The Count of Monte Cristo on Arte: Jean Marais in the 1954 version

Jean Marais plays Edmond Dantès in Robert Vernay’s The Count of Monte Cristo, airing on Arte in two parts, Betrayal and Revenge. Made in 1954, this French-Italian version was the first color adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s novel.

Returning from a trip to the East, Dantès is accused of Bonapartism and imprisoned in the Château d’If, far from his fiancée, Mercédès. His meeting with Abbé Faria paves the way for his escape and the discovery of a treasure. Under a new identity, he can then track down the men responsible for his downfall.

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Robert Vernay had already brought the novel to the screen in 1943, starring Pierre Richard-Willm. For this new adaptation, he returns to a two-period narrative: Dantès’s arrest and imprisonment are followed by his return to the society that condemned him. Opposite Jean Marais, Lia Amanda plays Mercédès and Roger Pigaut plays Fernand Mondego.

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