The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1934 film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel The Count of Monte Cristo. It was directed by Rowland V. Lee and starred Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, and Louis Calhern. The film also has two sequels that followed, The Return of Monte Cristo in 1936 and The Son of Monte Cristo in 1940, the latter directed by original director Rowland V. Lee.
Plot
In 1815, a French merchant ship stops at the island of Elba. A letter from the exiled Napoleon is given to the ship's captain to deliver to a man in Marseille. Before he dies of a sickness, the captain entrusts the task to his first officer, Edmond Dantes (Robert Donat). However, the city magistrate, Raymond de Villefort Jr. (Louis Calhern), is tipped off by an informer, the second officer, Dangler (Raymond Walburn), and has both men arrested after the exchange.
Dantes' "friend" Fernand Mondego (Sidney Blackmer) accompanies him to the jail. However, he, Danglers, and de Villefort all stand to gain from keeping Dantes imprisoned: Mondego is in love with Dante's fiancée, Mercedes (Elissa Landi); Danglers wants to be promoted captain in Dantes' place; and the man who accepted the letter turns out to be de Villefort's own father (Lawrence Grant). De Villefort consigns the unfortunate young man without trial to a notorious prison, the Château d'If, on the false testimony of Danglers.
When Napoleon returns to France, giving Dantes' friends hope for his release, de Villefort signs a false statement that he was killed trying to escape, which Mondego shows to Mercedes. Deceived, she gives in to her mother's deathbed wish and marries Mondego.
Eight years of solitary confinement follow for Dantes. Then one day, the aged Abbé Faria (O. P. Heggie), a fellow prisoner, breaks into his cell through a tunnel he has been digging. The two join forces; Faria calculates it will take five more years to finish. In the meantime, he starts educating Dantes.
However, as they near their goal, a cave-in fatally injures the old man. Before he dies, he bequeaths a vast hidden treasure to his protegé (Faria's enemies had tortured and imprisoned him in an unsuccessful attempt to extract its location). The body is sewn into a shroud, but while the undertaker is away, Dantes substitutes himself for the corpse undetected. He is cast into the sea. He frees himself and is picked up by a smuggling ship.
Dantes later follows the abbé's directions and finds the treasure on the uninhabited island of Monte Cristo. With a fortune at his command, he sets in motion his plans for revenge. To begin, he arranges to have Albert (Douglas Walton), Mercedes and Mondego's son, kidnapped and held for ransom. Dantes "rescues" the younger man in order to gain entry into Paris society, using his purchased title of Count of Monte Cristo.
First to be brought to justice is Mondego. While the French ambassador to Albania, Mondego gained renown for his bravery in an unsuccessful defense of Ali Pasha. Monte Cristo arranges a ball to "honor" his enemy, then arranges to have him exposed publicly as the one who betrayed Ali Pasha to his death at the hands of the Turks. Unaware of the count's role in his disgrace, Mondego goes to him for advice. Dantes reveals his identity and they engage in a duel using swords; Dantes disarms him and sends him home, where he commits suicide.
Next is Danglers, now the most influential banker in Paris. Monte Cristo uses his services to buy and sell shares, sharing tips he receives from his informants. When these turn out to be infallibly profitable, Danglers bribes a man to send him copies of messages to Monte Cristo. Greed leads him to invest all of his money on the next report, just as Monte Cristo had planned. When the tip proves to be false, Danglers is bankrupted. Once again, Dantes discloses his motive to his victim. Ruined, Danglers loses his sanity.
However, there are unexpected complications that threaten Dantes' carefully-conceived plans. Albert Mondego learns of his involvement in his father's downfall and challenges him to a duel. Mercedes, who had recognized her former lover upon their first meeting, begs him not to kill her son. He agrees. Fortunately, Albert deliberately changes his aim because his mother has told him who Monte Cristo really is and the duel ends without injury.
De Villefort has risen to the high office of State Attorney. Monte Cristo sends him information about his true identity and activities, which leads to his arrest and trial. At first, Dantes refuses to testify, in order to shield de Villefort's daughter Valentine (Irene Hervey), who is in love with Albert Mondego. However, when she learns of it, she urges him to defend himself. Dantes does so, providing evidence of de Villefort's longstanding corruption.
At last, with all of his enemies destroyed, Dantes is reunited with Mercedes.
Cast
Differences from the novel
The film changes some major details of the story. Villefort's murderous second wife is completely omitted from the screenplay, and at film's end, Dantes and Mercedes end up together. The character of Princess Haydee, who, in the book, falls in love with Edmond, is here reduced to little more than a bit part. She appears twice - once when she denounces Mondego, and again in the final scenes, when Dantes is brought to trial a second time and tries to shield Valentine de Villefort from disgrace by not defending himself. There is absolutely no indication of any romantic interest between Haydee and Dantes in the film - only friendship and concern. In another twist not in the novel, Mercedes tells Valentine how Villefort had him accused falsely and imprisoned, whereupon Valentine gives him a note begging him to go ahead and denounce her father publicly. In the film, Villefort does not go insane, as in the novel.
Characters omitted
- Benedetto
- Bertuccio
- Caderousse
- Edouard Villefort
- Eugénie Danglars
- Franz d’Epinay
- Heloise Villefort
- Louise d’Armilly
- Marquis Saint-Méran
- Marquise of Saint-Méran
- Maximilian Morrel
- Peppino
References in other works
- In the 2005 film, V for Vendetta, characters V and Evey Hammond watch this film. V cites the 1934 version as his favourite film and mimics some of the swordplay while watching. Not coincidentally, the two films share similar revenge themes.
External links
