Producer Edward Small had a great fondness for swashbuckling tales, presumably dating from this effort, which gave him an early success and kicked off the 30s swashbuckling cycle. For the first hour this is a very good version of the classic tale – the script is very strong, making it clear why the baddies wanted to do ill by Dantes, and how he remained in gaol for so long despite having so many people think well of him.
The second half, which concentrates on the revenge, is less good. It drags on and on, and is less fun, focusing on some particularly wet young lovers, with a rather bland courtroom climax when you want there to be swashbuckling. The whole movie feels as though it goes on for too long as well and the romance between Donat and Elissa Landi feels bland.
There's a full on moment where one of the baddies puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger! Robert Donat is very good in the lead - he had Hollywood at his feet after making this but didn't chase it up.
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