  dark victory is a 1939 american drama film directed by edmund goulding, starring bette davis and featuring george brent, humphrey bogart, geraldine fitzgerald, ronald reagan, henry travers and cora witherspoon. the screenplay by casey robinson was based on the unsuccessful 1934 play of the same title by george brewer and bertram bloch.  ==plot== judith traherne (bette davis) is a young, carefree, hedonistic long island socialite and heiress with a passion for horses, fast cars, and too much smoking and drinking. she initially ignores severe headaches and brief episodes of dizziness and double vision, but when she uncharacteristically takes a spill while riding, and then tumbles down a flight of stairs, her secretary and best friend ann king (geraldine fitzgerald) insists she see the family doctor, who refers her to a specialist. left|thumb|225px|from the trailer dr. frederick steele (george brent) is in the midst of closing his new york city office in preparation of a move to brattleboro, vermont, where he plans to devote his time to brain cell research and scientific study on their growth. he reluctantly agrees to see judith, who is cold and openly antagonistic toward him. she shows signs of short-term memory loss, but dismisses her symptoms. steele convinces her the ailments she is experiencing are serious and potentially life-threatening, and puts his career plans on hold to tend to her. when diagnostic tests confirm his suspicions, judith agrees to surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor. steele discovers the tumor cannot be completely removed, and realizes she has less than a year to live. the end will be painless but swiftâshortly after experiencing total blindness, judith will die. in order to allow her a few more months of happiness, steele opts to keep the diagnosis a secret and assures judith and ann the surgery was a success. ann is suspicious and confronts steele, who admits the truth. she agrees to remain silent. judith and steele become involved romantically and eventually engaged. while helping his assistant pack the office prior to their departure for vermont, judith discovers her case h
1930s_romantic_drama_films 1939_films American_romantic_drama_films Black-and-white_films English-language_films Film_scores_by_Max_Steiner Films_about_cancer Films_based_on_plays Films_directed_by_Edmund_Goulding Films_set_in_New_York Films_set_in_Vermont Warner_Bros._films