The Count of Monte Cristo [Le Comte de Monte Cristo] **** (1954, Jean Marais, Lia Amanda, Daniel Ivernel, Folco Lulli) – Classic Movie Review 7058

As the falsely sentenced Edmond Dantès, imprisoned for life in the terrible island jail Chateau d’If, Jean Marais makes a dashing, ideal Count of Monte Cristo, in director Robert Vernay’s zesty and attractive 1954 first colour version of the Alexandre Dumas Père tale. It follows the famous 1934 Robert Donat version of The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as Vernay’s own previous 1943 black and white version with Pierre Richard-Willm.

This 1954 French version of The Count of Monte Cristo [Le Comte de Monte Cristo] is more or less everything you could hope for – fast-paced, luxuriously made and exuberantly performed.

Also in the cast are Lia Amanda, Roger Pigaut, Jacques Castelot, Folco Lulli, Daniel Ivernel, Daniel Cauchy, Jacques Castellot, Claude Génia, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Noël Roquevert, Louis Seigner, Julien Bertheau and Paolo Stoppa.

The dubbed US version is only 97 minutes long – half of its original running time of 183 minutes! It was originally shown in two parts, Part 1: Betrayal and Part 2: Revenge, and patrons had to pay twice.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte Cristo) is directed by Robert Vernay, runs 183 minutes, is made by Cineroma, Fono Roma, La Société des Films Sirius, Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld and Lux Film, is released by La Société des Films Sirius (France), is written by Robert Vernay, Georges Neveux and Daniel Ivernel, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas Père, shot in Gevacolor by Robert Juillard, produced by Jacques Roitfeld and Lucien Masson, and scored by Jean Wiener, with Production Design by Robert Clavel and Costume Design by Georges K Benda.

It is remade in 1961 with Louis Jourdan as The Count of Monte Cristo [Le Comte de Monte Cristo], 1975 with Richard Chamberlain as The Count of Monte Cristo and 2002 with Guy Pearce, Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris as The Count of Monte Cristo.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7058

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com