“REDEMPTION”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1080, 18 September 1930, Page 15

“REDEMPTION”

JOHN GILBERT’S TALKIE FINE SHOW AT NATIONAL Lyof Tolstoi’s poignantly tragic drama of the Russian officer who. lured by the nomadic call of gipsy ancestry, deserts liis wife and family to find repentance too late when he returns, is the vehicle for John Gilbert’s new alltalking picture, “Redemption,” which opened last night at the National Theatre. Aided by a cnst of such capable players as Renee Adoree, Conrad Nagel and Eleanor Boardman, Gilbert gives an inspired performance of the downward career of Fedya, who casts all discretion to the winds in his search for freedom and happiness. It is a new Gilbert who appears in this John Gilbert Russian tale. It is a Gilbert far removed from- the sophisticated gentleman of his last picture, “His Glorious Night,’’ but then the clever Molnar comedy and the sensitive Russian play are at opposite ends of the dramatic world. It is no small tribute to Gilacting talent that he can achieve near perfection in roles so diverse in character and meaning. Fred Niblo, of “Ben-Hur" fame, directed the new Gilbert all-talking film, and his distinctive touches make themselves felt throughout the even tone of the picture. Several scenes are conspicuous for their picturesque beauty and their faithfulness to prewar Russian conditions. A particularly fine supporting programme of short talkie featurettcs was also presented last evening.