Evening star., 1940-02-24

that 1t looked at yesterdays first
show as II Phil might have to sing
until his voice began to ravel.
William Wellman, director Of the
Beau Geste drama department for
Paramount. turns the third screen
version Of 'The Light That Failed"
into a narrowly focused psyche
logical study. And why shouldn't
he? The story he has to tell is
that Of warrior artist whose ap-
preaching blindness fills him with
an almost insane desire to paint
one final, immortal masterpiece be-
fore the darkness comes.
That is dramatic stuff as it always
has been, but, in his determination
to show all possible effects Of ap-
preaching blindness upon a man
with wild love for beauty, Well
mans picture has its tedious, la
bored passages. It also has that
archaic dialogue which reaches its
unconvincing apex in that veddy,
veddy Englishism. STEADY does it,
old boy" Kipling worshippers may
appreciate the loyalty to the old
master which dictated the use of
his chin-up-old-fellow speech, but
there are times when 1t must be a
test even Of their unwavering faith.
Mr.. Colman, the slickest gallant in
HOLLYWOOD, does an excellent job as
usual in making Heldar a noble
genius without letting him become
insufferOble about it. Heldar is a
man of humor, loyalty and all the
other Kiplingesque virtues, and Col
man creates them all with the re-
straint Of an intelligent gentleman
who knows precisely what he is
about. Hardest aspect of the role
to which he must needs give con-
viction is that of concealing his
approaching blindness from his two
most intimate friends, war corre-
spondents, Torpenhow (Walter Hus-
toni and the Nighai Dudley
Digges). What it lacks of believa-
bility when the tragedy has fallen
is the fault Of Kipling and not of
Colman-the fault maybe Of a world
that has lost faith in self-sacrifice
There are scme vivid dramatic
moments on which Wellman's direc-
ton casts bright light. Among
them are the passage in which the
oculist informs Heldar he has only
year to see, his tempestuous strug-
gle to paint the melancholy soul of
the street girl who models for his
last great work, the girls destruction
of the masterpiece in a fit of rage,
and the eventual discovery of her
wanton act by the then blind artist.
More than ample justice is done
these climaxes in Kipling's story, but
it comes tardily after too much
deliberation on its more trivial as
poets.
Among the assorted players in
''The Light That Failed" masterful
performances are to be expected Of
and given by, Huston and Digges as
the faithful, call-a-spade-a-spade
friends of Heldar. As the hussy, an
unwilling one but hussy neverthe-
less, Ida Lupino has both fine and
faltering moments, the most un-
fortunate of the latter coming when
she laughs the pain right out of her
soul in order that Heldar can cap
ture it on his canvas. That is a lot
to ask any one to do, so perhaps
Miss Lupino is not to be held too
severely to task for letting it get
away from her.
On the whole she, like the others
does a good job, but their aggregate
efforts faig to eliminate the musty
fragrance Of a remote past from
"The Light That Failed"
AS Irishman's way with an audi
ence and a sentimental song turns
the Capitol stage show into a sort OF
personal triumph for Phil Regan
He lends his pleasant tenor to q
repertoire Of currently popular songs
and always popular Irish ballads in
a fashion that the public always
has found resistible. Four encores
kept him around for more than q
dozen numbers at the first show.
Other numbers on the variety pro-
gram include Art Browns organ
logue and community sing, Frankie
Conville's comedy, the ballet dane
ing Of Jeanne Deveraux, the tapping
Of the Lathrop brothers, and Virginia
Lee (she's best), the acrobatics Of
Arthur lie Fleur. There are also two
handsome precision bits by the
houses 16 Rhythm Rockets, who
always are good,