The Light That Failed

"The Light That Failed" is among Ronald Colman's best films....though I must warn you that it's also among his most depressing. The story is based on Rudyard Kipling's first full- length novel of the same name.

The story begins with two children playing with a gun. There's an accident and Maisie discharges the gun near Dick's eyes. This is foreshadowing what you next see in the film. Dick is a man now and fighting for the British army in Sudan. During an encounter with the enemy, he receives a sword slash across the eyes. He recovers his sight but doesn't realize that severe damage to his optic nerves has occurred and one day he'll go blind. In the meantime, the war ends and Dick spends his time painting and drawing while he tours the Middle East. When he learns that the public back in Britain love his work, he returns. His work is good but when Dick realizes he's going blind he wants to get one final masterpiece completed. The problem is his model, Bessie (Ida Lupino) is a coarse and awful woman...why is something you'll just have to see for yourself as well as how Dick deals with his eventual blindness.

The acting is superb in this one...especially Colman. It also helped that he had Lupino and Walter Huston on hand to provide support. Overall, a quality film in every way. My only caveat is that if you dislike sad, depressing stories you might want to skip this one....though I sure wouldn't!

There is more than a hint of misogyny in this Rudyard Kipling story where both educated careerist (Marie Angelus) and streetwalker (Ida Lupino) are placed in less than complimentary light while artist (Ronald Colman) loses his. Colman gives one his finest performances but it is Lupino who remains memorable.

Aspiring conscripted artist Dick Heldar is wounded in Africa saving Topenhow's (Walter Huston) life. Mustered out he moves in to Topenhow's adjoining studio a starving artist and emerges a famous illustrator of the horrors of battle that gain recognition but then as now realizes medium cool is what the public wants and sells out. He becomes insufferable then begins to lose his sight. He takes on the conniving Betsy Broke (don't you just love it) to model and then to complete the portrait of the love of his life who rejected him who briefly returns to once again disappoint.

Powell is outstanding as he stretches from his usual noble self at first to an arrogant, obnoxious successful artist and into decline as a terrified man losing his sight. Marie Angelus as an ambitious driven artist wanting nothing to do with the traditional 19th century women comes across both selfish and immature. Huston delivers his usual well crafted performance as the kindhearted, generous, truly loyal writer as the self serving Kipling character perhaps revealing more than he thinks while Duddley Digges makes no bones about being a male chauvinist pig. It is Lupino's Ms. Broke who really raises the emotional tenor in most scenes first at the abuse of Healder and then while exacting cruel revenge in which Ida serves it like a French chef, coldly.

Opening and closing with some rousing battle scenes,( the first an impressive overhead of the battle square, the last a powerful reoccurring image realized) the film is basically a stage play with half a dozen characters moving between a few rooms which might make it claustrophobic were it not for the sonorous voices of Colman and Huston in discussion or Lupino's raging Eliza Dolittle raising the roof.

Well worth watching, James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 11/2020

I don't know how some people could express anything over the original story, and with all the signs in evidence of not having read the story at all. First of all, Bessie is somehow in love with Torpenhow, not Dick Heldar. She actually never managed to meet Maisie, being unaware of her existence. Bessie tears apart Dick's painting over the rage of being insulted day after day by Dick, in order to get the main character of the "Melancolia". Dick met Maisie during his childhood, his first love, being both orphans, and as well expressed by Sunlily, during a shooting session with an old revolver, Dick gets gun powder burning close to his eyes (his cheek, Kipling states), etc and etc. The story adapted in the film is a totally different matter. Oh, by the way, since there are things in this world like marriage and lawyers, the "The more I see of men, the more I love dogs" of Diogenes of Sinope could be even more valid today. Cheers

The Light That Failed was the second of a two picture deal Ronald Colman made with Paramount after getting shed of his contract to Sam Goldwyn. Hard to choose between this and If I Were King the other film that was part of the deal as to which was better. I won't even try.

Colman essays the part of Richard Heldar who, but for a tragic accident might have gone on to be acclaimed one of the great artists of the 19th century. The film is based on the first published novel by Rudyard Kipling and according to the Citadel Film series book The Films Of Ronald Colman, this film stayed truer to the story that Kipling told than two previous silent screen versions.

While a pictorial correspondent covering the British war in the Sudan against the Mahdi, Colman is accidentally cut on the forehead by a blade wielding Walter Huston during a battle. A slow moving injury to the optic nerve degenerates Colman's vision, but he's determined to paint on while he can.

Two women are involved with Colman, long time childhood sweetheart Muriel Angelus and tart in every sense of the word Ida Lupino who serves as a model for Colman. Lupino had to battle for this part, director William Wellman wanted her, Colman wanted Vivien Leigh. As much as I like Vivien Leigh, I can't see her doing this part better than Lupino did.

The film really is a personal vehicle for Ronald Colman who typifies the British ideal, it's how they see themselves, it's the image they like to convey to the world. Colman does dominate this film as he usually does in his films.

And as entertainment it holds up well after more than 70 years, don't miss The Light That Failed if you are a fan of Ronald Colman.