The Count of Monte Cristo (United Artists) (1934)

Swashbuckling Romance Hit Returned by Public Request To answer the public demand for entertainment of world¬ wide appeal for all ages and tastes, Edward Small’s swash¬ buckling spectacle, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” will be brought back .... to the .... Theatre. It took almost two years to^— ! - m -j-:- produce this screen story based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel. Many months were spent in the preparation of the sce¬ nario by three of the screen’s ace writers, Philip Dunne, Dan Toth- eroh and Rowland V. Lee, to in¬ corporate in the film story all the action,, thrills, romance and ad¬ venture from the immortal book. To play the famed character of Edmond Dantes it was necessary to select the ideal personality and for that reason the producer se¬ lected the well-known English actor Robert Donat to play the title role in his first American film. Careful Casting Carefully casting the rest of the story the producer recruited outstanding personalities not alone for the principal roles, but for the countless supporting roles ias well. Elissa Landi was the ? final choice for the role of Mer¬ cedes, Dantes’ sweetheart; Louis Calhern won the part of de Ville- fort; Sidney Blackmer was cast as Mondego; 0. P. Heggie be¬ came the Abbe Faria; Irene Her- vey was given the role of Valen¬ tine; William Famum was chosen to play Captain LeClaire, and Raymond Walbum was cast as the villain, Danglars. Rowland V. Lee directed the adventure film which is being re- released by Eagle Lion Films. Use More Than 600 Players, Technicians In ‘Cristo’ Film Hit The services of 500 players be¬ fore the cameras and 185 techni¬ cians were required for the filming of Edward Small’s roman¬ tic adventure film of Alexandre Dumas’ immortal novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is being brought back by popular request .... to the .... The¬ atre. To recreate one function, the costume reception in the Paris mansion of the fabulously wealthy Edmond Dantes, one of the larg¬ est interior sets in the history of film production was built. Two huge sound stages were incorpo¬ rated into one with a grand stair¬ case built at one end which could accommodate 200 players to walk up and down at the same time without rubbing elbows. Hundreds of costumes, from gauzy harem clothes to braided uniforms weighing many pounds each, cost a fortune to create. More than 20 wardrobe assistants and 28 makeup experts were needed to take care of the hun¬ dreds of atmospheric players. Use Loudspeaker A loudspeaker system was used by Director Rowland V. Lee to relay instructions to his score of aides stationed at various places on the set. The electricity con¬ sumed in lighting this set during the six days it took to make the scene was estimated sufficient to light a small city for the same period of time. Robert Donat and Elissa Landi star in “The Count of Monte Cristo,” being re-released by Eagle Lion Films. Found It Difficult Adopting Customs Robert Donat, whose first American film starring role was in Edward Small's swashbuckling romantic adventure, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which will be brought back by popular demand to the screen of the .... Theatre, .... next, had difficulty getting used to certain things in Holly¬ wood. One was piloting a car on the right side of the street instead of the left. A second was asking for gasoline when he was used to calling for “petrol.” A third was the fact that a small, thin dime was worth more than a plump nickel. The fourth and most dev¬ astating was getting used to the California night birds which sang and kept him awake nights. By using the same patience he exercised in learning his part, Donat learned to take it all in stride like a native. ‘Count’ # Countess Refuses She may have been a countess but she wouldn’t play the part of a countess. During the making of Edward Small’s spectacle drama, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Director Rowland V. Lee was looking for someone to fill the role of a countess. He spied a stately woman on the set and asked her if she wouldn’t do the part. “No, thank you,” said the middle-aged woman, “I am just here to watch my daughter act.” The lady was the Countess Zanardi who is the mother of Elissa Landi, the film’s star. Donat, Noted Actor, Made U. S. Debut In ‘Monte Cristo’ Robert Donat, noted star of stage and screen, made his first appearance in American films in Edward Small’s spectacle adven¬ ture film of Alexandre Dumas’ great classic, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is being brought back by popular request .... to the .... Theatre. The actor, who plays the title role, could have made his debut in American motion pictures two years before when he was offered and turned down a part in “Smil¬ in’ Through,” opposite Norma Shearer, because he did not want to leave London at that time. Later he appeared in “The Pri¬ vate Life of Henry VIII,” the British picture which introduced him to American audiences, but it was not until he was offered the role of Edmond Dantes in “The Count of Monte Cristo” that he consented to transfer his tal¬ ents to Hollywood. Heads Star Cast In “The Count of Monte Cristo” Donat shares stellar honors with Elissa Landi, heading a large and imposing cast including Sidney Blackmer, Louis Calhern, O. P. Heggie, Irene Hervey, William Famum, Raymond Walburn and others. “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is being re-released by Eagle Lion Films, was directed by Rowland V. Lee. Villain Raymond Walburn, one of the best known come¬ dians of screen and stage, sacrificed his well-loved characterizations to play the villainous Danglers in Edward Small’s romantic adventure film of Alexan¬ dre Dumas’ immortal “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is returned by popu¬ lar demand .... to the screen of the .... Theatre. It is the first and last time that Walbum ever de¬ parted from his comedy performances. A Treasure Seeker Would Find It Tough Keeping Dough Now Filmgoers whose imaginations are fired by the fabulous treas¬ ures discovered by Edmond Dantes in Edward Small’s swash¬ buckling adventure film, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is being brought back by popular demand .... to the .... The¬ atre, may console themselves with the fact that a modern “Monte Cristo” would probably have to turn over a major portion of his discovery to the nation with ter¬ ritorial claims on the island. If the discoverer chanced to be an American and the island an American possession, Uncle Sam would claim all the gold, at least all over $100 worth and give in return paper money or bonds. Should the lucky fortune hunter start scattering the gold around, ala “Monte Cristo” in the form of golden dishes, and solid gold doorknobs, he would probably wind up before a judge on the charge of hoarding the precious metal. The screen story of Alexandre Dumas’ immortal novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” was di¬ rected by Rowland V. Lee. It is being re-released by Eagle Lion Films. The Debonair Count ‘Monte Cristo’ Film Thrills Parallel the Dumas Classic (Prepared Review) Sweetheart All the thrills, adventure, romance and excitement of Alexandre Dumas’ immortal novel are still timely and en¬ tertainment worthy as was proved last night when Ed¬ ward Small’s swashbuckling spectacle, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” was brought back by popular demand to the . . . . Theatre. Robert Donat, who has gone on to great film fame since his debut in “The Count of Monte Cristo,” was superb in the title role. The role of Mercedes was expertly handled by Elissa Landi. The story follows closely the plot of Dumas’ classic. It tells of the unjust imprisonment of Ed¬ mond Dantes by plotters against the French government. Dantes, with the aid of Abbe Faria, mi¬ raculously escapes and joins a band of smugglers. Discovers Fortune Discovering a fabulous treas¬ ure in gold and jewels, Dantes goes to Paris as the Count of Monte Cristo. There he becomes the most talked of figure of the day and plans his revenge on those who plotted and executed his long prison term. Others in the star-studded cast include Louis Calhern, Raymond Walburn, Sidney Blackmer, Irene Hervey, William Famum and O. P. Heggie. The top-flight direction of the long-remembered spectacle was handled by Rowland V. Lee. The film is an Eagle Lion Films re- release. Mat 1A Still R-300-90 ELISSA LANDI plays the leading role opposite ROBERT DONAT in "THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO," Eagle Lion's re-release of an Edward Small production, opening . . . . at the . . . . Theatre. Napoleon Paul Irving, who plays Napoleon in Edward Small’s spectacle drama, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which is brought back by popular request .... to the . . . . Theatre, has played the little Corsican more times than any other person. ‘Doughnut’ Donat Gives Doughnuts Workers on the set had a diffi¬ cult time pronouncing Robert Donat’s name during the filming of Edward Small’s swashbuckling, romantic adventure film story of Alexandre Dumas’ immortal novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” being brought back by popular demand .... to the .... Theatre. Most popular usage of the name, correctly pronounced “Doan-at,” was “Doughnut.” Very often, the star heard the electrician, grips, etc., refer to him as “Doughnut,” so when the film was completed he presented them with boxes of doughnuts. Page Three