Redemption (1930)

Fedya wins Lisa away from her fiance, Victor Karenin. But after Fedya weds Lisa, he becomes infatuated with a gypsy girl, Masha. His duplicity leads to tragedy.

Director:

Fred Niblo

Writers:

Dorothy Farnum, Arthur Hopkins (play),

Stars:

John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Conrad Nagel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Gilbert	...	Fedya Protasoff
Renée Adorée	...	Masha
Conrad Nagel	...	Victor Karenin
Eleanor Boardman	...	Lisa Protasoff
Claire McDowell	...	Anna Pavlovna
Nigel De Brulier	...	Petushkov
Tully Marshall	...	Artimiev
Mack Swain	...	Magistrate
Erville Alderson	...	Bearded Mariner in Cafe
George Spelvin	...	Magistrate
Sidney Bracey	...	Waiter
Richard Alexander	...	Policeman (as Dick Alexander)
Charles Quatermaine	...	Artimiev
Agostino Borgato	...	Petushkov

Storyline

Fedya wins Lisa away from her fiance, Victor Karenin. But after Fedya weds Lisa, he becomes infatuated with a gypsy girl, Masha. His duplicity leads to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

gypsy | marriage | suicide | russia | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Den sista utvägen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1929, but not released until 1930.

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Connections

Version of Nights of Fire (1937)

User Reviews

John Gilbert in His Talkie Debut

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.....