Sword of Venus

Robert Dantes, the rakish son and heir of the Count of Monte Cristo, is framed for murder by enemies of his father who lust after his legacy. Will he, like the original Dantes, escape from prison and take vengeance upon his persecutors? --- This is, admittedly, a somewhat obscure and cheaply made black-and-white swashbuckler, but is reasonably entertaining, if one doesn't expect too much of it. Robert Clarke, who would appear in many low-budget sci-fi films, is a likable hero, and Catherine McLeod does her best to lend some interest to the part of the lady who conspires against Dantes and then falls in love with him. Daniel O'Herlihy, a very fine and perhaps under-appreciated actor, is a first-rate villain, and the rest of the cast is solid. The action scenes and sword fights are amateurishly handled, however, and the settings are scarcely an asset. On the plus side, some interest is afforded by the ladies' gowns, which are more décolleté than one might expect. --- Recommended only for fans of the genre or as a pleasant time killer.

How many versions of Dumas ' famous book are there? More than you'll ever see ;Lewis Wallace declared that "le comte de Monte Cristo" was his main inspiration for "Ben Hur " ; "the shawkshank redemption " is based on a S. King 's novella which borrows a lot from it too....

"Sword of Venus " is the story of the heir of a dying father Edmond Dantès with a heart condition ; the sword of Venus is represented by a reluctant femme fatale who will be the baddies' bait ; but the song remains the same ,as though history repeated itself : Dantès son is falsely accused of murder, sent to the guillotine (but winds up in a quarry where convicts do hard labor ) ,escapes and revenge is a dish best eaten cold .

The story is action-packed , with enough plot holes to fill the Albert Hall , and too hurried for comfort.

I had never heard of this movie, never, and after watching it, I understand why.... I won't say any harm about this little cute swashbuckler from RKO Pictures. Howard Hughes' company did not provide so many of such films, besides AT SWORDS POINT, from director Lewis Allen, with Cornel Wilde. This one is definitely below this level, but it remains agreeable and deserves respect, despite the low budget and bland performances. The title may let you expect a science fiction film, beware, not a swashbuckler. I hardly know any of the actors and actresses. Just try, it will only cost you seventy two minutes of your time.

Robert Clarke is the son of the Count of Monte Cristo, whom he adores, but from whom he is estranged. In the meantime, Clarke takes noble ladies on tours of Paris' dives. But the descendants of the men the Count has revenged himself on seek their own vengeance, and the Count's fabulous wealth, so Clarke is accused of murdering the man the baddies have offed, married to Catherine McLeod so she can beg. Mercy from the judge, and sent to the mines to work out his sentence. Will he escape? Will he gain his vengeance on the men who seek vengeance on the Count for taking his vengeance? What is he mining?

It's directed with some ability by Harold Daniels, but alas, it's from a script by Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen, whose specialty lay in writing horrible sequels to swashbuckling masterpieces, like Daughter of Doctor Jekyll and Lady in the Iron Mask.

At this point in my reviews, I usually include some well known names, but the most interesting among the cast and crew is production designer Theobold Holsopple. That seems to be his real name, from which I conclude that his parents hated him from birth.

This is easily the most obscure – judging also by the poor quality of the print obtained – offshoot of the Alexandre Dumas perennial "The Count Of Monte Cristo" with, unsurprisingly, a totally meaningless title and a cheapjack production (by the ubiquitous writer/producer team of Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg) into the bargain! Ironically, out of the five films related to the tale I have watched in the last few days, it is the only one in which that character has made a personal appearance – but, given, his embarrassingly doddering state here (inaudibly egging a coachman on to hasten the journey towards the scene of a duel between his philandering son - which had already provoked a catfight in a tawdry nightspot - and slighted best friend, yet fainting as soon as he is on his feet from all the excitement…not to mention eventually expiring from a mere broken heart over his heir's apparent ingratitude!) really does him no credit!!

Incidentally, rather than appropriating the famed treasure for themselves, the trio of villains – two of them off-springs of Edmond Dantes' old enemies and the sole survivor, Dan O'Herlihy's wily Danglars – they determine to have the son convicted of a staged murder (one would think a change of tactic was in order so as not to immediately give themselves away…yet The Son Of Monte Cristo himself seems blissfully unaware of their identity here!?), while obtaining his signature in prison, so that his estate can then be sold off to third parties and rendering the old man's legacy obsolete!! The plot does get inordinately complex for this type of fare: characters not only repeatedly feign to be someone else, but even take turns hiding under bandages (one of the biggest laughs here has the man posing as the hero being first pierced through with a spear then literally climbing over a balcony to exacerbate the drama of his demise with a fall!).

While protagonist Robert Clarke leaves much to be desired (naturally, the female member of his antagonistic trio becomes thoroughly besotted by his charms and has a change of heart – but whose final clinch is bafflingly interrupted by a toast being given in another room of the Monte Cristo location by utterly peripheral figures!), the 73-minute film is watchable for the participation of William Schallert as a drunken solicitor (also in cahoots with Danglars et al) and particularly O'Herlihy – clearly playing a man older than his real age, yet looking far sprightlier than the Count himself! – who lends his usual gravitas to the often silly and all-too-familiar proceedings (he also has a way with words, nonchalantly instructing a loutish innkeeper memorizing his deceitful speech to the young Dantes not to "vomit" the words!). In conclusion, I have three further adaptations of the original source to go through (from 1922 with John Gilbert, the renowned 1929 3-part French Silent version, and an 8-hour 1966 Italian TV mini-series), may be able to get my hands on one more (also French but dating from 1961, with Louis Jourdan) as well as yet another Pollexfen/Wisberg spin-off (the 1949 noir THE TREASURE OF MONTE CRISTO)…!