MovieChat Forums > Redemption (1930) Discussion > why such a high imdb rating?

why such a high imdb rating?

posted 8 years ago by lamoza-786-44667
2 replies | jump to latest

Like Joyce Miller who commented in another thread, John Gilbert is one of my favorite actors, and seeing that this film is going to be shown on TCM (October 3), I plan to watch it.

But noticing that it only got a one-star rating, I decided to check it out here. Surprise! On the IMDB page, it gets a 7.8 - same as, e.g., Laurence Olivier's Hamlet.

Reading the reviews and the very few comments, that wouldn't quite stand up. Anyone know why this film would get such a high numerical rating while being panned by nearly all who spoke up about it?

Considering the director (I've recently been trying to see all Niblo's films I can find) and the cast, one would think it would have been a better film.

still looking forward to seeing it - can't seem to resist gypsy girls and the Russian countryside, or anything Tolstoy for that matter...

[–] ksf-2 8 years ago

i've noticed that people were/are intrigued by films purportedly filmed in foreign lands.. or the south seas islands, which were usually filmed on the hollywood back lot.

and it's an early talkie.
and it IS Tolstoy.

Gilbert croaked at 36.
"heart attack"... drinking, acc to imdb.

[–] dogtired-2 7 years ago

I have no idea why this film has such a high IMDb rating (7.6 as of this writing). It just isn't very good. The acting is pretty bad in places, even by Gilbert. Gilbert and Adoree I somewhat believable as Russians, but Nagel and Boardman look like refugees from an English drawing room. Plus, the resolution doesn't really fit the title.

I truly think that some people highly rate anything with a star they like regardless of whether they've ever seen many of those titles. That would explain the low scores by those who have actually bothered to come on here and write about Redemption; they've obviously seen it. I give it six stars, but my rating range is pretty narrow, tending to be from five to ten. Of course, I don't seek out bad films to watch, as there are more than enough good ones to fill my time.