The Wife of Monte Cristo

The Wife of Monte Cristo is a 1946 American historical adventure film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring John Loder, Lenore Aubert and Fritz Kortner. The film is yet another spiritual epic inspired by the novel The Count of Monte Cristo and features its protagonist Edmond Dantès. It was made and distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation, on a higher budget than was usual for the studio which focused on cheap second features. It was successful at the box office.^[1]

The Wife of Monte Cristo
Directed by	Edgar G. Ulmer
Screenplay by	Dorcas Cochran Edgar G. Ulmer
Based on	The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Produced by	Leon Fromkess
Starring	John Loder Lenore Aubert Fritz Kortner
Cinematography	Edward A. Kull
Edited by	Douglas W. Bagier
Music by	Paul Dessau
Production company	Producers Releasing Corporation
Distributed by	Producers Releasing Corporation
Release date	April 23, 1946 (1946-04-23)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The film takes the same name as an unofficial sequel novel to The Count of Monte Cristo, namely The Wife of Monte Cristo, published in 1884 and attributed to Dumas; however, the novel was actually the first book of a two-volume English translation of the novel, The Son of Monte Cristo, written by Jules Lermina in 1881.^[2]

Plot

Edmund Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo, returns in 1832, now accompanied by his wife, Countess Haydee. Dantes is seeking revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment, and justice for the Parisians being mistreated by the Prefect of Police. Wearing a mask and going by "The Avenger", Dantes finds himself fighting with the Gendarmerie, getting wounded, and having Haydee wear the mask in his stead and take his place as "The Avenger".^[3]

Cast

• John Loder as De Villefort, Prefect of Police
• Lenore Aubert as Countess of Monte Cristo Haydée
• Fritz Kortner as Maillard
• Charles Dingle as Danglars
• Eduardo Ciannelli as Jacques Antoine
• Martin Kosleck as Edmund Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo
• Fritz Feld as Bonnett
• Eva Gabor as Mme. Lucille Maillard
• Clancy Cooper as Baptiste
• John Bleifer as Louis
• Egon Brecher as Proprietor
• Anthony Warde as Captain Benoit
• Colin Campbell as Abbe Faria
• Virginia Christine as Florice Michaud