MONTE CRISTO (1929) Jean Angelo, Lil Dagover & Gaston Modot | Adventure | B&W | Vintage Cinema

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Monte Cristo (1929), also known as Le Comte de Monte-Cristo in France and The Count of Monte-Cristo in the US, is a French silent film directed by Henri Fescourt, and is a film adaptation of the 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, père.[1]

Long forgotten, the film underwent a restoration effort from 1999 to 2006 under the direction of Lenny Borger, with funding by the Arte channel.[2] A nearly complete reconstruction was assembled from four prints in Eastern European archives. The restored film received its North American premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival on 3 May 2015.[3][4]

Fescourt used four cameramen to best capture movement, and often filmed in real locations mentioned in the novel, including the prison of Chateau d'If.[5] The film has been critically praised as "an epic triumph of the silent cinema at its height," distinguished by its combination of commercial cinema dramatics and techniques used by French impressionist filmmakers (including micro-flashbacks, extreme close-ups, zip-pans, energetic moving camera, and extreme shifts in focus).[6] The BFI's Silent Film Guide writes that "the elegance and orchestration of the film-making is extraordinary" and praises the lavish scenes at the Paris Opera and Monte Cristo's mansion as "staggeringly opulent."

Synopsis:

After greedy men have Edmond Dantes unjustly imprisoned for 20 years for innocently delivering a letter entrusted to him, he escapes to get his revenge on them.

Cast & Crew:

Jean Angelo as Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo / Abbé Busoni
Lil Dagover as Mercedes, Countess de Morcerf
Gaston Modot as Fernand Mondego, Count de Morcerf
Jean Toulout as Monsieur de Villefort
Marie Glory as Valentine de Villefort
Michèle Verly as Julie Morrel
Pierre Batcheff as Albert de Morcerf
Tamara Stezenko as Haydée
François Rozet as Maximilien Morrel
Germaine Kerjean as La Carconte
Henri Debain as Caderousse
Robert Mérin as Benedetto / Andrea Calvacanti
Ernest Maupain as Monsieur Morrel
Bernhard Goetzke as Abbe Faria
Armand Pouget as Dantes' father

Directed by: Henri Fescourt
Screenplay by: Henri Fescourt
Based on: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Produced by: Louis Nalpas
Music by: Marc-Olivier Dupin (2006 Arte TV restoration)
Production Company: Films Louis Nalpas
Distributed by: Terra - United Artists
Release Dates:
• Part 1 – 25 October 1929
• Part 2 – 1 November 1929
Running Time: 218 minutes
Country: France
Language: Silent (French intertitles)