''The Count of Monte Cristo'' is a 1956 British cult swashbuckler adventure television series produced by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

/ TPA and adapted very loosely from the 1844 novel by

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 ...

by Sidney Marshall. It premiered in the UK in early 1956 and ran for 39 thirty-minute episodes dramatizing the continuing adventures of Edmond Dantès, the self-styled Count of Monte Cristo, during the reign of Louis Philippe I d'Orléans, King of the French from 1830 to 1848. The first twelve episodes were filmed in the United States, at the

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

studios, with the rest being filmed at ITC's traditional home of

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

. ITC produced a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

based on the same source-material, ''

The Count of Monte-Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', in 1975.

Cast

George Dolenz George Dolenz (born Jure Dolenc; akas: Giorgio Dolenz and George Dolentz; January 5, 1908 February 8, 1963) was an American film actor born in Trieste (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Italy), in the city's Slovene community. Biography Un ...

as the title character *

Fortunio Bonanova Fortunio Bonanova, pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll, (13 January 1895 – 2 April 1969) was a Spanish baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor. He occasionally worked as a producer and director. According to Lluis Fàbregas Cuixar ...

Robert Cawdron Robert Cawdron (29 December 1921 – 14 September 1997) was a French-born British film and television actor. Often cast as police officers, he had a long-running role on ''Dixon of Dock Green'' as Detective Inspector Cherry.The Guinness Book of ...

Nick Cravat Nicholas Cuccia (pronounced ''coo-cha''; January 10, 1912 – January 29, 1994), better known by his stage name Nick Cravat, was an American actor and stunt performer. Early life Nicholas Cuccia was born in Manhattan, New York City. His real ...

Guest stars who would go on to later fame included

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

Stratford Johns Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running ...

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 ...

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 ...

John Barrard John Barrard (12 September 1924 – 13 October 2013) was a British people, British character actor who had a career spanning five decades and who perhaps is best known for playing Dooley, Santa's No. 2, in ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985). ...

Raf De La Torre Raf De La Torre (14 February 1905 –15 July 1975) was a British actor who was a member of the BBC Repertory Company. Born in 1905 in Paris, France as Rafael De La Torre, he appeared in the films '' The Pickwick Papers'' (1952), Italian Atta ...

and

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

Episodes

# "A Toy for the Infanta" # "Marseilles" # "The Luxembourg Affair" # "The Texas Affair" # "The Mazzini Affair" # "The Carbonari" # "The Devil's Emissary" # "Bordeaux" # "Flight to Calais" # "Albania" # "Naples" # "The Art of Terror" # "The Experiment" # "Mecklenburg" # "The Portuguese Affair" # "Lichtenburg" # "Burgundy" # "Majorca" # "Sicily" # "A Matter of Justice" # "Athens" # "The Talleyrand Affair" # "The Island" # "The Barefoot Empress" # "The Brothers" # "Monaco" # "Point, Counter Point" # "The Black Death" # "Victor Hugo" # "Return to the Chateau D'if" # "The Pen and the Sword" # "The Sardinian Affair" # "The Affair of the Three Napoleons" # "The Deberry Affair" # "The First Train to Paris" # "The Golden Blade" # "The Duel" # "Andorra" # "An Affair of Honour"

Home media

A 5-disc DVD set containing all thirty-nine re-mastered and uncut, original episodes was released by Network Distributing Ltd Home Entertainment/Granada Ventures Ltd on 12 April 2010 (currently only in Region 2 PAL format; not yet available in the United States).

References

External links

* 1950s British drama television series 1956 British television series debuts 1956 British television series endings British adventure television series Black-and-white British television shows British drama television series English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television shows based on The Count of Monte Cristo Television series by ITC Entertainment Television series set in the 1810s Television series set in the 1820s Television series set in the 1830s Television shows shot at British National Studios {{ITCDistributions-stub