The Count of Monte Cristo - Volume 9

George Dolenz stars as Edmond Dantes, the hero of Alexandre Dumas' legendary adventure novel, in this rarely-seen television series. Dantes is a man falsely imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Escaping from jail, he creates the new identity of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' to track down the men who framed him. Each episode would take Dantes, along with his friends Jacopo and Rico, to a new exotic locale. The Italian-born Dolenz (1908-1963) was discovered by famed produced Howard Hughes and signed to RKO in the 1940's, billed as the "European Leading Man". He is best remembered as the father of Monkees lead singer Micky Dolenz. Co-star Nick Cravat had a circus acrobat act with a pre-fame Burt Lancaster in the 1930s; they billed themselves as 'Lang and Cravat'. Lifelong friends, he would appear with Lancaster in nine of his films, including The Flame and the Arrow (1950) and The Crimson Pirate (1952).

ATHENS: The murder of an antiques dealer uncovers the theft of an ancient statue.

THE TALLEYRAND AFFAIR: A diplomat's son is kidnapped by the wicked Duchess of Maastricht (played by Patricia Laffan, star of the 1954 cult film Devil Girl from Mars.)

THE ISLAND: Rico is captured and tortured by scoundrels seeking the Count's hidden treasure.

THE BAREFOOT EMPRESS: Dantes is assigned to protect a prissy empress targeted by assassins.

• television