''The Return of Monte Cristo'' is a 1946 American

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

Henry Levin Henry Levin may refer to: * Henry Levin (director) (1909–1980), American stage actor and director * Henry Levin (economist), professor of economics and education at Columbia University {{hndis, Levin, Henry ...

and starring

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a South African-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Sch ...

Barbara Britton Barbara Britton (born Barbara Maurine Brantingham; September 26, 1920 – January 17, 1980) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for h ...

and

George Macready George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He claimed t ...

. It was produced by

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891 – January 25, 1977) was an American film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movies ''The Count of Mon ...

for distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. A

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

, it is a sequel to ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'' (1934) and ''

The Son of Monte Cristo ''The Son of Monte Cristo'' is a 1940 American black-and-white swashbuckling adventure film from United Artists, produced by Edward Small, directed by Rowland V. Lee, that stars Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, and George Sanders. The Small pro ...

'' (1940).

Plot

The grandson of the Count of Monte Cristo is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned on

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

. He escapes and seeks revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment.

Cast

as Dantes *

as Henri de la Rouche *

as Angela Picard * Una O'Connor as Miss Beedle *

Henry Stephenson Harry Stephenson Garraway (16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He generally portrayed amiable and wise Gentleman, gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Joseph Banks, Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny ...

as Prof. Duval *

Steven Geray Steven Geray (born István Gyergyai, 10 November 190426 December 1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in numerous famed A-pictures, including Alfred H ...

as Bombelles * Ray Collins as Emil Blanchard *

Ludwig Donath Ludwig Donath (6 March 1900 – 29 September 1967), was an Austrian actor who appeared in many American films. Life Born to a Jewish family, Donath graduated from Vienna's Academy of Dramatic Art and became a prominent actor on the stage i ...

as Judge Lafitte *

Ivan Triesault Ivan Triesault (born Johann Constantin Treisalt; in Tallinn, Reval (now Tallinn) – January 3, 1980 in Los Angeles) was an Estonians, Estonian-American actor. His parents were from the island of Hiiumaa. Life His first stage appearance was at ...

as Major Chavet *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, from 1923 to 1962. Laidlaw was born in Bu ...

as Cab Driver (uncredited)

Production

Edward Small made the film in collaboration with Columbia Studios, using an old commitment he had with Louis Hayward. Hayward was paid $35,000.

Reception

Reviews were positive. Edward Small announced plans to star Louis Hayward in ''The Treasure of Monte Cristo'' but no film resulted. There were films called ''The Treasure of Monte Cristo'' released in 1949 and

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

but not from Small.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Monte Cristo (1946 film), The 1946 films American swashbuckler films 1940s historical adventure films Films based on The Count of Monte Cristo Films set in the 1860s Films set on Devil's Island Columbia Pictures films Films produced by Edward Small American historical adventure films American black-and-white films Films directed by Henry Levin 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language historical adventure films