Redemption

Director: Fred Niblo Fred Niblo

Overview

Based on Leo Tolstoy's The Living Corpse, this film was originally scheduled as John Gilbert's first talkie, but it was held from release until distribution of his second, One Glorious Night. In the story, the Enoch Arden-style hero, long-presumed dead, commits suicide rather than ruin the happiness of his newly-remarried wife.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2015
UPC:	0888574295257
Original Release:	1930
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:06:00
Sales rank:	57,774

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Renee Adoree	Masha
Conrad Nagel	Victor Karenin
Eleanor Boardman	Lisa Protasoff
Claire McDowell	Anna Pavlovna
Agostino Borgato	Petushkov
Charles Quartermaine	Artimiev
George Spelvin	Magistrate
Mack Swain	Magistrate
Tully Marshall	Artimiev
Nigel de Brulier	Petushkov
John Gilbert	Fedya
Erville Alderson	Actor
Sidney Bracey	Actor

Technical Credits

Louis B. Mayer

Dorothy Farnum

Fred Niblo	Director
Irving Thalberg	Producer
Arthur Hopkins	Producer
Louis B. Mayer	Producer,Screenwriter
Dorothy Farnum	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Based on Leo Tolstoy's The Living Corpse, Redemption was originally scheduled as John Gilbert's first talkie, but was held from release until distribution of his second, One Glorious Night. The official reason, as handed down by the MGM publicity hacks, was that Gilbert's efforts to tackle a role created on stage by John Barrymore had come acropper, so it was decided to rush him into a more typical Grausarkian romance. Others claim that MGM wanted to destroy Gilbert's career (he'd made the mistake of offending studio prexy Louis B. Mayer), so they deliberately released One Glorious Night, which contained one of the actor's worst performances, first. Even though Gilbert is rather persuasive in Redemption, he is defeated by the hackneyed script, in which the Enoch Arden-style hero, long-presumed dead, commits suicide rather than ruin the happiness of his newly remarried wife (Eleanor Boardman). Nor did it help matters any that certain scenes were extensively reshot, resulting in some deplorable continuity gaps. Contrary to the "official" MGM story, most reviewers of Redemption praised John Gilbert but condemned the film, rather than the other way around. No matter: Gilbert was dead in the water so far as the studio was concerned, and the only reason he was kept around until 1932 was that he refused to leave until his contract expired.

All Movie Guide - Hal Erickson