The Count of Monte Cristo (1975 film)

The Count of Monte Cristo
Genre Adventure
Drama
History
Written by Alexandre Dumas, père (book)
Sidney Carroll
Directed by David Greene
Starring Richard Chamberlain
Kate Nelligan
Tony Curtis
Donald Pleasence
Trevor Howard
Isabelle de Valvert
Theme music composer Allyn Ferguson
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Norman Rosemont
Location(s) Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Portovenere, La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Cinematography Aldo Tonti
Editor(s) Gene Milford
Running time 119 minutes (European version)/ 105 minutes (American version)
Production company(s) Incorporated Television Company
Norman Rosemont Productions
Distributor NBC
Release
Original network NBC
Original release January 10, 1975

The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1975 television film produced by ITC Entertainment and based upon the book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by David Greene and starred Richard Chamberlain as Edmond Dantès, Kate Nelligan as Mercedes, Tony Curtis as Fernand Mondego, Louis Jourdan (who played Edmond Dantès in the 1961 film adaptation of the novel) as De Villefort, Donald Pleasence as Danglars, Trevor Howard as Abbé Faria, and Isabelle de Valvert as Haydee. ITC had previously produced a 39-part TV series based on the same source material, in 1956.

Plot

The film emphasizes the theme of revenge and manipulation of characters by Dantès until the final swordfight with Mondego. The courtroom scene in which Dantès brings down crown prosecutor De Villefort is a highlight of the film, as is the scene between Dantès and Mercedes when he reveals Mondego's treachery to her (which occurs almost precisely as in the novel). However, important characters are omitted and several scenes differ from the novel. Villefort's wife for instance, never appears, and there is no mention of her ever having poisoned anyone. In the novel, it is Mondego rather than Danglars who commits suicide, and Dantès and Mondego do not engage in a swordfight. As in the novel, Dantès loses Mercedes because of his vengeful bitterness. Haydee has only a minor role in the film, and there is no indication that she and Monte Cristo become lovers as in the book.

Cast

Characters omitted

The following participants in major sub-plots of the Dumas novel are not portrayed in the film:

Performance awards

The film was nominated for two Emmys: Richard Chamberlain for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy,[1] and Trevor Howard for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Richard Chamberlain: Awards at IMDb
  2. ↑ Trevor Howard: Awards at IMDb
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