Victory
About Victory
Axel Heyst lives alone on a South Seas island, half-owner of a coal claim a sailor gave him. On a trip to another island he meets Alma, who is trapped in the hotel orchestra and mistreated by the owner, Schomberg. Captain Davidson helps Heyst take her back to his island. He offers her shelter, not a romance. Schomberg points three criminals at them, Mr. Jones, Ricardo, and Pedro, with a story about hidden treasure. They accept Heyst's hospitality and then move to kill him, rob the house, and take Alma. Alma plays Ricardo against Jones. Jones fires and hits Alma. Heyst shoots Ricardo. Pedro, waiting on an old grievance, breaks Jones's back. Davidson returns as the volcano goes up and takes Alma and Heyst off the island.
Cast & crew
More about Victory
Maurice Tourneur directed and produced. Jules Furthman, credited as Stephen Fox, adapted Joseph Conrad's 1915 novel. René Guissart photographed. Ben Carré was art director and Floyd Mueller handled scenic effects. Paramount-Artcraft released it on December 7, 1919, in five reels. Jack Holt plays Heyst, Seena Owen plays Alma, Lon Chaney plays Ricardo, Wallace Beery plays Schomberg, Ben Deeley plays Jones, and Bull Montana plays Pedro.
Themes
Background
The picture opened in December 1919, four years after Conrad's novel and in the season when Paramount-Artcraft was still selling Tourneur as a prestige director.
Making
Tourneur and Carré build the island as a small set of rooms and a roof, enough for Ricardo's fall and the volcano finish, rather than as a travelogue.
Reviews
The New York Times included Victory among the ten best films of 1919.
Look
René Guissart photographed Carré's island sets, including the roof where Heyst shoots Ricardo and the eruption that ends the story.
Preservation
A complete print is at the Library of Congress. The American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog lists it as surviving.
Notes
- Conrad, who died in 1924, lived to see this version. It is the only film of his work released in his lifetime.
- Paramount remade the novel in 1930 as Dangerous Paradise and again in 1940 as Victory.
- A lobby card shows Chaney as Ricardo.
- The New York Times put the film on its ten-best list for 1919.
- The Library of Congress holds a complete print.
- George Nichols plays Captain Davidson. Laura Winston plays Mrs. Schomberg.
Scenes
- Davidson slips Alma and Heyst away from Schomberg's hotel.
- Jones's shot, aimed at Ricardo, hits Alma.
- Pedro breaks Jones's back, and the volcano drives the survivors off the island.
Influenced by
- Joseph Conrad's novel Victory (1915)
Influenced
- Dangerous Paradise (1930)
- Victory (1940)
