{"id":42724,"date":"2019-02-14T10:59:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T17:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42724"},"modified":"2022-02-01T00:14:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T07:14:25","slug":"count-of-monte-cristo-the-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42724","title":{"rendered":"Count of Monte Cristo, The (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It was not my sword, Mondego, but your past that disarmed you!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-42725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Poster.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring the time of Napoleon&#8217;s exile, a falsely accused sailor (Robert Donat) escapes from a dungeon with the help of his secret cellmate (O.P. Heggle), who tells him about hidden treasure on the deserted island of Monte Cristo. Donat emerges under a new identity as a count, eager to reconnect with his fiancee (Elissa Landi), who &#8212; thinking Donat dead &#8212; has married one of the men (Sidney Blackmer) responsible for Donat&#8217;s imprisonment. Soon Donat begins his calculated plan for the downfall of Blackmer, the corrupt city magistrate (Louis Calhern), and a greedy officer (Raymond Walburn).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Louis Calhern Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Prisoners<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Robert Donat Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis first sound adaptation of Alexandre Dumas&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo\">beloved classic<\/a> is cited by many as one of the best, and it remains a rousing, finely told adventure tale. In his Hollywood debut, Donat is convincingly determined in his efforts, and suitably noble when events take an unexpected turn in the final portion of the screenplay. There is undeniable satisfaction to be had as each of the self-serving men who have gravely wronged Donat (indeed, sent him to his supposed death without concern) get their come-uppance in a fashion exactly suited to their temperament; while the saintly Heggle may worry about Donat&#8217;s feverish resentment getting the better of him, Donat makes it clear that his vengeance is not just specific to his own cause but symbolic, meant to rid the world of at least a few sources of unmitigated corruption. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Robert Donat as Edmond Dantes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Donat.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Donat.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Donat.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Donat-128x99.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Donat-300x232.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Cinematography.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Cinematography-128x99.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Count-of-Monte-Cristo-Cinematography-300x232.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0025004\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/71562\/the-count-of-monte-cristo#articles-reviews?articleId=337147\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1934\/09\/27\/archives\/a-firstrate-film-version-of-the-count-of-monte-cristo-at-the-rivoli.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It was not my sword, Mondego, but your past that disarmed you!&#8221; Synopsis: During the time of Napoleon&#8217;s exile, a falsely accused sailor (Robert Donat) escapes from a dungeon with the help of his secret cellmate (O.P. Heggle), who tells him about hidden treasure on the deserted island of Monte Cristo. Donat emerges under a new identity as a count, eager to reconnect with his fiancee (Elissa Landi), who &#8212; thinking Donat dead &#8212; has married one of the men&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42724\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42724"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80837,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724\/revisions\/80837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}