The Count of Monte Cristo

This should be a classic. It is a superb motion picture. It has a brilliant cast. An excellent interpretation of what the author of the book wrote. The director and producer was of the top class.

No film version can substitute for reading the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo. No doubt there is no substitute for reading it in French, but for English-speakers Robin Buss' 1996 English translation reportedly captures the both spirit and letter of Dumas' novel better than previous translations. In my opinion, the 1934 film also captures the spirit of the book, but omits many characters and story lines, and adds or rewrites others. Nevertheless, this film version is fun to watch.

Robert Donat was a fine actor who went on to win our hearts with Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr. Chips. People often forget that he was slated to play the lead in the Sabatini novel, Captain Blood, which went to Errol Flynn, thus establishing his career and mark on Hollywood (and what a mark!). Donat, according to his biographers, detested Hollywood and made several films in Great Britain. His role in the Hitchcock 39 steps is legend. This film, which is a slightly more faithful adaptation of the Dumas book than the one only recently (1/02) released, is superior to its predecessor in several ways. Alas, the other reviewer here is likely too young to have seen in its original B/W but it is a fine film. the lovely Elissa Landi plays Mercedes and Sidney Blackmer, Donat's betrayer. The character actor, O.P. Heggie plays the priest and fellow prisoner of Dantes. Veteran Louis Calhern, here youthful, plays the other betrayer and villain. There's no video or DVD, so if this shows up on the late show, by all means, check it out.

This briskly paced, attractively packaged version of the Dumas classic continues to stand the test of time, owing in large part to Robert Donat, an actor for the ages, and a supporting cast which includes the able Louis Calhern as Donat's strongest enemy, the florid Raymond Walburn as the weakest, and the aristocratic beauty Elissa Landi as the love interest. The story itself is melodrama at its best, with the hook of an innocent man not only wronged by self-seeking villains but wronged in a spectacularly cold-blooded, inhuman manner: railroaded to a veritable dungeon for a crime he did not commit and left to rot forever, only to be saved by a chance encounter with a noble fellow prisoner who bequeaths to him the location of a hidden treasure which he uncovers after a daring escape from his confinement. And then, using his vast fortune, he plots a great act of justice for his enemies, now prominent personages of great corruption, not by stooping to their level, but by cleverly manipulating them into self-exposure and ultimate destruction.

This excellently made picture is one that those you can watch over and over again. It's not however going to be anyone's all time favourite because you can't help feeling that it could have been a bit better. It's a great film but the extra magic which a film like this should have seems missing.

It was the STAR WARS of its day. It's a proper big budget, exciting adventure story and although it's as old to us now as it was to the makers of this film from the writing of the novel, it's still the most accessible and easiest to watch. There are none of the old fashioned traits of silent movies sometimes seen in some 1930s films in this. Perhaps it's because it's set in the past but the style of acting feels absolutely perfect for a story like this. It's almost a classic.

Although as a film it's faultless, in the hands of a different director I am sure it could have been even better. The themes of vengeance, justice and hope are explored well but they don't quite engage on an emotional level. Had this been made by someone like David Lean - or possibly even by Michael Curtiz or George Cukor, the nuances of those themes could have spoken to our hearts rather than just to our heads. There's nothing wrong with this film at all, it's just lacks that spark of magic to raise it to the next level.