Redemption

Interesting film but not very good.

Infamous as John Gilbert's first talkie, though it was released by MGM after HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT had already bombed. Oh that LB Mayer.....

The copy I have was taped off TNT (tv station) and was trimmed by maybe 10 minutes to fit a timeslot. In any case, the story is not very good, one about brooding Russians and fiery Gypsies and love gone bad.

Gilbert is, however, very good as the failing Russian who can't decline booze or gambling. Eleanor Boardman is his faithful wife. Conrad Nagel is friend. Renee Adoree is a fiery Gypsy. Mack Swain plays a Russian judge and Sidney Bracey a philosophic waiter.

It seems badly edited and/or directed but the story is so dark and gloomy it hardly matters. The 4 stars are all pretty good in this early talkie, and Gilbert, in fine voice, has a few very good scenes that almost salvage the film.

Again it's odd that contemporary reviews of this film and HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT never mentioned Gilbert as having a bad voice, thin, effeminate, high, or anything else.... The films were just clunkers.....

"Redemption" is well-paced, competently directed, attractively cast, makes good use of off-screen sound (rain, birds, clock, singing, etc.) - but the story itself is slight and trite; one can only imagine that the Leo Tolstoy play on which it was based had more substance to it. Watchable. ** out of 4.

A good sound film for its time that should be absolutely fascinating to any silent-film buff. Look at the cast list and the director's name. This film positively teems with former silent-film *STARS* at the onset of sound productions.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I feel this film would have been better if produced silent. It certainly has the silent "look" and a silent "pace" to it.

While I think all the actors' voices sound good (even Gilbert's), their line deliveries are occasionally suspect--but not too bad.

All in all a decent (not excellent) early sound picture that should hold silent-film fans rapt till the end credits.

John Gilbert's was in fine voice in Redemption, although the film itself was badly edited (particularly the opening scene of gypsies in a park) and more than a little morbid. It seems that MGM tries to undermine Gilbert by spreading negative rumors about his voice in hopes of getting out of their contract with them, which bound them to pay him ten (10) times per picture what he earned when Greta Garbo insisted that he be her co-star, after his MGM contract had ended, in 1933's Queen Christina. And if anyone doubts that Louis B. Mayer had it in for Gilbert, just listen to the interview on this subject given years later by Hollywood Director King Vidor. And note that rather than putting both Garbo's and Gilbert's names above the title in Queen Christina, as had been done with their successful silent films, only Garbo was listed above the title. And their publicity for the film (eg its Posters) did not even list Gilbert among the cast. In fact, Gilbert had a fine and interesting voice, which was perhaps too elegant and less casual than it might have been. His voice was deeper and more resonant than a number of the stars making their first sound films in 1929-30, eg. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Jr. and especially Charles Farrell, who truly had a high tenor voice, but nonetheless acted in Hollywood into the 1950s. Most comparable was Robert Montgomery's voice, which although a bit higher than Gilbert's was more casual. Happily for us, John Gilbert made a total of 11 sound films and I particularly recommend The Phantom of Paris (1931), Downstairs (1932), Queen Christina (1933) and The Captain Hates the Sea (1934).

In Russia, irresponsible John Gilbert (as Fedor aka Fedya Protasoff) becomes attracted to lovely Eleanor Boardman (as Lisa), but she is engaged to old school chum Conrad Nagel (as Victor Karenin). While they work out their sexual urges, Mr. Gilbert must also deal with an ongoing attraction to vagabond gypsies, especially alluring Renée Adorée (as Masha). Her parents steal a scene by picking Gilbert's pockets. Born to Ms. Boardman, an intriguing baby is seen only briefly. This early "talkie" was planned as Gilbert's first feature in the popular new medium; he reportedly detested the film, and release was delayed until after "His Glorious Night" (1929). "Redemption" looks like they could not get it right. This resulted in a second blow to Gilbert's film career.

*** Redemption (4/5/30) Fred Niblo ~ John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman, Renee Adoree, Conrad Nagel