L'épée de Monte-Cristo

This is obviously yet another offshoot of Alexandre Dumas's "The Count Of Monte Cristo": however, from those I have watched, this is the one with the most tenuous connection – since the famed treasure has been bequeathed to one of the characters involved in the narrative simply because he was the best friend of Edmond Dantes…which would imply the latter having had no living relatives, thus negating the wife, son and grandson presented as rightful – and, usually, wronged – heirs in previous efforts (clearly made by other hands) spun from the original!

In any case, this Edward L. Alperson production, written by the director (whose first and sole venture for the big-screen in the latter capacity this proved to be – no wonder his name was unfamiliar to me!), is nothing if not a hodgepodge of ideas borrowed from other films: to begin with, a raid on a coach sees the bandits wearing handkerchiefs over their mouths just like in a Western!; most crucially, we have the presence of a (female) avenger played by Paula Corday referred to as "The Masked Cavalier" – but, in reality, a member of the French nobility whose mansion is conveniently outfitted a' la the Batcave with secret passages to facilitate her constant comings and goings – which suggests that Geraghty somehow got his wires crossed with a typical Zorro adventure!

Unusually, the male protagonist (played by frequent Western/war movie star George Montgomery – here effectively channeling Clark Gable!) shifts allegiances from an antagonist of the heroine to her ally and, predictably, lover (he being a Dragoon captain in the army of Louis Napoleon, not to mention a ladies' man who can never recall the name of his conquests!). Villainy is supplied by reptilian Berry Kroeger (as the ineffectual Emperor's half-brother, who fancies himself the power behind the throne and invariably also covets the Monte Cristo estate!) and burly William Conrad (when falling to his death at the climax, we are gratuitously treated to a shot of him hitting the ground with a loud thud!); others in the cast: Steve Brodie as Montgomery's obligatory sparring sidekick, Robert Warwick as Corday's tradition-bound uncle and the current guardian of the invaluable fortune at stake (whose location is inscribed on the hilt of the titular weapon) and Rhys Williams as the insurgent Mayor all-too-readily given away by his cohorts (amusingly, rather than devising a sensible plan to overthrow the oppressive regime, their underground meetings are replete with enthusiastic but wholly pointless outcries of "Down with Napoleon!"). Another unintentionally amusing moment comes when Corday, wounded in a swordfight with Kroeger, looks askance (in a cutaway to her incredulous face as if to say, "Get on with it!") at Montgomery who engages Kroeger not only in action but in sarcastic banter!

While the film is no classic and a few rungs below the standard of even the recently-viewed THE RETURN OF MONTE CRISTO (1946), there is no denying the sheer entertainment value and appealing pictorial qualities (for what it is worth, this was shot in a process boasting the unwieldy name of Supercinecolor!) to be elicited from this type of unassuming action-oriented fare. Indeed, I am toying with the idea of including in the current Easter epic marathon yet another low-budget variation on the source material concerned – namely SWORD OF VENUS (1953), which has just been made available for those able and willing to lay their hands on it...

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" .

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.

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