The Lowdown

This is an hour-long radio version by the Mercury Theater, first broadcast in 1938. It stars Orson Welles as Dantes.

Some Observations

• Welles acknowledges in his introduction how difficult it is to adapt the story in an hour. This certainly is the case here as in this version Dantes doesn't escape from the Chateau d'If until 36 minutes in, leaving very little time for the later parts of the story.
• But strangely, they still chose keep the full conspiracy storyline including Villefort's involvement. As a result, all of the revenge has to be rolled into one scene at the end and seems very cursory (Fernand and Villefort are roped into the Danglars financial ruin revenge).
• Appearing in the title role, Welles was only 22 at the time of broadcast. He had founded the Mercury Theatre company with John Houseman in 1937 and it was an important pre-cursor to his career as a major film star. As well as stage plays the company also produced a range of classic stories as radio dramas, broadcast in the latter half of 1938 and including Treasure Island, Dracula, and the infamous War of the Worlds adaptation.

The Verdict

With almost all of the plot elements except the imprisonment omitted, this can't really be counted as a serious adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, and will probably only be of interest because of Orson Welles himself.

Characters and Plot Elements