The Sword of Monte Cristo ** (1951, George Montgomery, Rita Corday, Berry Kroeger) Classic Movie Review 10,984

Rita Corday (1920–1992).

‘Her sword… Her lips… Her heart… Brought all of France to her feet!’ Well that’s a tough act to live up to!

Writer-director Maurice Geraghty’s 1951 film The Sword of Monte Cristo is a sub-standard swashbuckling romantic action adventure B-movie, set in the era of the French Emperor Louis Napoleon III (David Bond), trading off its title rather blatantly and emptily, though to be fair it is supposed to be an adaptation from Alexandre Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Rita Corday [Paula Corday] stars as Lady Christianne, who discovers the titular blade once owned by the Count of Monte Cristo and finds herself caught between good guy Captain Renault (George Montgomery) of the Royal Dragoons and bad guy French Crown Minister Charles La Roche (Berry Kroeger) as they battle it out over the famed count’s legacy.

Corday’s court charmer Lady Christianne leads a double life as a masked avenger stirring up the populace to revolt.

With its ideas from various famous stories, it is second-hand goods, but Corday does make a dashing heroine, and Jack Greenhalgh’s SUPERcineCOLOR photography and Raoul Kraushaar’s music are worthwhile.

Also in the cast are Robert Warwick, William Conrad, Steve Brodie, Rhys Williams, David Bond, Lillian Bronson, Acquanetta, Trevor Bardette, Crane Whitley, John Davidson, George Baxter and Leonard Mudie.

It starts: ‘France in 1858 was torn by an underground rebellion against the dictatorship of Louis Napoleon and his ruthless advisors.’

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,984

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