The Lowdown

This is an American radio adaptation which ran from 1944 to 1952 starring Carleton Young. It's not an actual adaptation of the story but just lifts the character of the Count out into some separate adventures.

Some Observations

• This is a 'weekly adventure' type version, in the same vein as the 1953 George Dolenz one. The Count is not a dark and mysterious figure bent on revenge at any cost but instead is described in the opening credits as "A champion of right and justice whose life was devoted to the welfare of the common man". Each story has a self contained plot which is resolved within 30 minutes.
• Apart from the Count, none of the original characters or plotlines appear. The Count seems to have some kind of bumbling waiter called Rene who follows him around and acts as a comic light relief (or is intended to, at least).
• Almost all of the scenes have some kind of bizarre organ music in the background.

The Verdict

There's a branching off of The Count of Monte Cristo, which may have begun with the Robert Donat version, that seeks to portray the Count as more of a swashbuckling rogue who has lots of daring adventures. While this version isn't the worst of the lot, that's probably more through lack of notoriety rather than by design. It's pretty incoherent and has little to offer in any meaningful way.

Characters and Plot Elements