The unfortunate title suggests a costume drama with maybe Tyrone Power or Cornell Wilde. Instead the movie's a 1940's crime drama set in San Francisco. Edmund Dantes (Langan) works as ship's hand, having no idea of his famous forebearer, the Count of Monte Cristo. He may have no idea, but crooked attorney Jackson (Brodie) does, and concocts a scheme with blonde siren Jean (Jergens) to lay hands on what will be Dante's inheritance. Fortunately, the ship's hand has friends who stand by him, even when he's brought up on murder charges. It's a better than average Lippert production. The Frisco locales add a lot of eye-appeal. And though there are elements of noir in the plot—spider woman, doomed man—these are not played up in the lighting or photography. It's narrative that's emphasized here, not moral shadings. Actors Langan and Jergens are okay in the leads, but it's really Brodie who injects spark. Too bad he never received the recognition he deserved. But then, like so many supporting actors, his job was to help carry the celebrity industry on his back, not on his name Too bad Lippert couldn't resist their penchant for low humor. Here, it's one of their favorites, Sid Melton (Tyson) plus the unfortunate old guy playing the buffoonish ethnic. As expected, these do nothing for the overall effect. Anyway, things do get complicated toward the end, but all in all, it's a pretty good little crime drama for a rainy evening.

Treasure of Monte Cristo - 1949A Lippert Films low renter that is better than I was expecting. It blends the old Count of Monte Cristo story in with a crime tale and is all set in modern (1949) San Francisco.Glenn Langan is a sailor just off a ship who gets mixed up with a blonde babe, Adele Jergens, and a crooked lawyer, Steve Brodie. Inside of 48 hours he ends up married in Reno and charged with murder in San Fran. Do the Police believe it is all a frame job? Of course not.Langan gets a bum defence from his lawyer and gets sentenced to the gas chamber. Needless to say he escapes and gets the goods on the nasty types who are setting him up for the long fall. The villains get theirs and Langan ends up with the blonde. (Future real wife, Adele Jergens)The film overcomes several story logjams with a fairly quick last 30 minutes. The entire production was shot on location and is the better for it. Always like to see cityscapes from the 1940's and 50's. The director was by veteran B-helmsman, William Berke. During the 1940's Berke was cranking out 6 to 10 low renters a year. His best film is probably 1957's FOUR BOYS AND A GUN. The cinematographer here is another b- film vet, Benjamin Kline. Kline worked on over 350 different films and television series. He is best known for lensing the film noir, DETOUR. If you are a fan of b crime films, then this one is worth a look.

This film is interesting because the two leads, Glenn Langan and Adele Jergens were married shortly after this film was made and they remained married for decades. Even more interesting is that in the film, Jergens meets Langan and marries him and then promptly destroys him! Nice, huh? It all begins when seaman Langan is approached by a lady (Jergens--who always looked a lot like Virginia Mayo and vice-versa). She claims to be an heiress who is on the run--unscrupulous people are trying to have her hospitalized in a sanitarium to keep her from getting her fortune. She feeds him a line that if he would marry her, then the shady family members would relent. Then, after this quickie marriage, they could quietly divorce. This is all pretty ridiculous and Langan is apparently quite stupid, as he falls for it. Pretty soon, he's set up on a murder rap and is headed to death row! So much for doing a lady a favor! Well, eventually Langan (naturally) is able to escape and he sticks around trying to unravel why all this occurred and who is behind it....and, oddly, how it all relates to the old "Count of Monte Cristo" tale! Overall, this is a good but not especially believable example of film noir. Too many improbabilities and plot problems prevent this from being anything more than a nice time passer for those who enjoy the genre.

One does not expect a whole lot from a Lippert feature but since noir enthusiasts are sifting through poverty row features to find new titles, they should check this one out. William Berke directed and Benjamin Kline lensed this competent,engaging crime actioner.Shot totally on location in San Francisco with plenty of night street scenes,the chase covers the Marina,the Filbert Street stairs on Telegraph Hill,the Embarcadero,downtown business area,the Tenderloin and Twin Peaks. Most Lippert films were produced in as little a five days,and rarely in over two weeks, This venture took eleven days but does not particularly look like a rush job. The stars Adele Jergens and Glenn Langan ,a very handsome couple indeed, allegedly met and married about the time of filming. Steve Brodie fans will love his portrayal of a sleazy lawyer. Michael Whalen,Michael Vallon and Dead End kid Bobby Jordan turn in good performances. Given an edgy title this film would be better known. It may not be in a class with the recently revived WOMAN ON THE RUN but it certainly should appeal to noir enthusiasts who crave a San Francisco locale.