''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is a 1943 French-Italian

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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Robert Vernay Robert Vernay (May 30, 1907 in Paris – October 17, 1979 in Paris) was a French director and screenwriter. Career In 1937, Vernay worked as assistant director to Julien Duvivier on ''Pépé le Moko''. In 1944, Vernay directed an adaptation of ...

with Ferruccio Cerio as the supervising director. Based on the classic 1844 novel '' Le Comte de Monte Cristo'' by Alexandre Dumas père, this two-part film stars Pierre Richard-Willm in the title role. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the Cité Elgé in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

René Renoux René Renoux (1904–2000) was a French art director.Buache p.162 Selected filmography * ''The Pure Truth'' (1931) * ''Topaze (1933 French film), Topaze'' (1933) * ''Prince Jean (1934 film), Prince Jean'' (1934) * ''The Lady of the Camellias (193 ...

Plot

Edmond Dantès, first mate of a merchant ship returning from the Orient, having taken command of his ship after the death of the captain, docks at

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

to deliver a letter to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. As a result of this imprudence, committed to respect the will of his predecessor, he falls victim to a plot hatched by the sailor Caderousse, by the officer Fernand Mondego (later Count de Morcerf), in love with Mercédès, Dantès's fiancée, and by the magistrate Gérard de Villefort (who fears to be compromised by the ultra- Bonapartist activities of his father, General Noirtier). Dantes is then taken in secret to the depths of a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

off the coast of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

…

Cast

* Pierre Richard-Willm as Edmond Dantès * Michèle Alfa as Mercédès * Aimé Clariond as Monsieur de Villefort * Marcel Herrand as Bertuccio * Ermete Zacconi as L'abbé Faria * Alexandre Rignault as Caderousse * Henri Bosc as Fernand, le comte de Morcerf * Jacques Baumer as Noirtier * André Fouché as Benedetto * René Bergeron as Le policier * Marie-Hélène Dasté as Madame de Villefort * Yves Deniaud as Pénélan * Fred Pasquali as Joannès * Jean Joffre as Dantès père * Paul Faivre as Brissard * Georges Colin as Le juge d'instruction * Line Noro as La Carconte * Charles Granval as Monsieur Morel

External links

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''The Count of Monte Cristo''
at Variety Distribution 1943 films French black-and-white films Films based on The Count of Monte Cristo Films shot in Italy 1940s French-language films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films released in separate parts 1940s adventure drama films French adventure drama films Italian adventure drama films 1943 drama films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Films shot at Cité Elgé Studios 1940s multilingual films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1940s French films 1940s Italian films French-language Italian films Films scored by Roger Désormière Films with screenplays by Charles Spaak {{1940s-Italy-film-stub