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.
16 Reviews
Monte Cristo's descendant and heir
bkoganbing11 July 2011
From seaman to seaman in five generations, that's how it has worked for the Dantes family. Glenn Langan plays the great great grandson of the fabled Count Of Monte Cristo who served up the coldest dish of revenge ever in literature. But Glenn hasn't got all those years to waste in the Château D'If like his ancestor. He's been scheduled to die in San Quentin for a murder he got framed for and for which his lawyer Steve Brodie had a big hand in framing.
Langan has no idea who he is nor that he is the heir to a fortune that's like the one Nicholas Cage found in National Treasure. But Brodie a bottom feeding shyster of an attorney has found out and means to get it for himself. In a truly complicated frame, with more plot that would usually characterize a Lippert Picture, Brodie ties a murder to Langan and then gets to represent him in court and throw the case to finish the job.
Figuring in all this is Adele Jergens playing her usual blond femme fatale who actually tricks Langan into marrying him. Kind of dumb, but Langan like a lot of us was letting his hormones talk for him.
This is a nicely done Lippert film much better than average with the obligatory appearance by Sid Melton. Try not to miss this one.
Langan has no idea who he is nor that he is the heir to a fortune that's like the one Nicholas Cage found in National Treasure. But Brodie a bottom feeding shyster of an attorney has found out and means to get it for himself. In a truly complicated frame, with more plot that would usually characterize a Lippert Picture, Brodie ties a murder to Langan and then gets to represent him in court and throw the case to finish the job.
Figuring in all this is Adele Jergens playing her usual blond femme fatale who actually tricks Langan into marrying him. Kind of dumb, but Langan like a lot of us was letting his hormones talk for him.
This is a nicely done Lippert film much better than average with the obligatory appearance by Sid Melton. Try not to miss this one.
Not bad
gordonl5617 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Treasure of Monte Cristo - 1949
A 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.
A 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.
Improbable but entertaining
planktonrules20 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
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.
San Francisco locations and a bad title
blanche-27 June 2020
I have to agree with other posters - calling this film Treasure of Monte Cristo makes you think it is some period piece rather than a noir.
Handsome Glenn Langan stars as Edmund Dantes, who works on a ship that arrives in San Francisco. He meets a stunning blond, Jean (Adele Jergens) - she's an heiress that has to get married or turn 25 in order to get her inheritance.
In the meantime, certain factions are trying to make sure neither one ever happens. She talks Dantes into marrying her. (P.S. I don't know who talked who into what in real life, but this good-looking couple did get married and stayed married until Langan's death in 1991.)
Jean then disappears from their hotel room, leaving an address written in soap on a mirror. Thinking it's the sanitarium where she was put so someone could get power of attorney, he rushes there.
Dantes winds up framed for murder, and Jean can't be found. His lawyer isn't much help; he's found guilty and the chair awaits. Meanwhile, Dantes has no idea that he is actually an heir, as the descendant of the original Count of Monte Cristo, and it's not Jean's inheritance they want - it's his.
Langdon and Jergens are fine, but some of the other acting is horrendous, particularly from Dantes' adopted Italian family. Steve Brodie is a sleazy lawyer.
The San Francisco locations are great, making for an enjoyable experience.
Handsome Glenn Langan stars as Edmund Dantes, who works on a ship that arrives in San Francisco. He meets a stunning blond, Jean (Adele Jergens) - she's an heiress that has to get married or turn 25 in order to get her inheritance.
In the meantime, certain factions are trying to make sure neither one ever happens. She talks Dantes into marrying her. (P.S. I don't know who talked who into what in real life, but this good-looking couple did get married and stayed married until Langan's death in 1991.)
Jean then disappears from their hotel room, leaving an address written in soap on a mirror. Thinking it's the sanitarium where she was put so someone could get power of attorney, he rushes there.
Dantes winds up framed for murder, and Jean can't be found. His lawyer isn't much help; he's found guilty and the chair awaits. Meanwhile, Dantes has no idea that he is actually an heir, as the descendant of the original Count of Monte Cristo, and it's not Jean's inheritance they want - it's his.
Langdon and Jergens are fine, but some of the other acting is horrendous, particularly from Dantes' adopted Italian family. Steve Brodie is a sleazy lawyer.
The San Francisco locations are great, making for an enjoyable experience.
Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949)
MartinTeller12 January 2012
You wouldn't guess it from the title, but this is a film noir about an elaborate frame-up job. A seaman gets off his ship, rescues a damsel in distress, and finds himself on the hook for murder. The plot is fairly predictable but still engaging enough for a good time. However, don't go looking for classic noir. Bland characters, including an annoying ethnic stereotype. Glenn Langan is okay but rather generic, and a lot more could have been done with the Adele Jurgens character. Only Steve Brodie stands out as the sleazy attorney. Except for a terrific POV shot at the climax, the photography is serviceable but nothing special. The film clips along at a reasonable pace and is mildly entertaining -- nothing more.
Misleading Title
dougdoepke28 February 2015
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.
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.
Monte Cristo in Frisco.
ulicknormanowen23 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
From Lewis Wallace (who said that "Ben Hur" used Dumas's blueprint) to Stephen King ("the shawshank redemption ",in which Morgan Freeman plays more or less the role of l' Abbé Faria) ,how many writers were inspired by "le comte de Monte Cristo"?
This one is not bad and smartly blends melodrama ( the hero's family's past) with pure film noir (the framed hero, lured by a femme fatale) and a good red herring ( who's actually got the fortune? ). The first part is the best (pay attention to the very first sequence ) , imitating Dumas's set-up ( although his hero did not get a death sentence, but an imprisonment in le château d'If de Marseille , without a trial at that!;and he escaped without a little help of his adoptive family).
But as the action takes place in late forties San Francisco , it was necessary to modify the plot accordingly ; things degenerate in the last third,and the love affair is not convincing at all (no chemistry between the actors) and conventional (in the book , Dantès does not marry his fiancée Mercédès who anyway is totally innocent)
Note that "treasure" was inspired by a novel from the nineteenth century itself inspired by a true story, reportedly that of a certain Pierre Picaud .
This one is not bad and smartly blends melodrama ( the hero's family's past) with pure film noir (the framed hero, lured by a femme fatale) and a good red herring ( who's actually got the fortune? ). The first part is the best (pay attention to the very first sequence ) , imitating Dumas's set-up ( although his hero did not get a death sentence, but an imprisonment in le château d'If de Marseille , without a trial at that!;and he escaped without a little help of his adoptive family).
But as the action takes place in late forties San Francisco , it was necessary to modify the plot accordingly ; things degenerate in the last third,and the love affair is not convincing at all (no chemistry between the actors) and conventional (in the book , Dantès does not marry his fiancée Mercédès who anyway is totally innocent)
Note that "treasure" was inspired by a novel from the nineteenth century itself inspired by a true story, reportedly that of a certain Pierre Picaud .
Treasure of Monte Cristo
CinemaSerf9 November 2022
Hmmm! Maybe this looked better on the page but sadly this attempt to modernise (and Americanise) the Monte Cristo tale just fell a bit flat for me. The one-gear Glenn Langan picks up the role of modern-day sailor "Edmund Dantes". He arrives in San Francisco only to find himself the victim of some thugs as he rides to the rescue of damsel in distress "Jean" (Adele Jergens). Consoling her leads to a quickie marriage but is she all she seems? Might she be trying to get him to reveal the location of the legendary treasure of his distant ancestor (which somehow might have managed to cross the Atlantic and the continental USA!). If you are expecting any swash and buckle, or a tale of vengeance and betrayal then don't bother. This is neither - it is a cheap and cheerful film-noir that uses the Monte Cristo treasure as a template for a rather far-fetched and silly story peopled by actors who are mediocre at best and who deliver a rather sedentary script that, along with some basic production standards, left me feeling just a bit hoodwinked!
One Could Do A Lot Worse Than This One!
skallisjr9 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
The "Monte Cristo" theme is kinda left in the background as the film evolves. At the very beginning, a businessman drops a letter addressed to "Ed Dantes" into a mail slot of the building he's in. He then goes into an office and is immediately struck down by a shadowy figure.
Then we meet the hero. He's a merchant seaman, with Second Mate papers. He's coming ashore, and as he gets his land legs, he sees a woman being chased by a couple of men. Being a gentleman, he rescues her. The two of them get away, and in time, she tells her story: she's an heiress who escaped from an asylum because she's being maneuvered into a situation where the people who've committed her would get her inheritance. If she reached a certain age (she's three months shy) or gets married, she gets the inheritance.
Her story seems valid, and she proposes that she and Dantes take a quick trip to Reno to get married (:only technically") so that she can get rid of all the interference. Circumstances maneuver Dantes into going along with the deal. They get a quickie marriage/honeymoon at a hotel, and the following morning, when Dantes goes for cigarettes, she disappears, and leaves a message with the address of the asylum.
Dantes returns to try to rescue her, and falls into a situation where someone gets killed. Dantes is arrested, and soon is convicted of the crime.
spoiler alert: by the trial, it seems obvious that the attorney Dantes has hired is no help. The girl he married fell in love with him (I wonder what the honeymoon was really like), and she tries to help him. He also has "family" -- San Francisco folk who effectively adopted him as a boy also help him.
More spoilers: One refreshing thing about the film is that unlike a lot of such movies, the police are not portrayed as being stupid.
The story pieces fall tiger rather rapidly toward the end, but this is a good, entertaining film. It's even better if the viewer is familiar with the Dumas story.
Then we meet the hero. He's a merchant seaman, with Second Mate papers. He's coming ashore, and as he gets his land legs, he sees a woman being chased by a couple of men. Being a gentleman, he rescues her. The two of them get away, and in time, she tells her story: she's an heiress who escaped from an asylum because she's being maneuvered into a situation where the people who've committed her would get her inheritance. If she reached a certain age (she's three months shy) or gets married, she gets the inheritance.
Her story seems valid, and she proposes that she and Dantes take a quick trip to Reno to get married (:only technically") so that she can get rid of all the interference. Circumstances maneuver Dantes into going along with the deal. They get a quickie marriage/honeymoon at a hotel, and the following morning, when Dantes goes for cigarettes, she disappears, and leaves a message with the address of the asylum.
Dantes returns to try to rescue her, and falls into a situation where someone gets killed. Dantes is arrested, and soon is convicted of the crime.
spoiler alert: by the trial, it seems obvious that the attorney Dantes has hired is no help. The girl he married fell in love with him (I wonder what the honeymoon was really like), and she tries to help him. He also has "family" -- San Francisco folk who effectively adopted him as a boy also help him.
More spoilers: One refreshing thing about the film is that unlike a lot of such movies, the police are not portrayed as being stupid.
The story pieces fall tiger rather rapidly toward the end, but this is a good, entertaining film. It's even better if the viewer is familiar with the Dumas story.
It's All Here!
rogeriverson22 November 2021
A Noir Gem!
Gunn7 December 2008
This little gem is by far the best of the batch in the Forgotten Noir Vol. 4 DVD Collection. I had trouble believing this was a Lipperts Films Production, but now I realize that William Berke was the reason as the best films in this set were directed by him. At first, after a prologue regarding the treasure of Monte Cristo, I wondered after 20 minutes, what does this have to do with Monte Cristo as it was going in a complete different direction and then at one point about 30 mins. in...there it was! It's loosely based on Dumas' story. Everything including writing, direction, cinematography, pacing was topnotch unlike others in this series. Glenn Langan, whose dubious claim to fame is the title role in "The Amazing Colossal Man", shows that he's a decent actor and can carry a film, Adele Jergens and the rest of the cast are very good. San Francisco is also a star in this film. It has all the elements of the best noir films! I can recommend this one with confidence.
Good Enough
boblipton23 November 2021
Glenn Langan is Edmund Dantes, a merchant mariner on leave in his home town of San Francisco, He runs into Adele Jergens. She is an heiress whose guardian keeps sticking her into asylums so he can hold onto her money. She offers him $10,000 to marry her, so she can gain control. He does so, and the next day is framed for murder. Now the story she tells the police is different; Langan picked her up, they got drunk and married in Reno, and that's all she knows.
It's a cheap Lippert production with little in the way of star power, but it's a nicely tangled little mystery in which, alas, many of its secrets are revealed in the title. Nonetheless, B director William Berke gets some nice performances out of the actors, as well as some nice location shots around San Francisco.
It's a cheap Lippert production with little in the way of star power, but it's a nicely tangled little mystery in which, alas, many of its secrets are revealed in the title. Nonetheless, B director William Berke gets some nice performances out of the actors, as well as some nice location shots around San Francisco.
Jetsam
jean-suchard23 November 2021
Life is too short to waste any time watching this piece of cheap junk that I would have thrown overboard from the vessel before it docked in San Francisco. I confess it was impossible for me to continue watching this turkey before it got half way. There is not a single redeemable item in this movie. It has the look of a low budget, rushed production, with a cast who hammed it up all the way delivering a poor script and directed without any merit. Never have I given one star to a movie until now. The plot is nonsense. It is a good thing TV was invented and people did not have to waste their money on something like this for entertainment. No stars, not a studio of note, and no talent anywhere.
Improbable, Unlikely Treasure Hunt
daoldiges26 November 2023
Treasure of Monte Cristo brings to mind certain images, elements, a a loose storyline. This particular story is very far from what the title could rightly be interpreted as offering. Glenn Langan is a handsome lead actor for sure, and initially looks like he's posing for a magazine shoot. He does begin to loosen up a bit and become more believable as the film progresses, but overall I don't think this was the part he was meant to play. There are several holes in the story/script and the direction of the film creates confusion to the degree that I found myself a bit confused at one point. The remainder of the cast is adequate at best. In the end this noir film is a bit too disjointed to recommend itself.
Worth watching for the sake of San Francisco in 1949
clanciai24 September 2023
Not bad for a bad show, but the improbabilities get a little massed up into absurdity, and the protagonist is stupid enough to trust anyone and believe anything he hears. He gets married to someone he has never seen before in his life, she claims she is an heiress to a fortune of billions, and that her guardian with other thugs want to keep her hospitalised in an asylum to get at her fortune, while the protagonist questions nothing. Of course he is being framed in a grotesque set-up to get at his own fortune, which he has no idea that he has inherited. His lawyer tries to post him a letter of the details and gets slain after posting it, he survives but only as paralyzed in a hospital, until someone kills him off there. The hotchpotch of intrigue gets worse and worse, but it doesn't last too long, only 78 minutes, and then everything is cleared up, partly thanks to the protagonist's Italian friends in San Francisco. Everything happens very quickly, it is difficult to hang on to the bolting merry-go-round, and very much is lost in the way, especially all possible shades of individual characters. It is an interesting entertainment but no more, while only the music is terrific.
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