The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)

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

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas (novel), Philip Dunne (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Edmond Dantes is imprisoned in the Chateau d'If without trial, for carrying a message from Napoleon in exile on Elba. After being told that he died in prison, his fiancé Mercedes is forced to marry his rival Count Mondego. Twenty years later, Dantes escapes with the help of the Abbe Faria, who leaves him the treasure of Monte Cristo. Dantes, now called the Count of Monte Cristo, plans his revenge on the three who framed him.

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Plot Keywords:

betrayal | escape from prison | sword fight | revenge | napoleon | 

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Taglines:

The screen's monumental achievement of 1934!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Rätsel von Monte Christo

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward Small Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the version that "V" in "V for Vendetta" claimed to be his favorite film.

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Goofs

Edmond Dantes tells Abbe Faria that he has been imprisoned since February 28, 1815. Just before the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, the full-screen shot of Dantes' s supposed Death Certificate shows its date as March 15, 1824.

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Quotes

Edmond Dantes: [Mercedes has just shown him the false death certificate] I thought there must be something like this somewhere.
Mercedes de Rosas: I've had it ever since... for many years.
Edmond Dantes: Well, it speaks the truth. Edmond Dantes is dead.
Mercedes de Rosas: Then who is this Count de Monte Cristo who closely resembles him?
Edmond Dantes: The resemblance has been noted by no one but you. He is, in fact, to answer your question, a person so utterly unlike a man named Dantes they might have been born of different parents. Even the soul is not the same.
Mercedes de Rosas: I can believe...

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Connections

Referenced in V for Vendetta (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Marseillaise
(uncredited)
Composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1792)

User Reviews

Edmund Dantes's Code of Street Justice

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.