![]() Lee and playwright Dan Totheroh had written a treatment based on the novel. Eventually Robert Donat was cast under an international star loan agreement negotiated by Joseph Schenck of United Artists. Fredric March was the original choice for the title role. This was the third film producer Edward Small made for United Artists. Eric Wilton as Dantes Servant (uncredited).Luis Alberni as Jacopo, Dantes' assistant.Georgia Caine as Madame de Rosas, Mercedes' mother.Sidney Blackmer as Fernand Mondego, Count de Mondego.Louis Calhern as Raymond de Villefort Jr.Robert Donat as Edmond Dantes / The Count of Monte Cristo. ![]() Dantès does so, providing evidence of de Villefort's longstanding corruption.Īt last, with all of his enemies destroyed, Dantès is reunited with Mercedes. When she learns of it, she urges him to defend himself. At first, Dantès refuses to testify, in order to shield de Villefort's daughter Valentine ( Irene Hervey), who is in love with Albert. Dantès sends him information about his true identity and activities, which leads to his arrest and trial. Albert deliberately changes his aim because his mother has told him who Monte Cristo really is, and the duel ends without injury.ĭe Villefort has risen to the high office of State Attorney. Mercedes, who had recognized her former lover upon their first meeting, begs him not to kill her son. Albert Mondego learns of his involvement in his father's downfall and challenges him to a duel. However, there are unexpected complications that threaten Dantès' carefully conceived plans. Dantès reveals his true identity to Danglars, who is left penniless and insane. When the tip proves to be false, Danglars is bankrupted. Greed leads him to invest all of his money on the next report, just as Dantès had planned. When these turn out to be infallibly profitable, Danglars bribes a man to send him copies of messages to Dantès. Dantès uses his services to buy and sell shares, sharing tips he receives from his informants. Next is Danglars, now the most influential banker in Paris. Dantès reveals his identity and they engage in a duel Dantès wins, but spares Mondego, who returns home and commits suicide. Unaware of the count's role in his disgrace, Mondego goes to him for advice. Dantès arranges a ball to "honour" 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. While the French ambassador to Albania, Mondego gained renown for his bravery in an unsuccessful defence of Ali Pasha. Dantès "rescues" the younger man in order to gain entry into Paris society, using his purchased title of Count of Monte Cristo.įirst to be brought to justice is Mondego. To begin, he arranges to have Albert (Mercedes and Mondego's son) kidnapped and held for ransom. With a fortune at his command, he sets in motion his plans for revenge. He frees himself and is picked up by a smuggling ship.ĭantès later follows Faria's directions and finds the treasure on the uninhabited island of Monte Cristo. The body is sewn into a shroud, but while the undertaker is away, Dantès substitutes himself for the corpse undetected. Before he dies, he bequeaths a vast hidden treasure to his protégé (Faria's enemies had tortured and imprisoned him in an unsuccessful attempt to extract its location). ![]() In the meantime, he starts educating Dantès.Īs they near their goal, a cave-in fatally injures the old man. The two join forces Faria calculates it will take five more years to finish. Heggie), a fellow prisoner, breaks into his cell through a tunnel he has been digging. Deceived, she gives in to her mother's deathbed wish and marries Mondego.Įight years of solitary confinement follow for Dantès. When Napoleon returns to France, giving Dantès' friends hope for his release, de Villefort signs a false statement that he was killed trying to escape, which Mondego shows to Mercedes. De Villefort consigns Dantès without trial to a notorious prison, the Château d'If, on the false testimony of Danglars. (Calhern), is tipped off by an informer, the second officer, Danglars ( Raymond Walburn), and has both men arrested after the exchange.ĭantès' friend Fernand Mondego ( Sidney Blackmer) accompanies him to the jail, but he, Danglars, and de Villefort all stand to gain from keeping Dantès imprisoned: Mondego is in love with Dantès' fiancée, Mercedes (Landi) Danglars wants to be promoted captain in Dantès' place and the man who accepted the letter turns out to be de Villefort's father ( Lawrence Grant). However, the city magistrate, Raymond de Villefort, Jr. Before he dies of a sickness, the captain entrusts the task to his first officer, Edmond Dantès (Donat). A letter from the exiled Napoleon is given to the ship's captain to deliver to a man in Marseille. In 1815, a French merchant ship stops at the island of Elba. Robert Donat and Elissa Landi in The Count of Monte Cristo
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |