Indeed, Malone adds, Davis wanted to become proficient enough to play live for the camera, but director Irving Rapper told her that it was not worth the effort, because no one would believe it. Despite four marriages, she struggled with loneliness in later years. A fellow musician and composer who has just barely survived life in Europe during WWII, Karel is sick and emotionally frail. Bette Davis was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films throughout her career. Davis was married to Sherrys father, actor William Grant Sherry, from 1945 to 1949. Do see this one, it's excellent entertainment! . Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2022. When "Deception" was first released, one gushy fan mag declared that it was "just like opera, only the people are thinner!" Her furs and jewelry are great. Cellist Karel Novak (Paul Henreid) was presumed to be killed during the war; so his sudden return surprises everyone, especially his lover Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis). Then too, he makes that high- class dinner from heck more unnerving than a pop quiz on rocket science. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. . And they made every scene longer than it had to be. Feel free to send us your trailer requests and we will do our best to hunt it down. . A piano teacher named Christine Radcliffe is being mentored by conductor Alexander Hollenius. . Rains was always there to right the ship. Rains all but steals the film as the genius composer with some of the cruelest and wittiest lines ever uttered by this talented actor. She won two Academy Awards as a best actress for her roles in 86 films. Bette Davis practices lots of "Deception" in this 1946 film also starring Claude Rains and Paul Henreid. Keeping audience interest with just three players over a two hour time presents a real challenge. . It becomes apparent to Christine that a cellist in the orchestra, Bertram Gribble, is being tutored in the solo part by Hollenius. It is evident he is jealous, and the stress leads him to squeeze until it shatters a wine glass he is holding. . When he returns, their romance is rekindled But during the time he was believed dead, Bette had become involved with composer Claude Rains. . Throughout her career, she has fought for good roles, beginning with her first Oscar nomination in 1999. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. With a hit in the can, at long last, her star was on the rise. When she spots him at a concert in NYC years later, the handwriting is on the wall for Rains. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Meredy <meredy@meredy.com> and Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> and Denny Jackson Her reputation was solidified by her role as one of the "true greats" of the film industry, according to her former boss, President Ronald Reagan. But every scene is a gem, such as the scene where Claude takes them to a haute cuisine French restaurant and spends 10 minutes going back and forth over whether to order pheasant, trout, or saddle of lamb and whether to go with a Hermitage or a Vosne Romanee wine. Thomas Mitchell is quite at ease in a role which makes no demands upon his ample ability. [7] The 1929 film is set in Paris, and the characters are the owner of a dress shop, the young artist she marries, and the elderly boulevardier who bought the dress shop for her. That is to say, it tells the story of a lady who casually forsakes a highly possessive lover in order to marry another man. Every step of the way, its own delusions get in the way of its effectiveness. She made her Broadway debut at the age of 16 as part of The Earth Between Next, and then went on to play Hedvig in Ibsens The Wild Duck. How did I never come across Deception (1946) before? In 1999, Davis was placed second behind Katharine Hepburn on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of the classical Hollywood cinema era. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. Deception (1946) $2.99 $9.99 The Bette Davis Collection 816 DVD 5 offers from $125.00 A Stolen Life Curtis Bernhardt 814 DVD 15 offers from $5.87 The Bette Davis Collection Vol 2 BETTE DAVIS 60 DVD 6 offers from $35.50 TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection: Legends - Bette Davis (Now, Voyager / Dark Victory / Old Acquaintance / Jezebel) Bette Davis Alexander Hollenius: Extraordinary how people try to keep their little secrets which can never be kept. Watch and see! Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. . This is some of the sharpest, wittiest dialogue I've seen in a movie, rivaling Ernst Lubitsch and every bit as good as in All About Eve. Davis worked for Universal Studios after moving to Hollywood in 1930, but she wouldnt achieve fame until signing with Warner Bros. two years later. Her reputation was solidified by her role as one of the true greats of the film industry, according to her former boss, President Ronald Reagan. How Many Guitar String Manufacturers Are There? They inserted serious classical music here and there. Now, it seems, Davis and crew were allowed to pull out all the stops. . This broods a bit and suggests trouble, and then comes the third player, who outdoes them both, in the form of Claude Rains. . Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Which means that Davis bugs her eyes and flails about; Henreid veers between completely underplaying and going into hilariously manic overacting; and Rains gives the performance of a lifetime as the egomaniacal, bitchy villain. It was a time when they cared enough about high production values and reveled in artifice, glamour and the pure indulgence of escapism. The play was presented again on Broadway on October 1, 1946 under the title Obsession at the Plymouth Theatre, with Eugenie Leontovich and Basil Rathbone. After marrying her long-lost love, a musician finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her. Bette Davis is a competent actress, or so we've been led to believe, but they'd better start giving her good storiesor soon we'll be led to forget. Of course, Karel turns up alive and well, and Christine keeps her relationship with Hellanious a Big Secret. She was a Laguna resident from the late 1950s until her death in 1980. . Presumably Christine and Karel will then head off in the sunset and a life of artistic success. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: On April 1, 2008, Warner Home Video released the film as part of the box set The Bette Davis Collection, Volume 3 before it was released as an individual DVD on July 12, 2015. But the pro's at Warner Bros. manage to do it, in spades. . If you're a Claude Rains fan--and there are MANY, MANY of them out there--you might have read my profile on his career in CLASSIC IMAGES, a long article with many photos that appeared in the December 2000 issue. But this time they had less success. For the film makes it so apparent that monkey-business had been going on, that the husband appears an awful dodo for not eventually catching on, while the wife's execution of her old flame seems entirely unjustified. Well done Melodrama of that era. In addition to her acting career, Davis was also a successful businesswoman, owning her own production company and serving as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Beginners welcome. Carry OwenGeorge Benson . . . It also had very nice music. Bette Davis, original name Ruth Elizabeth Davis, (born April 5, 1908, Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.died October 6, 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), versatile, volatile American actress, whose raw, unbridled intensity kept her at the top of her profession for 50 years. His character is an egotistical, sexy, hilarious conductor with the improbable name of Alex Hellonious. And then, when the unsubmissive lover threatens nastily to tell all, the lady, for some uncertain reason, fills him full of lead.In the play, the vengeful murder is performed by the lady's jealous spouse, whichalthough it may seem a bit violentdoes make a little more sense. 'Deception' feels almost subtle in comparison (who am I kidding??). 1946 clarity means everything while your watching. Many scenes are 30% longer than they had to be. (Check out the rococo New York brownstone mansion in which he's ensconced, more magnificent than anything a lesser studio could provide for a monarch in a story involving royalty!). Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Will Karel's jealousy ruin his chance of a lifetime? Melodramas always come out better when the creative team accepts that they're making a genre picture (as was the case with "Sudden Fear"). Coming at the tail end of the glory days of "women's pictures", "Deception" is a harbinger of the camp artifacts the genre would harden into (see any Ross Hunter production). Combined with the noirish lighting and deep focus of Davis's favourite cinematographer Ernie Haller, all goes to making 'Deception' a visual feast for any jaded cinephile. If it had been filmed in the taut way that "Sudden Fear" was in 1952 (a melodrama that starred Joan Crawford and garnered her her third and final Oscar nomination), "Deception" would have turned out a lot better. Named the second-greatest female film legend of all time by the American Film Institute, David had a long career as a movie star. [1] She was not a long-haired blonde bombshell, despite her height of 5 feet, 3 inches and 112 pounds. Claude RainsBertram Gribble . If this film had gotten a better editing job, I might have given it an 8. Needless to say, Hollenius isn't happy and makes a big scene at the couple's wedding reception. . Coming Soon. As they walk out a lady says, "Oh, Christine, you must be the happiest woman in the world," which eventually elicits a wan smile from Christine. But this was still a time when people cared and cynicism hadn't taken over so much that now anything not total po-faced realism (outside of a comedy proper) is sneered at knowingly or declared "so bad it's good" by a seemingly more 'sophisticated' audience. But this IS Davis and a Claude Rains on top form which means it's a winner. Hollenius doesn't see it that way since Christine is his mistress and that is where all the goodies that Christine enjoys are coming from. Yes I agree the sound track of the music is at times shaky but perhaps that can be improved upon some day. She told Playboy in 1982 that she did not dare to be hated and that she would never get to where she wanted to be. This satisfying melodrama has one thing going for it: the great music one hears throughout the movie, it's highlight being the Korngold Cello concerto, a rarity seldom heard, let alone in films. She ends her affair with Rains and tries to pretend it never happened. Peter Williams is a graduate of B.A Arts and Culture from the University of Technology Sydney. . And despite a considerable expansion in population and in the number of sets used, it tells pretty much the same story as this dreary two-character one-set trick. After seeing it, I admit that it has been one of the truly rare surprises for me in the film-viewing experience a superb movie with practically three people within the 'scheme' of the plot. We believe that in the world of chaos and global challenges, music and arts is a creative way to escape reality, find peace and relax. Thomas MitchellRusty . She was demoted to usherette after failing to land the part. He does, however, make it clear that he intends to have Novak play the concerto. The song "Bette Davis Eye," originally written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974, topped the music charts when it was re-recorded by Kim Carnes in 1981. . And Bette, a trained pianist, playing Beethoven at her wedding party (she really wanted to play it herself but Jack Warner decided against it but you can see she knows what she's doing in fingering the keys). And his cello concerto is a fine work in itself! Instead of developing the story from B to A, they tarted up the script with words like "effrontery," "abject," and "virago." Like my Kawai MP11SE just as much as I do? [3] Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4.1 Critical response They both are musicians but he is reputedly a great cellist--just sitting on the edge of worldwide fame. 6 was filmed as part of the film. He then returns to his dressing room and as the concert is heard resuming after intermission with Schubert's Unfinished Symphony Christine enters and their eyes meet in his mirror. On top of it all, this movie has a wonderful score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and is photographed in glorious black and white with moody shadows that makes it real cinema noir stuff. This film conyains one of Miss Davis' greatest performances, as she enters into the very heart of what a loveless life can do, to a young woman, and finnaly an older woman, living in a house with a cousin who caused so much of her loneliness. Thousands of people crowded the streets outside the Strand Theatre in Portland, Maine, for the screening on 22 July 1955. After the mutual collaboration with the director Irving Rapper on NOW VOYAGER, the great trio of superb performers, Bette Davis, Claude Rains and Paul Henreid appeared again in DECEPTION a rather simple, even soap opera-like story ornamented with high-toned classical music setting (the film begins and ends with a concert). It was directed by Paul Henreid from a screenplay by Oscar Millard and Albert Beich from the story La Otra by Rian James, previously filmed in a Mexican version starring Dolores del Ro. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. Part two of the examination of the dualistic career of Bette Davis through the prism of Davis' roles as identical twins in the fraternal films A Stolen Life (1946) and Dead Ringer (1964). Her work throughout World War II contributed to the sale of millions of war bonds. Not fair! Davis, Henreid, and Rains play classical musicians caught in a torrid love triangle that ends violently. Anyone can read what you share. Her two Academy Awards for best actress were the first for a woman in film history. Karel and Christine return to her apartment. Her passing occurred at the age of 81. . I wouldn't have missed it for the world." At Loew's CriterionTHE DARK MIRROR, screen play by Nunnally Johnson from a story by Vladimir Pozner; directed by Robert Siodmak; produced by Mr. Johnson for Universal-International Pictures.Terry Collins . Talk to my friend Scott at Kawai Dallas Piano Gallery about getting yours shipped to your doorstep: https://www.. Its story about a love triangle that involves classical musicians is characterised by mendacity, suspicion and passions that run so high that they eventually lead to murder and there's also an ever-present tension that exists because the stakes are so high for everyone involved. . It has been noted by others how strong Rains' performance is. How did I never come across Deception (1946) before? What Deception is is a high powered duel between flamboyant personalities (Davis and Rains) wiping their costar (Henreid) right off the screen. Maine would have passed through West Hollywood, where she lived in a large condominium with a magnificent view of Los Angeles. Friction develops between Novak and Hollenius, and the composer angrily breaks off a dress rehearsal on the grounds of Novak's temperamental behavior. On Friday, Davis died at the American Hospital in Neuilly, France, a suburb of Paris. Didriksen . By creating an account, you agree to the She was well known for portraying outspoken, complicated, often unlikable characters. Daviss solo piano performance of Beethovens Piano Sonata No. She also starred in several short films urging Americans to donate to the war effort. Just confirm how you got your ticket. As in his earlier and superior mystery, "The Woman in the Window," Mr. Johnson solves the problem with a bit of trickery which is no credit to his craftsmanship. Deception is a 1946 American film noir drama released by Warner Brothers and directed by Irving Rapper. Rains is always great when playing intense, articulate men imposing their will on others and his Hollenius is quite a creation. 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