The Light That Failed (1939)
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50% of users liked it
(21 ratings)
Based on a classic tale from Rudyard Kipling, this melodrama chronicles the desperate attempt of a painter to finish his greatest painting before he goes blind. His affliction is due to a war wound and his final project is to paint a portrait of London's most notorious prostitute. Trouble begins… More Based on a classic tale from Rudyard Kipling, this melodrama chronicles the desperate attempt of a painter to finish his greatest painting before he goes blind. His affliction is due to a war wound and his final project is to paint a portrait of London's most notorious prostitute. Trouble begins when the hooker falls deeply in love with the artist. Unfortunately, social mores forbid their union and this frustrates the wanton woman. Meanwhile, the artist feverishly continues to paint her. The result is exquisite. Unfortunately, by this time, the whore can no longer contain her frustrated rage, and unbeknownst to the painter whose sight is nearly gone, viciously slashes it. Later the artist takes his prized work and shows it to his best friend, a military officer, in a heartbreaking scene. Afterward the two colleagues head down to fight in the Sudan. There, the devastated painter begs the officer to allow him to participate in one final, glorious charge atop a shining white stallion. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Directed By
- William A. Wellman
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 24, 1939 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Franz Hoellering, The Nation
It is unevenly told, but Ida Lupino, as the girl who destroys her own portrait, makes the picture worth seeing.
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Cast
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Ronald Colman
as Dick Heldar
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Walter Huston
as Terpenhow
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Muriel Angelus
as Maisie
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Ida Lupino
as Bessie Broke
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Dudley Digges
as The Nilghai
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Ernest Cossart
as Beeton
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Ferike Boros
as Madame Binat
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Pedro de Cordoba
as Monsieur Binat
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Colin Tapley
as Gardner
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Fay Helm
as Red-Haired Girl
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Ronald Sinclair
as Dick as a boy
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Sarita Wooton
as Maisie as a Girl
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Halliwell Hobbes
as Doctor
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Charles Irwin
as Soldier Model
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Francis McDonald
as George
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George Regas
as Cassavetti
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Wilfred Roberts
as Barton
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James Aubrey
as Soldier
- George Chandler
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Clyde Cook
as Soldier
-
Harry Cording
as Soldier
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Leslie Francis
as Man with Bandaged Eyes
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Sam Harris
as Wells
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Colin Kenny
as Doctor
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Connie Leon
as Flower woman
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Pat O'Malley
as Bullock
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Cyril Ring
as War Correspondent
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Gerald Rogers
as Sick man
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Hayden Stevenson
as War Correspondent
- George Melford
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Clara Blore
as Mother
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Harold Entwistle
as Old man with dark glasses
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Barbara Denny
as Waitress
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Barry Downing
as Little boy
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Carl Voss
as Chops the Officer
