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). While Bette Davis, alone in her studio, is talking to Claude Rains on the telephone, the highly visible shadow of a crew member is moving back and forth across the piano behind her. The scene where the great composer unexpectedly arrives at Bette's and Paul's festive wedding party at her great loft apartment overlooking the river in New York (modeled on Leonard Bernstein's apartment) and trades poisonous banter with Bette and Paul makes the movie worth it by itself. . This time Mr. Johnson's dialogue, which is usually distinctively flavorsome as screen writing goes, is surprisingly pallid.Like many another actressBette Davis, for instancewho has been tempted by the lure of playing against herself, Miss de Havilland does nothing in "The Dark Mirror" that will add to her stature as an actress. Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 1908-1929: Childhood and early acting career 1.2 1930-1936: Early years in Hollywood 1.2.1 Legal case 1.3 1937-1941: Success with Warner Bros. This man was brilliant in all of his films, but this slice of ham is truly high art from the Claudester. I'd consider it one of Rains' best acting performances - so suave, always a 'bon mot' at the right moment. . What Deception is is a high powered duel between flamboyant personalities (Davis and Rains) wiping their costar (Henreid) right off the screen. 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. Talk to my friend Scott at Kawai Dallas Piano Gallery about getting yours shipped to your doorstep: https://www.kawaipianosdallas.com/contact-us/. It looks like the perfect crime finally has been committed, but luckily Lew Ayres has returned from Army service to resume medical practice, this time as a psychologist with a convenient interest in the mental processes of twins, particularly identical twins.Olivia de Havilland is the dual lady, and for the life of us we never were sure when she was being Ruth, the good sister, and Terry, the evil one. I love the comment by Cecilia Ager of PM who wrote: "It's like grand opera, only the people are thinner. The team behind "Deception" couldn't accept that. Her father, Gregory Aller, coached Henreid in plausible bow movements. I live to watch that scene over and again for its acting mastery. At their wedding the jealous behavior of Composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains) leads Karel to suspect that he may be the other man. Many of her fans refused to believe she was gone. Christine's clothes are fabulous. She died in 1989 at the age of 79. While filming What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Did Barbara Stanwyck Ever Play The Piano? Is Buffalo Chicken And Mozart The Same Thing. Copyright Fandango. Opera-noir anyone?? . Briefly, Gregg Toland was born on May 29, 1904, in Charleston, Illinois.In 1910, his now divorced mother moved to Los Angeles, and in 1919, 15-years-old Gregg started working as an office boy for the Fox Film Corporation, a studio owned by William Fox, that had only been founded four-years earlier.In 1920, Toland became an assistant camera man, but the work that he is remembered for, began six . That she does, with such coiling of her body and rotating of her eyes as has become entirely familiar in the more unrestrained things that she plays. This labor is titled "Deception," and it came to the Hollywood yesterday.The Warners may hate us for snitching, but "Deception" is based upon the same Verneuil play as is "Obsession," a current revival on Broadway. . . [12] For some scenes, Henreids arms were tied behind him, and two cellists put their arms through the sleeves of a specially designed coat.[13]. Coming as it does, not only on the cusp of Hollywood's golden age but also Davis's at Warners, 'Deception' is often forgotten or dismissed in favour of the previous classics she made with Warners or the gothic hysterics of her later films. The track was one of the biggest hits of 1981 and won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Davis is his paramour and a serious musician in her own right. Coming Soon. Of course, if Karel finds out he'll be devastated. Davis wrote a letter to the. Davis's performance of "23 Appassionata" at the wedding reception was dubbed by the composer Erich Korngold, who had been a child prodigy when he was a teenager. Watch and see! Just a few short years earlier, in Bette's own vehicles ("Now, Voyager" or "The Great Lie"), the same kind of material could be treated with a degree of sensitivity and artistry. She won two Academy Awards as a best actress for her roles in 86 films. Daviss solo piano performance of Beethovens Piano Sonata No. Claudette Colbert, the leading lady in It Happened One Night (1934), was originally meant to play Margo Channing. By creating an account, you agree to the This movie could have been good, but it doesn't meet the audiences expectations for a movie called deception. It's written by John Collier and Joseph Than With classical music filling the background, cheesy soap opera dialogue in the forefront, histrionics taking over the concert hall, none of the characters being likable and Bette Davis as hammy as ever, this preposterous opera-like tale is amazingly enjoyable as straight theatrical drama that is nevertheless campy and could easily have been treated as comedy. One of the truly astonishing and monumentally memorable episodes in the film has him ordering and re-ordering, and ordering again, an elaborate meal in a restaurant as he imperiously delays Paul Henreid from meeting a scheduled appointment. . Davis was married to Sherrys father, actor William Grant Sherry, from 1945 to 1949. How Many Guitar String Manufacturers Are There? I saw them kill you.". See production, box office & company info, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA. She ends her affair with Rains and tries to pretend it never happened. Instead of developing the story from B to A, they tarted up the script with words like "effrontery," "abject," and "virago." Forget Henried's Karel who is merely window dressing. [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. Another weak aspect is the editing. Since I'm collecting Claude Rains films I recently bought this video, "Deception," and viewed it today. When she was older, she changed her first name to Bette as an homage to Honor de Balzac's novel La Cousine Bette. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Davis died in 1989, and her last words were reportedly Im so tired, Im so tired. These words have been interpreted in various ways, but they are generally seen as a reflection of Davis exhaustion both physically and emotionally. The title Jealousy was not available. Or, was it the other way around? . They wanted to pretend they were making an A picture. And, I have to admit, an out and out camp classic. Crawford used more subtle tricks to get back at Davis: Before shooting a scene where Davis had to drag her across the ground, Crawford reportedly put on a lead-lined belt to make it that much harder on Davis (who had a bad back). Fans around the world are paying tribute to one of Hollywoods most enduring stars, Betta Davis. . At Bette's request The Virgin Queen received its premiere in Maine, preceded by a cocktail party at her home, Witchway. Christine forgot to mention that she's been shacked up with a famous composer, Alexander Hollenius (Rains), who's been keeping her. The young man confesses, and the play ends with the expectation that he will get off easily. We search near and far for original movie trailer from all decades. Carry OwenGeorge Benson . In fact, was there ever a more detestable egotist than Rains' arrogant composer, Hollenius. Thousands of people crowded the streets outside the Strand Theatre in Portland, Maine, for the screening on 22 July 1955. The rivalry between Davis and Joan Crawford made for one of the most famous feuds in Hollywood history (and was the subject of the 2017 FX series, Feud). Davis was known for her outspokenness and her ability to command attention, and her last words are often seen as a reflection of her personality. His character is all arrogance, insufferably backed up with prodigious talent, a powerful intellect, and a razor sharp wit which he uses without qualm to taunt or torture those around him. DECEPTION; screen play by John Collier and Joseph Than, based on a play by Louis Verneuil; directed by Irving Rapper; produced by Henry Blanke for Warner Brothers. A fellow musician and composer who has just barely survived life in Europe during WWII, Karel is sick and emotionally frail. Coming Soon. A very satisfying look at Davis and Rains at the peak of their powers. the plot was interesting and it had me guessing for a while. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. The haughty composer pauses more than once to tell Christine outright where she's going wrong, explaining to her how she makes it easy for him to control her. 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. What it doesn't deserve is to languish in the shadows of these inferior efforts (as well as her well known classic films) because, it may be no masterpiece, but it's still huge fun and that's surely good enough reason to drag it out and brush the cobwebs off. All rights reserved. If this film had gotten a better editing job, I might have given it an 8. After marrying her long-lost love, a musician finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her. This is a complete filmography of Bette Davis.Davis began acting in films in 1931, initially as a contract player with Universal Studios, where she made her film debut in Bad Sister.She was initially seen as unappealing by studio executives, and was assigned to a string of B-movies early in her career.. Davis made a transition to Warner Bros. in 1932, and made her breakthrough performance in . 23, Opus 57 in F Minor (Appassionata), but the fact is that Davis rehearsed so thoroughly that she was able to synchronize with the recorded playback perfectly on the first take. Claude Rains and Bette Davis spar in magnificent style, with Rains, stroking the fur of his pet Siamese cat, winning by default, since he was given a role which is so over-the-top that, in the hands of a lesser actor, it would have verged on outrageous camp. 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. 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