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The Light That Failed main poster

The Light That Failed

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6.0/10 • 6

1939-12-241h 37m

Drama

Only Rudyard Kipling could write such a romance! Only Ronald Colman could play such a role!

A London artist struggles to complete one last painting before going blind.

Directors
William A. Wellman
Editors
Thomas Scott

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Ronald Colman

    Ronald Colman

    Dick Heldar

  2. Walter Huston

    Walter Huston

    Torpenhow

  3. Muriel Angelus

    Muriel Angelus

    Maisie

  4. Ida Lupino

    Ida Lupino

    Bessie Broke

  5. Dudley Digges

    Dudley Digges

    The Nilghai

  6. Ernest Cossart

    Ernest Cossart

    Beeton

  7. Ferike Boros

    Ferike Boros

    Madame Binat

  8. Pedro de Cordoba

    Pedro de Cordoba

    Monsieur Binat

  9. Colin Tapley

    Colin Tapley

    Gardner

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 22, 2022

7/10

Rudyard Kipling excelled at telling tales of Empire - his detailed knowledge and vivid imagination has been the source of many a strong adventure. This one is a bit different though. Ronald Colman ("Dick") is a war correspondent in the Sudan who is injured in action. Sent back home to convalesce, he becomes a bit of a sensation with this paintings and after meeting childhood sweetheart "Maisie" (Murial Angelus) again, things look set fair. Unfortunately, he begins to notice that his eyesight isn't what it was, and after consulting a physician, he learns that he is going blind. He decides to go out with a bang - his masterpiece - and so decides to paint "Betty" (Ida Lupino) a young girl living with his best friend "Torpenhow" (Walter Huston) who helped save him in the desert. When his work is complete, jealousy rears it's ugly head and he is left with little else than to return to the army, again as a correspondent, where he once more rides against the Dervishes. At times, this is quite slow - but Colman and Angelus have a certain charm to their performance, and as the artist's eyesight deteriorates, I did feel a certain degree of sympathy for this rapidly declining melancholic man soon to be robbed of much of his raison d'être. I wasn't so sure of Lupino - her efforts just a bit forced and her dialogue doesn't really allow her character to come across as much more than an angry young woman. I could have done with a little more action, the romances subsume it largely after about twenty minutes; but it is still an enjoyable watch.

Media

  • The Light That Failed poster
  • The Light That Failed poster
  • The Light That Failed poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
self sacrificefriendsdogwar injurydrunkenness