L'épée de Monte-Cristo

A sword which provides the key to a fabulous treasure becomes the centre of a struggle to overthrow the Emperor of France. The country's conniving chief minister will stop at nothing to gain possession of the sword. But he is challenged by an officer loyal to Emperor Louis Napoleon. Aiding the officer is a beautiful countess, leading a double-life as a masked vigilante.

With The Sword of Monte Cristo you get secret passages, thrilling sword fights, horseback chases, treachery, narrow escapes, nice costumes and great set pieces, not to forget a masked hero bouncing around, wielding a fair sword, sending the soldiers around the bend by being one step ahead of them, but the twist is that it's Paula Corday, Lady Christianne, an elegant aristocrat, who wants to free France from tyranny and feels that as the heir of the sword engraved with a map leading to the treasure of Monte Cristo could do wonders in the cause. The villain LaRoche - played by Berry Kroeber- is one conniving toe rag and he wants the sword and is willing to torture Lady Christianne's uncle for it.

The Sword of Monte Cristo is a brisk and exciting little swashbuckler with plenty of sword fights, an energetic plot that holds many challenges for the protagonists - Paula Corday and George Montgomery.

A small jewel among the short filmography of the unequal actress Acquanetta, that will charm to all its fans. It is an entertained and quite related history in powerful "supercinecolor" with all the topics of this type of films where the sumptuous scenography is worthy of mention.

In this film we see the beautiful Acquanetta far away of her characteristic wild roles of woman to the ones that was usual in the Universal and shows that was a versatile actress who in the role adequate, she could show that was an exemplary actress.

A great deal has been spoken on some movies that have resisted the step of the time without to have been directed by large names, and this film is one of them. I expect that the time put the things in its place and Acquanetta even to the history as an actress of indelible legend.

This Edward L. Alperson quickie (set in France during the reign of Louis Napoleon but as usual full of American accents) is historically interesting as the first film to be "Presented in SupercineColor" (as the credits proudly proclaim) but also full of other pleasant surprises.

In addition to the surprisingly agile camerawork, the agile swashbuckling hero is a heroine. Although the hero is officially George Montgomery as Captain Renault ("the famous hero of the Crimean War") the swordplay is actually carried out by a female Zorro played by Rita Corday. By day Lady Christianne in white, by night the Masked Cavalier in black (and always in glossy red lipstick), sword in hand and with her hat at a rakish angle, she leaps about like Douglas Fairbanks.

One of the heavies she crosses swords with is a very heavy heavy William Conrad, while the supporting cast also includes 'Out of the Past's Steve Brodie, 'Gun Crazy's Berry Kroger, Lillian Bronson as Alfred to Christianne's Batwoman; and there's even a brief appearance by former Captive Wild Woman Aquanetta as "little Spanish dove" Felice.

French history is given a rough ride ! The marquis and his daughter,par excellence aristocrats,not only are fighting for freedom but also , that crowns it ,the return of the Republic! Napoleon the Third's minister is his own brother (?), a greedy wicked man named Laroche(?)

Adapted from Alexandre Dumas ,the credits read ,but only the proper noun of the title and ,at a pinch ,the hole they dig between the two dungeons were borrowed from the French writer.

Whereas Edmond Dantès took place in the nineteenth century , one learns that his treasure was preserved even during the Revolution (1789) ;and he died well before this sword tale happens.

If you forget history , all about history , this is an average swashbuckler ,with a touch of feminism (the mysterious masked rider is a woman) , a riddle written on the sword which indicates the place where the treasure is concealed: a treasure which ,should we believe the heroine ,could put an end to poverty and make French people live happily ever after ...The score features snatches of the French national anthem ,"La Marseillaise" .

Having a female lead was interesting and refreshing, unfortunately the plot wasn't. Pretty bog-standard stuff, and the fights weren't too exciting either. Although the colour was lush and well used.

3/10: Poor storyline and average acting