The Count of Monte Cristo (1943)
"Le comte de Monte Cristo, 1ère époque: Edmond Dantès" (original title)

Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the notorious island prison, Chateau d'If. While imprisoned, he ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Vernay

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novel), Charles Spaak,

Stars:

Pierre Richard-Willm, Michèle Alfa, Aimé Clariond

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierre Richard-Willm	...	Edmond Dantès, Le comte de Monte Cristo
Michèle Alfa	...	Mercédès
Aimé Clariond	...	Monsieur de Villefort
Marcel Herrand	...	Bertuccio
Ermete Zacconi	...	L'abbé Faria
Alexandre Rignault	...	Caderousse
Henri Bosc	...	Fernand, le comte de Morcerf
Jacques Baumer	...	Noirtier
André Fouché	...	Benedetto
René Bergeron	...	Le policier (as Bergeron)
Marie-Hélène Dasté	...	Madame de Villefort
Yves Deniaud	...	Pénélan (as Deniaud)
Fred Pasquali	...	Joannès (as Pasquali)
Joffre	...	Dantès père
Paul Faivre	...	Emmanuel Brissard

Storyline

Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the notorious island prison, Chateau d'If. While imprisoned, he meets the Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner whom everyone believes to be mad. The Abbe tells Edmond of a fantastic treasure hidden away on a tiny island, that only he knows the location of. After many years in prison, the old Abbe dies, and Edmond escapes disguised as the dead body. Now free, Edmond must find the treasure the Abbe told him of, so he can use the new-found wealth to exact revenge on those who have wronged him.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | prison | island prison | escape | revenge | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Italian

Release Date:

12 November 1943 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Count of Monte Cristo

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regina Films, Excelsa Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 183 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was presented to the French public in two parts: "Edmond Dantès" and "Le châtiment" released respectively on 21st January and 26th February 1943. Similarly, it was also presented in two parts in Italy. They were called "Il conte di Montecristo" and "La rivincita di Montecristo" and respectively released on 12th and 17th November 1943.

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Connections

Version of The Crafty One (1964)

User Reviews

Political machinations

The best French versions of Alexandre Dumas's famous novel which influenced countless other stories including that of the "best movie of all time" (sic) according to IMDb users "the Whatsisname Redemption" ; Robert Vernay was so fond of this classic that he remade it himself in the fifties "Monte Cristo" in color ;by and large ,this black and white movie is generally considered the best .

The screenplay is masterfully written,and ,in this first part ,knows only one tempo:accelerated .There's never a dull moment and it can grab today's audience as well;Pierre Richard Wilm ,who plays Edmond ,who's been framed ,because of unscrupulous men ,may seem self-conscious and timid in the first sequences ,but it increases tenfold the strength of the cold ruthless avenger he 's become in the second part;all the cast is perfect ,with many great names of the time:Marcel Herrand ,Michele Alfa,Aimé Clariond,Alexandre Rignault ....) Released in the dark hours of the occupation (actually in 1942) ,when people were badly in need of escapism,the two movies found a huge audience .Quite rightly so.