I’ve always wondered about Richard Chamberlain's rise to fame; his acting seemed quite restricted, and there wasn't much variation in the characters he played. Here, he portrays Alexandre Dumas’ "Edmond Dantes." The story follows him as he is wrongly imprisoned after being accused of being part of a Napoleonic plot due to the jealousy of a fellow sailor and a dishonest judge. While incarcerated, he encounters the Abbé Faria (Trevor Howard), and they plan to dig their way out through the walls of the formidable "Chateau D'If," anticipating it will take only four years. It’s obvious that the older man doesn’t have that much time left. He does, however, reveal information about the legendary treasure of "Cardinal Slad." Following a convenient switch of bodies, “Edmond” manages to escape and sets out to get even with those who wronged him. What's interesting is how he exploits their weaknesses to achieve his goals – the avarice of "Danglars" (Donald Pleasence), the ambition of "de Villefort" (Louis Jourdan), and the disloyalty of celebrated general “Mondego” (Tony Curtis), who also happened to marry his beloved, "Mercedes" (played by a rather unconvincing Kate Nelligan). I particularly enjoy the early chapters of the novel; however, they are largely ignored in this version, with minimal focus on what led to his betrayal or his time spent in the confining prison that fueled his desire for revenge. Pleasence does a good job portraying the greedy banker, and Jourdan is effective as the prosecutor, but Tony Curtis seems past his prime, and the secondary storylines involving characters like "Caderousse" and the young, principled “Albert” (Dominic Guard) are mostly overshadowed by the disappointing central performance. The film looks decent enough; the production values and costumes are adequate – yet somehow it feels a little flat. The conclusion differs from what’s written in the book—usually this wouldn't be an issue, but here it strips "Dantes" of any trace of humanity, which I believe was essential to his eventual journey towards forgiveness. It wasn't terrible; I didn’t dislike it, but a more substantial performance from Chamberlain would have made a difference.

Source on TMDB