A Luz Que Se Apaga

Another reader beat me to it ,but first and foremost, was there ever in Hollywood a more mellifluous voice than Ronald Colmans'? He could read a phone book and it would sound like poetry.

Well, that's the main reason to see "The Light That Failed", as it comes perilously close to a potboiler. The story is not compelling and is slow-paced, and for todays audiences it is a tad chauvinistic as well as racist, with talk of the "Fuzzy-Wuzzies", the native enemies in this tale set in Englands'late-Victorian Colonial period.

This picture does not do justice to, in my opinion, America's greatest actor Walter Huston, who is given a supporting role to Colman and does not upstage him in any of their scenes together. Ida Lupino turns in an excellent performance but does not steal the picture with her cockney accent, as reported by Leonard Maltin (does he see any of these old films or just read old reviews?).

I did not read the book but the movie is worth your time to see (and mostly to hear) Ronald Colman, as well as the other fine acting performances which harken to a day when movies were more substance than form instead of vice versa.

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

I just discovered this drama from Bill Wellman which I did not know at all. Ronald Colman is terrific here, as he was in TALE OF TWO CITIES too. A real moving, poignant and sad drama which grabs you to the guts. It seems to hesitate between drama, romance and adventure story, as many Paramount film of this period were: THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER, BEAU GESTE and a film that I commented yesterday: LAST OUTPOST. A very unknown gem from Wellman the great, one of the most awesome director from Hollywood.

In this movie, Colman picks up a little dog, stares into his eyes, and says "I love you." The fur practically melts right off the dog.

This is a shameless old-fashioned love story - but the kind Rudyard Kipling wrote - a strictly for men love story - the women are all heartless or useless, and all that a man really needs to justify his existence is a war, a dog, a horse, a rifle, and his faithful army buddies - but you can forgive all that tripe because of Colman's persuasive persona and performance, Ida Lupino's brave, unsympathetic portrayal, and the trite story that will get to you and leave tears in your eyes, no matter what you believe.

If Colman picked me up and spoke to me the way he spoke to that little dog......

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