The Light That Failed is a novel by Rudyard Kipling that was first published in 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Most of the novel is set in London, but many important events throughout the story occur in Sudan or India. The Light that Failed follows the life of Dick Heldar, a painter who goes blind. It was made into a 1916 film with Jose Collins and a 1940 film by Paramount starring Ronald Colman as Heldar with Ida Lupino and Walter Huston.
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| The Light That Failed | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | William A. Wellman |
| Screenplay by | Robert Carson Based on a Rudyard Kipling story |
| Starring | Ronald Colman Ida Lupino Walter Huston Muriel Angelus |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 2, 1940 |
| Running time | 97 min. |
Artist Dick Heldar returns to 1890's England from the war in the Sudan after sustaining eye injuries and turns to painting for a living. While his realistic paintings of scenes from the war in Sudan slowly achieve a certain popularity, he ekes a living painting romanticized portraits. Eventually, the old war injury to his eyes starts getting worse and Heldar realizes he is going blind. Before he completely loses his sight, Dick resolves to paint his masterpiece, Melancholia, using a prostitute named Bessie as a model. He drinks heavily to keep his eyesight going. Dick deliberately drives Bessie to hysteria to get the right expressions.
Dick's eyesight fades just as he completes his masterpiece, and he collapses in exhaustion. Bessie returns and destroys the painting in revenge, smearing the still wet paint across the canvas. When Dick invites his friend, Maisie, to view his masterpiece (which he can no longer see), she cannot bring herself to tell Dick about his ruined canvas. Bessie returns and reveals she has destroyed his masterpiece.
In despair, Dick travels back to the Sudan and joins his old company. His friend Torpenhow meets him as he arrives on horseback; but before Dick can dismount he is struck by an enemy bullet and killed. (This is how the book ends. In the movie, Dick convinces Torpenhow to let him ride into battle, where he is killed.)