''The Count of Monte Cristo'' is a British 12-part dramatization of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

's 1844 novel of the same name. It was made by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and was screened in the autumn of 1964. The series starred

Alan Badel Alan Fernand Badel (; 11 September 1923 – 19 March 1982) was an English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears". ...

in the title role. As well as being the only BBC version, the serial survived the corporation's junking policy intact and is available on DVD.

Premise

Edmond Dantes, a sailor, is falsely accused and imprisoned by three men who have various reasons to be jealous of him. After 14 years imprisoned in the Chateau d'If he escapes, and, after recovering a treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo revealed to him by the

Abbe Faria Abbe may refer to: People * Abbe (name) Places * Abbe (crater), a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon * Lake Abbe, African lake * Abbe Falls, waterfalls in India Other uses * Abbé, the Fren ...

, a fellow prisoner, he embarks on a campaign of revenge against those who have wronged him.

Cast

as Edmond Dantes *

Natasha Parry Natasha Parry (2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress of Russian descent. The daughter of film director Gordon Parry (film director), Gordon Parry, she was married to theatre director Peter Brook from 1951 until her death, and ...

as Mercédès *

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

as Fernand Mondego *

Morris Perry Frank Morris Perry (28 March 1925 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, best known for his roles on television. Perry was born in Bromley, Kent, England. His TV credits include '' City Beneath the Sea'', '' The Avengers'', ''Z-Cars'', '' ...

as Danglars *

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

as Villefort *

Michael Robbins Michael Anthony Robbins (14 November 1930 – 11 December 1992) was an English actor and comedian best known for his role as Arthur Rudge in the TV sitcom and film versions of ''On the Buses'' (1969–73). Career Michael Robbins was born in ...

as Caderousse *

Anthony Newlands Anthony Newlands (31 January 1925, London – 6 October 1995), was a British actor, born Raymond Gordon Newland. His parents were Lilian Elizabeth (née Manning) and Frederick Stanley. Newland had two sisters: Jean Lillian Newland (born 24 J ...

as M. Morel * John Wentworth as Abbe Faria *

David Calderisi David Calderisi (born 21 June 1940) is a Canadian actor with a career in both Canada and the United Kingdom. Early life and education Calderisi was born in Montreal and attended McGill University. Career After training as an actor in Lo ...

as Jacopo *

Cyril Shaps Cyril Leonard Shaps (13 October 1923 – 1 January 2003) was an English actor of radio, television and film, with a career spanning over seven decades. Early radio Shaps was born in the East End of London to Polish-Jewish parents; his father ...

as Bertuccio *

Rosalie Crutchley Rosalie Sylvia Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was a British actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was perhaps best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in theatre and films, ...

as Mme. Danglars *

Patricia English Patricia English (October 1931 – 13 August 2016) was an American born, British television actress. Early years English was born Patricia Anne Shippam in Detroit, Michigan. Patricia Anne Fox was her maiden name and Patricia is of English par ...

as Mme. Villefort * Sandor Eles as Albert Morcerf *

Isobel Black Isobel Anne Gatward ( Black; born 15 December 1942), known professionally as Isobel Black, is a British actress. She is the daughter of the screenwriter Ian Stuart Black. Isobel Black attended Queen Elizabeth's Girls’ Grammar School in Barn ...

as Eugenie Danglars *

Anna Palk Anna Palk (23 October 1941 – 1 July 1990) was an English actress. Palk was born in Looe, Cornwall, England and educated at Rise Hall Convent in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Lo ...

as Valentine Villefort *

Edward de Souza Edward James de Souza (born 4 September 1932) is a British character actor and graduate of RADA, who is of Portuguese-Indian and English descent. Early life De Souza was the only child of Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De ...

as Maximilian Morel *

Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West End in 1926 an ...

as Cavalcanti * Richard Kay as Benedetto *

Valerie Sarruf Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 son ...

as Haydee

Production

The series was made in 12 episodes of 25 minutes each, with a total run time of 300 minutes. It was filmed in black and white and had an intense, theatrical style. The script remained largely faithful to the original plot, and is regarded as the best screen version of the story, with Badel as the definitive Count. The series was produced by

Campbell Logan Campbell Logan (1910–1978) was a British television producer and director.Jane Austen on Screen p.261 He produced a large number of serials for the BBC, often based on classic works of literature. Selected filmography * ''BBC Sunday-Night Theat ...

, and directed by Peter Hammond. The screenplay was by

Anthony Steven Anthony Steven (3 August 1916 – 26 May 1990) was a British television scriptwriter whose career spanned over three decades. Notable works include '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and ''The Forsyte Saga ...

. It is unknown if the production was broadcast live with pre-film inserts or if it was broadcast from 405-line

videotapes Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

which were

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

at a later date, although all episodes survive as 35mm

telerecordings Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Count of Monte Cristo (1964 TV series), The 1960s British drama television series BBC television dramas Black-and-white British television shows Television shows based on The Count of Monte Cristo Television series set in the 1810s Television series set in the 1820s Television series set in the 1830s