The best French versions of Alexandre Dumas's famous novel which influenced countless other stories including that of the "best movie of all time" (sic) according to IMDb users "the Whatsisname Redemption" ; Robert Vernay was so fond of this classic that he remade it himself in the fifties "Monte Cristo" in color ;by and large ,this black and white movie is generally considered the best .

The screenplay is masterfully written,and ,in this first part ,knows only one tempo:accelerated .There's never a dull moment and it can grab today's audience as well;Pierre Richard Wilm ,who plays Edmond ,who's been framed ,because of unscrupulous men ,may seem self-conscious and timid in the first sequences ,but it increases tenfold the strength of the cold ruthless avenger he 's become in the second part;all the cast is perfect ,with many great names of the time:Marcel Herrand ,Michele Alfa,Aimé Clariond,Alexandre Rignault ....) Released in the dark hours of the occupation (actually in 1942) ,when people were badly in need of escapism,the two movies found a huge audience .Quite rightly so.