The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Philip Dunne (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 September 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The screen's monumental achievement of 1934!

Plot:

After greedy men have Edmound Dantes unjustly imprisoned for 20 years for innocently delivering a letter entrusted to him, he escapes to revenge himself on them.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Revenge | Napoleon | Prison | Dungeon

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Robert Donat	...	Edmond Dantes
Elissa Landi	...	Mercedes
Louis Calhern	...	De Villefort Jr.
Sidney Blackmer	...	Mondego
Raymond Walburn	...	Danglars
O.P. Heggie	...	Abbe Faria
Irene Hervey	...	Valentine
Georgia Caine	...	Mme. De Rosas
Walter Walker	...	Morrel
Lawrence Grant	...	De Villefort Sr.
Luis Alberni	...	Jacopo
Douglas Walton	...	Albert
Juliette Compton	...	Clothilde
Clarence Wilson	...	Fouquet
Eleanor Phelps	...	Haydee
Ferdinand Munier	...	Louis XVIII
Holmes Herbert	...	Judge
Paul Irving	...	Napoleon
Mitchell Lewis	...	Vampa
Clarence Muse	...	Ali
Lionel Belmore	...	Prison Governor
William Farnum	...	Captain Leclere
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wally Albright	...	Albert, Age 8 (uncredited)
Leon Ames	...	Beauchamp (uncredited)
Symona Boniface	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	...	Fencing Master (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
Paul Fix	...	Angry Citizen (uncredited)
Clarence Geldart	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Signalman (uncredited)
Sydney Jarvis	...	Ali Pasha (uncredited)
Edward Keane	...	Bertrand (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Detective (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack	...	Message Dispatcher (uncredited)
John Marsden	...	Pellerin (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Batistino - Dantes' Butler (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Mondego's Butler (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Manouse (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Cockeye (uncredited)
Desmond Roberts	...	Blacas (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Pirate Guard (uncredited)
William Wagner	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Niles Welch	...	De Villefort's Agent (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Dantes' Servant (uncredited)
Joan Woodbury	...	Dancing Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Rowland V. Lee

Writing credits
Alexandre Dumas père		(novel "Le comte de Monte-Cristo") (as Alexandre Dumas)
Philip Dunne		(screenplay) &
Dan Totheroh		(screenplay) and
Rowland V. Lee		(screenplay)
Philip Dunne		(dialogue) &
Dan Totheroh		(dialogue) and
Rowland V. Lee		(dialogue)

Produced by
Edward Small	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley		(photography) (as Peverell J. Marley)

Film Editing by
Grant Whytock

Art Direction by
John DuCasse Schulze		(as John Ducasse Schulze)

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nate Watt	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Vinton Vernon	....	sound

Stunts
Fred Cavens	....	fencing stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lee Crawford	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Buzz Gibson	....	grip (uncredited)
Louis Johnson	....	chief electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director

Other crew
Edward P. Lambert	....	technical director
Edward Small	....	produced under the personal supervision of
Louis Van der Ecker	....	technical director (as Louis Van Den Ecker)

Production Companies

• Edward Small Productions (as Reliance Pictures)

Distributors

• United Artists (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Loet C. Barnstijn's Standaard Films (1934) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1934) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1934) (France) (theatrical) (as Les Artistes Associés S. A.)
• Eagle-Lion Films (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1981) (USA) (VHS) (For Alan Entrprises)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1984) (USA) (VHS) (For Media Home Entertainment)
• Broadway Video (1990) (USA) (video)
• Video Treasures (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:AL (original rating) (1935) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

Robert Donat made his only trip to Hollywood during the production of this film. Due mainly to his poor health, he was unable to travel to Hollywood again to film any of his other roles.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fencing duel between Dantes and Mondego, in one brief shot near the end Sidney Blackmer holds his sword in his left hand instead of his right, which he does in the rest of the scene. This was obviously a shown in reverse as is often done to add footage.

Quotes:

Danglars:[after Dantes has been taken away to the Chateau d'If] Will you want me anymore, sir?
Raymond de Villefort Jr.:No.
Danglars:Not for the trial?
Raymond de Villefort Jr.:He's had his trial.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sea Hunt: Monte Cristo (#2.5)" (1959)

Soundtrack:

The World is Mine

Dantes' Revenge

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)