The Light That Failed

This tragic Kipling tale, from his first novel, displays Wellman's consummate directorial skills in following the story faithfully, unlike earlier versions in which sugar-coated endings are supplied. Colman is a gifted artist who receives a sabre cut during a battle. He returns to England where he becomes a famous painter; his masterpiece is a portrait of a London prostitute, Lupino. She is driven half-mad with desire for him, a part so intensely played that it brought her to stardom. Realizing that her station in life will prevent her from ever having him, she viciously destroys the painting. The old wound has caused him to slowly go blind. In a shattering scene, ...