Treasure of Monte Cristo

The unfortunate title suggests a costume drama with maybe Tyrone Power or Cornell Wilde. Instead the movie's a 1940's crime drama set in San Francisco. Edmund Dantes (Langan) works as ship's hand, having no idea of his famous forebearer, the Count of Monte Cristo. He may have no idea, but crooked attorney Jackson (Brodie) does, and concocts a scheme with blonde siren Jean (Jergens) to lay hands on what will be Dante's inheritance. Fortunately, the ship's hand has friends who stand by him, even when he's brought up on murder charges.

It's a better than average Lippert production. The Frisco locales add a lot of eye-appeal. And though there are elements of noir in the plot—spider woman, doomed man—these are not played up in the lighting or photography. It's narrative that's emphasized here, not moral shadings. Actors Langan and Jergens are okay in the leads, but it's really Brodie who injects spark. Too bad he never received the recognition he deserved. But then, like so many supporting actors, his job was to help carry the celebrity industry on his back, not on his name

Too bad Lippert couldn't resist their penchant for low humor. Here, it's one of their favorites, Sid Melton (Tyson) plus the unfortunate old guy playing the buffoonish ethnic. As expected, these do nothing for the overall effect. Anyway, things do get complicated toward the end, but all in all, it's a pretty good little crime drama for a rainy evening.

Not bad for a bad show, but the improbabilities get a little massed up into absurdity, and the protagonist is stupid enough to trust anyone and believe anything he hears. He gets married to someone he has never seen before in his life, she claims she is an heiress to a fortune of billions, and that her guardian with other thugs want to keep her hospitalised in an asylum to get at her fortune, while the protagonist questions nothing. Of course he is being framed in a grotesque set-up to get at his own fortune, which he has no idea that he has inherited. His lawyer tries to post him a letter of the details and gets slain after posting it, he survives but only as paralyzed in a hospital, until someone kills him off there. The hotchpotch of intrigue gets worse and worse, but it doesn't last too long, only 78 minutes, and then everything is cleared up, partly thanks to the protagonist's Italian friends in San Francisco. Everything happens very quickly, it is difficult to hang on to the bolting merry-go-round, and very much is lost in the way, especially all possible shades of individual characters. It is an interesting entertainment but no more, while only the music is terrific.

One does not expect a whole lot from a Lippert feature but since noir enthusiasts are sifting through poverty row features to find new titles, they should check this one out. William Berke directed and Benjamin Kline lensed this competent,engaging crime actioner.Shot totally on location in San Francisco with plenty of night street scenes,the chase covers the Marina,the Filbert Street stairs on Telegraph Hill,the Embarcadero,downtown business area,the Tenderloin and Twin Peaks. Most Lippert films were produced in as little a five days,and rarely in over two weeks, This venture took eleven days but does not particularly look like a rush job. The stars Adele Jergens and Glenn Langan ,a very handsome couple indeed, allegedly met and married about the time of filming. Steve Brodie fans will love his portrayal of a sleazy lawyer. Michael Whalen,Michael Vallon and Dead End kid Bobby Jordan turn in good performances. Given an edgy title this film would be better known. It may not be in a class with the recently revived WOMAN ON THE RUN but it certainly should appeal to noir enthusiasts who crave a San Francisco locale.

Treasure of Monte Cristo brings to mind certain images, elements, a a loose storyline. This particular story is very far from what the title could rightly be interpreted as offering. Glenn Langan is a handsome lead actor for sure, and initially looks like he's posing for a magazine shoot. He does begin to loosen up a bit and become more believable as the film progresses, but overall I don't think this was the part he was meant to play. There are several holes in the story/script and the direction of the film creates confusion to the degree that I found myself a bit confused at one point. The remainder of the cast is adequate at best. In the end this noir film is a bit too disjointed to recommend itself.

This little gem is by far the best of the batch in the Forgotten Noir Vol. 4 DVD Collection. I had trouble believing this was a Lipperts Films Production, but now I realize that William Berke was the reason as the best films in this set were directed by him. At first, after a prologue regarding the treasure of Monte Cristo, I wondered after 20 minutes, what does this have to do with Monte Cristo as it was going in a complete different direction and then at one point about 30 mins. in...there it was! It's loosely based on Dumas' story. Everything including writing, direction, cinematography, pacing was topnotch unlike others in this series. Glenn Langan, whose dubious claim to fame is the title role in "The Amazing Colossal Man", shows that he's a decent actor and can carry a film, Adele Jergens and the rest of the cast are very good. San Francisco is also a star in this film. It has all the elements of the best noir films! I can recommend this one with confidence.