Redemption (1930) On DVD

Silent screen idol John Gilbert leads a stellar cast in this all-talking adaptation of Leo Tolstoys classic play The Living Corpse. Infatuated with Lisa (Eleanor Boardman), the fiancee of his best friend Victor (Conrad Nagel), Russian wastrel Fedya (Gilbert) woos and marries her, but misses his drinking and gambling. Abandoning his wife to take up with a fiery gypsy (Renee Adoree), Fedya allows Lisa to believe hes dead so she can finally marry Victor. So when its discovered hes still alive and his wife is accused of bigamy, Fedya must decide whats more important in life - Lisa happiness or his own. Shot first, but released after His Glorious Night (1929), Gilberts talking feature debut, Redemption reveals his voice as cultured but not as virile as his screen image demanded. Unable to make the transition to sound, Gilbert would appear in eight more films before his death from a heart attack at age 38 in January 1936.