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. At Bette's request The Virgin Queen received its premiere in Maine, preceded by a cocktail party at her home, Witchway. I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Charles EvansFranklin . 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. And his cello concerto is a fine work in itself! Also, I've grown to appreciate Bette Davis movies as I got older and feel she gives a heart-rending performance that is thoughtful and, thank goodness, not so overwrought. Subscribe to CLASSIC TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u43jDeSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FACEB. 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. Fans around the world are paying tribute to one of Hollywoods most enduring stars, Betta Davis. For the mephistophelian performance of Claude Rains in this villainous role makes her look completely childish and, from the viewpoint of logic, absurd. Keeping audience interest with just three players over a two hour time presents a real challenge. With high production costs and modest cinema patronage, it became the first Bette Davis film to lose money for Warner Bros.[14], Film critic Dennis Schwartz generally liked the film, writing, "Irving Rapper (Shining Victory/Now, Voyager/Rhapsody in Blue) helms this labored romantic melodrama, a remake of the early talkie 1929 Jealousy that was also based on a Louis Verneuil play. The movie itself has draggy moments, but Claude Rains is at his suave, epicene best. 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. But, the script-stealing scene is between Davis and Rains. I live to watch that scene over and again for its acting mastery. Like many Hollywood starlets, Bette Davis changed her name. . . Or, was it the other way around? Great picture with Bette Davis and great male leads. It's a delight and one more reason to treasure this film. A piano teacher named Christine Radcliffe is being mentored by conductor Alexander Hollenius. Isn't she a poor teacher and presumably without a well padded family? Coming Soon. Korngold subsequently expanded this material and published it as his own cello concerto. . 6 was filmed as part of the film. . Her furs and jewelry are great. DECEPTION; screen play by John Collier . Near the beginning of the film, Jerry Spencer, an eager student reporter (Richard Erdman), asks Karel Which of the living composers should I admire? Karel demurs, but when asked who he likes best, he replies: Stravinsky when I think of the present, Richard Strauss when I think of the past, and of course, Hollenius, who combines the rhythm of today with the melody of yesterday. The last is an apt description of and probable tribute to Korngold. Rainy Manhattan streets, shadowy interiors and expressionistic cinematography all contribute to the dark atmosphere of this romantic melodrama in which deception, jealousy and fear are prevalent throughout. Paul Henreid says he did not get along with Irving Rapper, despite working with him for the second time. This Universal-International production, which arrived yesterday to puzzle patrons of Loew's Criterion, left this spectator in a state of bewilderment second only to that of Thomas Mitchell, the harassed police lieutenant in the story who is confronted with a murder involving twin sisters and can't distinguish one from the other. And that, so far as we can figure, is all "Deception" is intended to dojust to give Miss Davis an opportunity to act a harassed and love-tortured dame. Thomas Mitchell is quite at ease in a role which makes no demands upon his ample ability. 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. The screen crackles with vitriol. Davis was taken to the hospital outside Paris for an emergency after arriving in Europe to receive an award. Oh, and I forgot to mention the amazingly good symphony performance scenes, with an original cello concerto by Korngold, ("played" by Henreid with the arms of two real cellists reaching in from either side to play the instrument). 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. 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. She founded the Hollywood Canteen, where soldiers passing through Los Angeles could mingle with stars, and she toured with actresses Hattie McDaniel, Lena Horne, and Ethel Waters to perform for all-black army divisions. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. . She regrets that she could have played Scarlett OHara, but she declined the role for many years. . This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. She ends her affair with Rains and tries to pretend it never happened. Deception is a 1946 American film noir drama released by Warner Brothers and directed by Irving Rapper. "Deception" tried to be more than it was. As a famous and worldly composer with some vicious attachment to a dame, he fills out a fascinating portrait of a titanic egoist. Bette Davis found out that she was pregnant during filming. The upcoming reissue will be released through Warner Archive Collection. Four years later,the three actors of Irving Rapper's "now,voyager" -an ugly duckling melodrama-,Bette Davis,Paul Henreid and Claude Rains sign up for the cast of "deception" .One could hardly call "deception" a melodrama;it's rather a psychological drama for it lacks the "enough is enough", the extravagance of the plot which made Stahl and Sirk so priceless.It's actually a subtle movie,with a Bette Davis at her most generous and a Claude Rains at his vilest.A true gourmet,at the French restaurant ,you should see him talk woodcocks and partridges with the chef (with French lines galore)!A composer,he treats his fellow creatures as puppets ,buy them fancy clothes,luxury apartments,statuettes worthy of a museum.but as the heroine will learn,the rent is always due. Beginners welcome. In fact, was there ever a more detestable egotist than Rains' arrogant composer, Hollenius. She is overjoyed that he is alive, but their reunion is uneasy, as he suspects that she found someone else in his absence. Regal Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2022, 10 WTF Horror Movies to Watch if You Loved M3GAN, Christian Slater and Jonathan Kasdan Talk Willow Finale, Allagashs Possible Survival, and Potential Season 2 Stories. Miss Davis might have wished that in the film, too, he were kept more discreetly concealed. Again . The protagonists are all musicians whose lives may be more complicated than one foreseesyet, there is something far more important that you also cannot see in advance: the miracle of silver screen's power to communicate ideas in a tremendously vibrant manner. It becomes apparent to Christine that a cellist in the orchestra, Bertram Gribble, is being tutored in the solo part by Hollenius. . Bette Davis believed her true love Paul Henreid was killed in battle. How did I never come across Deception (1946) before? This is a film where all three stars shine equally. 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. The ending is predictable, but that is not the point. Less than four years after 'Deception' came 'All About Eve'. 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. His character is an egotistical, sexy, hilarious conductor with the improbable name of Alex Hellonious. Betty Davis had one child, a daughter named Barbara Davis Sherry. Over the years, we have been providing quality content, commentaries, opinions and insights on arts and music. (1962), Davis had a Coke machine installed on set as a dig at her costar Crawford, who was the widow of Pepsis CEO. 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). Needless to say, hell hath no fury like a Hellanious scored, and the remainder of the film has Christine telling lie upon lie to keep the truth from Karel (who is prone to fits of jealous rage), while the vindictive Hellanious watches on in malicious amusement. Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born on April 5, 1908, inLowell, Mass., to Harlow Morrel Davis and Ruth Favor Davis. "Deception" was based on a play and the adaptation has opened it in unexpected ways. Her films were critical and box office successes throughout the 1940s. It opened on Broadway as Jealousy on October 22, 1928 at Maxine Elliott's Theatre, as a two-hander (a play with only two main characters), with Fay Bainter and John Halliday. Karel and Christine return to her apartment. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Rotten Tomatoes news! 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. 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. It was a fairly ordinary melodrama. Instead of developing the story from B to A, they tarted up the script with words like "effrontery," "abject," and "virago." Lela BlissMiss Beade . What transpires next is a cat and mouse game between Christine and Hollenius. Coming Soon. Dont worry, it wont take long. 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. 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. Bette Davis in a series of superior films. , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. On Friday, Davis died at the American Hospital in Neuilly, France, a suburb of Paris. But the pro's at Warner Bros. manage to do it, in spades. Still, one must hand it to Mr. Johnson for keeping his audience guessing, if not always entertained. Another weak aspect is the editing. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter Her mothers relationship with Joan Crawford was constantly in the news, and she was on set with her at the time. No wonder Bette Davis was infatuated with this man. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Rains, playing a vitriolic maestro, has the time of his life with this role as he spits venom all over the set. But, more than this, the camp of 'Deception' is positively elevated to high art. Bette Davis last words is a phrase that is often used to describe the final words spoken by the actress Bette Davis. Thousands of people crowded the streets outside the Strand Theatre in Portland, Maine, for the screening on 22 July 1955. deceptions + pranks + magic + frauds + cons + lying + cheating + fakes + hoaxes + illusions. . Davis is his paramour and a serious. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. It stars Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, who had also appeared together in the highly successful Now, Voyager (1942). They inserted serious classical music here and there. What Deception is is a high powered duel between flamboyant personalities (Davis and Rains) wiping their costar (Henreid) right off the screen.

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