Condemned (1929)

Director:

Wesley Ruggles

Writers:

Sidney Howard (writer)
Blair Niles (novel)

Release Date:

3 November 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A kiss that cannot be forgotten!

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Michel
Ann Harding	...	Madame Vidal
Dudley Digges	...	Vidal
Louis Wolheim	...	Jacques
William Elmer	...	Pierre
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Vidal's orderly (as William Vaughn)
Albert Kingsley	...	Felix
Constantine Romanoff	...	Brute Convict
Harry Ginsberg	...	Inmate
Bud Sommers	...	Inmate
Stephen Selznick	...	Inmate
Baldy Biuddle	...	Inmate
John George	...	Inmate
Arturo Kobe	...	Inmate
Emile Tramont	...	Inmate (as Emile Schwartz)

Also Known As:

Condemned to Devil's Island (USA) (reissue title)
Prisoners (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

This is first of eight films on which both Samuel Goldwyn and Sidney Howard worked. The last was _Raffles (1940)_ .

Solid, surprisingly interesting early talkie

This Ronald Colman film was his second talkie, following a rousing success in Bulldog Drummond earlier in 1929. For these two films, Colman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his work in this one is good. Samuel Goldwyn went through great pains to prepare Colman for talkies and for audiences' expectations of his voice to match his on-screen persona. In this film, Colman plays a suave thief who is sentenced to prison on Devil's Island. Once there, the warden employs him to aid his wife in household chores and there Colman falls in love with the beautiful Ann Harding.

The plot is surprisingly not too ridiculous as both Colman's and Harding's characters really don't want to start an affair out of respect for each other and for the warden (a solid Dudley Digges). However, once the warden buys into local gossip that his wife is having an affair, he cannot help but constantly become angry. Each time the plot has a chance to become silly and over-melodramatic, it takes a step back and seems to have a conscience. For an early talkie, that is impressive. Further more impressive were the many dolly moves employed by the cameraman. This is not too static for such an early sound film and there is good use of sound effects being layed over the montage. All that being said, it is not a great film. It is never fully engrossing as Alibi and Applause were at times, but for a film from the class of 1929 this one is a winner and Colman, Harding, Digges and Louis Wolheim as Colman's convict friend are all excellent.