, who helped starve Dantes' dependent father to death), that innocent third parties are hurt all over the place. Also some of the plots make the villains less villainous because their personal lives are involved. De Villefort finds members of his family being poisoned, and suspicion falling on his beloved daughter. This plot line was jettisoned in the 1934 film version. Probably just as well, as Louis Calhern's characterization of De Villefort was quite sharp and business-like, but not loving as the actual character is to his legitimate children in the novel (however, he does try to dispose of an illegitimate baby at one point - an act that eventually helps destroy him).

For a good, "classic comics" style version of Dumas' novel, Donat's film will do well. But try to catch Depardieu's version, and (better yet) try to read the complete novel.

Worthwile rendition of an impossible-to-film novel

[riesx002 · 7/10 · 10 January 2018]

No film version can substitute for reading the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo. No doubt there is no substitute for reading it in French, but for English-speakers Robin Buss' 1996 English translation reportedly captures the both spirit and letter of Dumas' novel better than previous translations. In my opinion, the 1934 film also captures the spirit of the book, but omits many characters and story lines, and adds or rewrites others. Nevertheless, this film version is fun to watch.

The best Count of Monte Cristo

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 5 July 2012]

Alexandre Dumas' novel is a classic, and of a number of film adaptations, of which are a mixed bunch in terms of success, it's the 1934 film starring Robert Donat that I consider the best version. Maybe the editing in the escape scene is a little plodding, other than that the film is very handsomely mounted with lavish period detail and beautiful cinematography. Alfred Newman's score is suitably rousing, the story is the very definition of thrilling and never stops maintaining interest and the script is very literate and sometimes witty. The characters all engage, with the leads likable and easy to identify with and the villains suitably repellent. The swash-buckling also is never clumsy and Rowland V Lee directs beautifully. Robert Donat gives a performance that for me has only been bettered by the title role in Goodbye Mr Chips, expertly progressing from naive to calculating. Elissa Landi matches him in a sympathetic and moving performance, and Raymond Walburn is a sly Danglers, but other than Donat the other best performance is the sharp Villefort of Louis Calhern. Sidney Blackmer's Mondego is also splendidly characterised, and OP Heggie delights in a role that will remind one of the hermit in Bride of Frankenstein. Overall, wholly satisfying and definitely recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Finely told tale of revenge

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 10 July 2012]

I'm not often a fan of British movies, so it was with some surprise that I found myself rather liking this one. It turns out this is actually an American film, with Robert Donat being imported as its star.

One thing I liked about this film was the appearance of a number of character actors with whom I was more familiar in their much later roles. I've always enjoyed Louis Calhern, and this is, perhaps, the earliest film in which I've seen him (although he dates back to the silent era). I also rather like Sidney Blackmer, and this is the earliest film in which I've seen him ("Heidi" with Shirley Temple was a bit later). And Raymond Walburn, who we usually see as a comic buffoon, is here one of the villains.

I appreciate Robert Donat much more after watching this film, although he was less believable as a young sailor early in the film than he was as the Count Of Monte Cristo later in the film.

Elissa Landi, an actress with whom I was not familiar, was not very impressive here as the female lead. In some small way...the way in which she pouted with her mouth...was very distracting (or should I say just down right poor acting).

This is a story of revenge, and a darned good one. Highly recommended, and perhaps deserving of a spot on your DVD shelf.

Edmund Dantes's Code of Street Justice

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 30 November 2005]

As a story The Count of Monte Cristo still has great power. Case in point, the movie Sleepers where four young men from Hell's Kitchen were sexually abused in a reform school they were sentenced to. They found in the Alexandre Dumas novel a man they could understand very easily given their street code. Edmund Dantes code of street justice translates very easily to just about every culture in the world, be it the mean streets of New York or the post Napoleonic Era in France.

Robert Donat is Edmund Dantes an ordinary seaman who carries a letter from Elba about Napoleon Bonaparte's imminent return to France in 1815. Now he doesn't know he's carrying the letter, it was given to him by his dying captain. Three men who have their own reasons not to see the truth come out imprison Donat without trial in an island prison off Marseilles.

After years there Donat effects his escape and plans to wreak vengeance on them, but not just to kill them, to expose them because all three have risen to importance in France. He's the Count of Monte Cristo now, having been bequeathed a hidden treasure by another inmate.

The kids from Sleepers as well millions of others have learned what Dumas tried to convey, that hot blooded revenge killing won't do. If you have to take vengeance make sure it is an extremely calculated series of moves.

Monte Cristo is the perfect kind of role for the cerebral Robert Donat. Donat makes us believe his transformation from the young and hopeful Edmund Dantes to the calculating Monte Cristo. If it were not for the Oscar Donat received for Goodbye Mr. Chips this one would have been the signature role of his career.

Also look for some good acting by Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern and especially Raymond Walburn in their parts. He's usually the jovial gladhanding type, often a knave, but never a villain as he is here. Not a Walburn you're used to.

Vintage rendition based on the classic tale of romance , treason and retribution

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 4 July 2021]

Classy an adequate black and white retelling Count of Montecristo by Rowland V. Lee with Robert Donat , Louisa Landi , Louis Calhern . Fine recounting packing adventures , action , romance , derring-do , sword-play and it turns out to be entertaining enough as well as enjoyable . Set in the turbulent years after fall Napoleon , who was banished and isolated at Island of Elba . Stars Edmund Dantes (Robert Donat) , he is falsely incarcerated by a fake set-up schemed by his enemies , caused by his good fortune and extreme envy due to his beautiful girlfriend (Elisa Landi) . After greedy men (Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn) have unjustly imprisoned Edmound Dantes for 20 years for innocently delivering a letter entrusted to him , he gets away to get his revenge on them . Being wrongly imprisoned in Island of If , there he meets an old prisoner , Abbe Faria (O. P. Heggie) . Abbe becomes his teacher and mentor , later on , he tells Edmund a fantastic treasure hidden away at a far Island , that only he knows the location of . After long years in prison , Edmund escapes and he seeks a merciless vendetta against his old contenders. After that , Edmund proceeds to become himself into the wealthy Count of Montecristo , taking a new identity by surprising his enemy traitors . The relentless vendetta is ready against the nasty traitors who accused him . Treachery, Revenge , Romance...the one tale that tells them all ¡.

This faithful filmization is a good and agreeable remake of the Alexandre Dumas tale by the same name , containing adventures , feats , action , fencing , romance, evocative musical score by maestro composer Alfred Newman and anything else . A true swashbuckling vengeance story recounting about the famous novel written by Alexandre Dumas . Including thrills , emotion , a betrayed love story and an implacable vengeance . Stars Robert Donat giving a fine acting as unfortunate Edmund Dantes who transforms into a powerful count , he goes into action to reclaim his ex-fiancee Mercedes : Elisa Landi and while seeking vendetta . Concerning the known plot in which Edmund Dantes is unjustly sent to jail for 18 years at the Chateau-Island of If , being framed as sender of Napoleon's letters , subsequently retrieving a pirate trasure , he gains ever so sweet and served quite cold vendetta . That's why he plots revenge in the prison located in If island against those who betrayed him , these are well played by a good plethora of secondaries giving appropriate interpretations , such as : Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer , Raymond Walburn . This good version of the historical costumer with atmospheric cinematography in black and white, was professionally directed by the Hollywood professional director Rowland V. Lee .

This is the classic 1934 rendition , other adaptations are the following ones : 1912 silent movie by Edwin S. Porter . Argentina version El Conde de Montecristo 1953 by León Klimovski with Jorge Mistral. Le comte Montecristo 1961 by Claude Aunt Lara with Louis Jourdan as Montecristo. TV retelling by David Greene with Richard Chamberlain , Kate Nelligan , Tony Curtis , Donald Pleasence , Louis Jourdan . TV series retelling Le conté de Montecristo 1979 with Jacques Wever . TV nice version by José Dayan in 1998 with Gérard Depardieu , Ornella Muti , Jean Rochefort , Pierre Arditi , Michael Aumont . And 2002 by Kevin Reynolds with James Cazievel , Daymara Domincyk , Guy Pearce , James Frain and Richard Harris as Abbe Faria.

Miserable Adaptation

[sb-47-608737 · 2/10 · 16 December 2019]

There are two counts - first is the story - the opening screen doesn't say adapted from, based on or anything like that, it says "Alexander Dumas'" and it definitely is no where near the classic. There had been too many and unnecessary changes made, may be to cater to 'local' taste, or box-office, but none of them, in my opinion had been to improve, rather opposite. For example even at the beginning, the poor and orphan Mercedes, is made some sort of a Socialite and a mother imposed upon. That takes a lot of patho out of the decision she was forced to make, after Edmond's death. The story has been, completely destroyed, for no sensible reason, as far as I can see.

Second part is the artists - and there too it scores equally low - especially the main actor, Donat, had over-over-acted. It doesn't even hold a lamp for the 1954 Robert Vernay version, which though with some differences, could more or less maintain the plot faithfully, and of course Donat doesn't come anywhere near Marais.

I wonder still, why did they have to almost completely change the story, including the ending, or the court scene just before that - not only they were different, overacted, over-dramatised, but also much weaker than what happened in the novel.

In the original story, Edmond-Mercedes-Princess ending - might not have been romantic, but did have some sort of being just to the two women at least, of course here, the movie decided to take the Princess out of the equation.

A Pledge Of Revenge Classically Filmed

[rsoonsa · 9/10 · 19 January 2001]

Far more than most adaptations of novels, this version of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO adheres to the novelist's plot and details, and does so to its advantage, as the original is wonderfully full-blooded. The role of Edmond Dantes is played well by Robert Donat, who nicely projects the many moments of peril with which his character deals. The imprisonment and escape scenes at the seabound Château D'If, although of a result certain to the viewer, are neatly mounted to create genuine compassion and suspense. Splendidly cast, a wide range of talent brings splendid balance to each act. The passing from the early tableaux of adventure to the thrust of the story: carefully crafted and complex methods of revenge, is effectively delivered by the scenario. Those who decide to watch this classic film will avoid missing excellent acting from Sidney Blackmer and O.P. Heggie, as well as outstanding art direction and costume design.

Ultimate Revenge

[jlunghi · 10/10 · 12 December 2002]

The story of an Innocent man, being finally vindicated is stretched to the nth'degree in this Dumas classic story, and there has never been, nor ever will there be, a finer screen adaptation than this. The cast, set, and cinematography, are classic examples of early 30's filmmaking at its best. Rowland Lee's direction, an excellent multi-national cast, and Donat's inspired performance as Edmond Dantes makes this one of the finest action/adventure/payback films of all time. A MUST SEE, for any serious moviegoer. Steal the time to visit the Chateau d'If and escape into a truly great adventure movie.

enduringly good

[mukava991 · 8 January 2014]

This briskly paced, attractively packaged version of the Dumas classic continues to stand the test of time, owing in large part to Robert Donat, an actor for the ages, and a supporting cast which includes the able Louis Calhern as Donat's strongest enemy, the florid Raymond Walburn as the weakest, and the aristocratic beauty Elissa Landi as the love interest. The story itself is melodrama at its best, with the hook of an innocent man not only wronged by self-seeking villains but wronged in a spectacularly cold-blooded, inhuman manner: railroaded to a veritable dungeon for a crime he did not commit and left to rot forever, only to be saved by a chance encounter with a noble fellow prisoner who bequeaths to him the location of a hidden treasure which he uncovers after a daring escape from his confinement. And then, using his vast fortune, he plots a great act of justice for his enemies, now prominent personages of great corruption, not by stooping to their level, but by cleverly manipulating them into self-exposure and ultimate destruction.

Masked Avenger.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 3 April 2009]

In this revenge tale, the dish is served topped with a savory Bernaise sauce. Well-mounted story of an innocent sailor named Edmond Dantes (Robert Donat) falsely imprisoned for treason by three selfish miscreants -- Sidney Blackmer who wants to get rid of Donat in order to wed Donat's fiancée, Louis Calhern who wants to advance his legal career by the conviction, and Raymond Walburn who covets Donat's status as ship's master.

Donat spends some 18 years in prison -- time enough to scrape through the wall and get to know his elderly neighbor who tells him the location of a fantastic buried treasure. Donat manages to escape and find the treasure.

He returns to Paris, older and unrecognized by anyone who had known him in his previous persona. He is now The Count of Monte Cristo, rich beyond all dreams of avarice, a robber baron, and a cold-hearted seeker of vengeance with a heart of chipped glass.

He seeks out the three men who conspired to imprison him for life and destroys them one by one in ways that exploit their weaknesses. Blackmer is undone by his treachery and his lust, Calhern by his ambition, and Waldron by his greed.

I first saw this on TV as a kid and was disappointed in it. The title of course was famous, and promised a lot of action and adventure. Instead I found an historical drama informed by 19th-century French politics and psychological legerdemain. I like it a lot better now.

You'll probably find it entertaining too. Revenge is an interesting theme in literature and movies. It's interesting because it's so thoroughly two-edged. We, the audience, want to see the injured party avenged, and yet the desire for it is debasing. This motive is ambivalent by its nature and some movies plump for the avenger -- period. (See "The Punisher", in which we can all wallow in the pain inflicted by the offended victim.) But this is an adult treatment of the subject and doesn't reduce the issue to a level of complexity easily grasped by an unformed ten-year-old mind.

In the end, Donat, as Dantes, doesn't simply have some kind of epiphany either. Instead he gives achieves his end by destroying all three of the conspirators but he does so in a way that saves the love affair of a younger couple and doesn't demean himself in doing so.

The costumes are nicely done, the direction adequate, and the acting is of the period. I've left out some subplots because this story by Alexander Dumas, pere, is very complicated. All Dumas' stories are complicated. I mean, you could go on and on. That was okay for Alexander Dumas, pere, but not here because you'd run out of space. They called this author Dumas, pere, to distinguish him from his son, Dumas, fils, who is known for nothing much except inventing the story of Camille -- novel, opera, and movie.

Classy Telling Of Classic Tale

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 22 July 2005]

Fabulously wealthy and mysterious, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO becomes intimately involved in the lives of three powerful men in Paris.

Alexander Dumas' classic novel comes to abridged life in this powerful adventure film. There is very little swashbuckling and a good deal of talk, but it is all done so intelligently and the film, with its lavish production values, is so entertaining to watch that the diminution of dash & drama is easily overlooked.

Robert Donat portrays stalwart Edmond Dantes, the much abused hero, from a young ship's officer caught up in Napoleonic intrigue, to a wretched inmate doomed to oblivion in a hideous prison, and finally the middle-aged and tremendously powerful Count, and he plays it all exceedingly well. This is an actor, now in danger of becoming somewhat obscure, who performed valiantly in films throughout his career, consistently providing characterizations worth watching.

Donat dominates the film; in support are Elissa Landi as the woman who never gives up loving him; Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer & Raymond Walburn as the three men from Marseilles who each have their own reasons for wanting Donat dead; and elderly O. P. Heggie as the saintly priest who becomes Donat's mentor & friend in prison.

Smaller roles are vividly enacted by Lionel Belmore as the corrupt Governor of the Château d'If; corpulent Ferdinand Munier as a highly distraught King Louis XVIII; Luis Alberni & Clarence Muse as smugglers who become Donat's willing accomplices in his quest for revenge; Douglas Walton as Landi's conflicted son; and Holmes Herbert as the judge at Donat's Paris trial. Sour-faced Clarence Wilson appears for a few moments as a supporter of Donat.

Kind of Disappointing...

[vze3vhtf · 6/10 · 29 April 2015]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

I recently watched this version of tCoMC. I have already previously seen these other versions:

1974 with Richard Chamberlain

1998 with Gerard Depardieu

2002 with Jim Caveziel

(Apologies if I misspelled any names)

I have also read the book by A. Dumas.

Robert Donat was a good actor, but his delivery in this role seems like he felt obligated to essentially break down the ' Fourth Wall ", & explain everything to the audience, almost like we were in Kindergarten.

In addition, the finale involving the public trial of Dantes has NOTHING to do with the original story (Nor does the saccharin happy ending, although other versions have also succumbed to this too)!

So despite its good points, this version nevertheless departs SO much from the novel, that I cannot recommend it.

The 1974 version with Chamberlain may not be perfect, but it's is still the truest to Dumas that I have yet seen.

M

A great film; and a sly reference to it in "Bride of Frankenstein?"

[pitcairn89 · 9/10 · 16 April 2010]

I echo all the other reviewers in saying that this is a very well-done and entertaining movie. Robert Donat was an excellent actor, and he carries this role very well. He may have won his Oscar for Mr. Chips, but I have always liked him in this movie, and in Hitchcock's "The Thirty-Nine Steps," even more. And Elissa Landi- she was incredibly gorgeous, and a good actress, too. Producer Edward Small must have had a thing for Dumas and swashbucklers. He also produced the 1939 "Man in the Iron Mask," and the 1940 "Son of Monte Cristo." As many people know, Donat was slated to play "Captain Blood" in 1935, but for whatever reason dropped out, and that part went to the unknown Errol Flynn. Flynn's star-making performance catapulted him to the top, and led to the string of classic swashbucklers he made throughout the 30s and 40s. Interesting in that Donat's "Monte Cristo" kick-started a dormant film genre, and his withdrawal from "Captain Blood" introduced the man who would re-invent, and re-invigorate, the whole swashbuckler genre. So perhaps Donat and Flynn can be considered the godfathers of the sound film's action movie (and the inheritors of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.'s mantle).

I was also struck by a similarity between some scenes in this, and in the James Whale film, "The Bride of Frankenstein," made just a year later, in 1935. Another reviewer on this site has noted the same thing, and I agree with him completely. Dantes' fellow prisoner, played by O.P. Heggie, is a character very similar to the blind hermit in "Bride," played by- O.P. Heggie. The blind hermit befriends Boris Karloff's lonely monster, in much the same way that this prisoner befriends a lonely Edmund Dantes. Some of the dialogue is quite similar. And, in a particularly dramatic scene between Dantes and his friend, "Ave Maria" is played on the soundtrack. If all of you remember, when the blind hermit meets the monster, and thanks God for bringing him a friend, "Ave Maria" is used on the soundtrack, to very great emotional effect. I read that James Whale actively sought O.P. Heggie to play this part, so one has to wonder if it is just a coincidence, or a conscious plan- I find the former possibility a little implausible. As the other reviewer on this site noted, it may have been a sly in-joke on Whale's part (and not only that- Heggie was an excellent actor, and brought great humanity to these two parts. So Whale's choice was also artistically sound). He was a director who loved in-jokes, and his films are full of humorous and sly references to all kinds of things. You also have to wonder if anyone at the time picked up on it. We can see these films back-to-back now, and notice similarities, courtesy of DVDs and TV, but in the 30s, there would have been a yearlong gap between the showings of these films. I imagine most moviegoers wouldn't have remembered that Heggie had played in the earlier film, or seen the similarities. I hadn't noticed myself, on previous viewings of "Count," but became aware of it just last night. The use of "Ave Maria" made it seem conclusive, to me.

Whale also used Douglas Walton in "Bride," as Percy Shelley, and I wonder if he liked the actor in his part as Landi's son, in "Count." Interestingly, Whale directed Edward Small's "The Man in the Iron Mask" in 1939. That same year, Rowland V. Lee, who directed "Count," took over from Whale, and directed "Son of Frankenstein" (and then Lee directed "Son of Monte Cristo" the following year. A bit confusing!). Boy, Hollywood was filled with all kinds of connections. Six Degrees of Monte Cristo!

Anyway, just some interesting sidelights to two great films. For fans of both movies, take a look at them.

Straightforward adventure story

[Philipp_Flersheim · 6/10 · 14 February 2022]

When they mentioned a hurricane coming up in the Med I knew this was bound to go pear-shaped. So it did, but not as soon as I had expected. Much of this film is actually a reasonably competent adaptation of Dumas' novel. Young Edmond Dantes (Robert Donat) is framed by three men as a member of a Bonapartist conspiracy; he is jailed without trial in a fortress prison off the coast near Marseilles where a fellow prisoner tells him about a fabulous treasure. Eventually Dantes escapes, finds the hoard and re-appears in France as the wealthy and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. The sets look good and fit the period; the acting is not outstanding but perfectly acceptable. However, over time the film re-interprets Dantes in a way that works less and less. While in the novel he wants vengeance (he is a much more ambiguous character) here he is interested in justice. There is no doubt about that he takes the moral high ground - always. The consequence is that the ending is changed beyond recognition. There is a strange trial where Monte Cristo is accused but turns the tables on the state prosecutor Villefort (Louis Calhern), who is one of the three villains. The film does not only handle this trial poorly, it also tacks on the unification of Dantes with his former bride (Elissa Landi), and everything descends into happiness and harmony. In short, director Rawland V. Lee gives us a straightforward adventure story, throwing away the chance to make a much better, more complex and more interesting film.

" Can it be, so difficult to outwit the 6 year old minds who guard me ?

[thinker1691 · 9/10 · 6 September 2010]

In 1844, French author Alexander Dumas completed his most famous work called " The Count of Monte Cristo. " Since then, not only has it become a Standard Classic among the great works of literature, but has been rendered onto the Silver Screen, five times. This is the 1934 version which hosts the great film star, Robert Donat as Edmond Dantes. If you have read the book, following the movie is not difficult. The story tells of Edmond Dantes, a young sailor and 1st Mate to the Captain, who returns to his home port of Marseille, to marry Mercedes (Elissa Landi) his intended, despite the fact a young Mondego (Sidney Blackmer) want to marry her too. After, explaining to the owner, that the ship's Captain, died during the voyage, he is promoted Captain, to the dismay of the supercargo Danglars (Raymond Walburn), but which is used in a plot by Mondego and Danglars and furthered by the ambitious prosecutor De Villefort (Louis Calhern). Imprisoned in the infamous prison, the Château D'if, Dante's is befriended by the Italian monk, the Abbe Faria (O.P.Heggie) who bequeathes to the falsely accused man, a fabulous fortune with which to seek revenge with. This version is the original film directed by Rowland Lee and is in Black and white. It's a structured movie with a children's fairy tale attitude. The author, Alexander Dumas would have approved of it. ****

Not bad

[terric · 7/10 · 22 June 1999]

It wasn't bad. According to the film stats listed, it was supposed to be a b/w movie, so I guess the version I saw was colorized. I haven't seen any other versions, or read the entire book for that matter, so I guess I don't have a basis for comparison.

Bad Version

[fernandodumas-78819 · 1/10 · 5 May 2021]

Bad version. Edmond is a rebel, he was imprisoned unfairly for 13 years when he escapes and starts his revenge. He is not a man who fights in institutions, he rebels against the whole French legal-political system to start his revenge.

As Ivan Karamazov rejects God, Edmond rejects institutions that would be corrupt and allow the suffering of an innocent person. His hatred has corrupted him and the film forgets about it. The film does not show that man corrupted by hatred initiating his revenge.

The ending was stupid.