Victory

Joseph Conrad is one of those reliable authors of whose books it's impossible to make bad films. This one is certainly among his best, both concerning the novel and the film. Frederic March is unusually good, and Betty Field is just the right type for her sly manoeuvres, while Cedric Hardwicke as the leading crook gives the main zest to the movie, describing an interesting transition from unbearable superiority to helplessness and deadly fear Curiously enough, his life's greatest fear is the woman, and the highlight of the film is to study his face as he is made aware of a woman being present. Unfortunately it is difficult to come across decent copies of this film, but hopefully it will one day be adequately restored, which it deserves - it is definitely one of Crowell's very best films.