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{{short description|1941 film by Edmund Goulding}}
{{Distinguish|Big lie}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = The Great Lie
| name = The Great Lie
| image = The Great Lie.jpg
| image = The Great Lie.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Edmund Goulding]]
| director = [[Edmund Goulding]]
| producer = [[Hal B. Wallis]]
| producer = [[Hal B. Wallis]]
| based_on = {{based on|''January Heights''<br>1936 novel|Polan Banks}}<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| title=Bette Davis Wriggles Out of 'The Great Lie,' at the Strand -- Dead End Kids at Rialto| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E4D7113DE33BBC4A52DFB266838A659EDE| last=Crowther| first=Bosley| author-link=Bosley Crowther| date=April 12, 1941| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| accessdate=March 15, 2018|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
| writer = [[Lenore J. Coffee]]
| screenplay = [[Lenore J. Coffee]]
| starring = [[Bette Davis]]<br>[[George Brent]]<br>[[Mary Astor]]
| starring = [[Bette Davis]]<br>[[George Brent]]<br>[[Mary Astor]]
| music = [[Max Steiner]]
| music = [[Max Steiner]]
| cinematography = [[Tony Gaudio]]
| cinematography = [[Tony Gaudio]]
| editing = Ralph Dawson
| editing = [[Ralph Dawson]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| studio = [[Warner Bros.]]
| distributor = Warner Bros.
| released = {{Film date|1941|04|12}}
| released = {{Film date|1941|04|12}}
| runtime = 108 minutes
| runtime = 108 minutes
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = $689,253<ref>Ed. Rudy Behlmer ''Inside Warner Bros (1935-1951)'', 1985 p 208</ref>
| budget = $689,253<ref>{{cite book| first=Rudy| last=Behlmer| title=Inside Warner Bros (1935-1951)| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PVkAAAAMAAJ&q=great+lie| date=November 29, 1985| publisher=Viking| page=208| isbn=978-0670804788| accessdate=March 15, 2018}}</ref>
}}
}}
⚫
'''''The Great Lie''''' is a 1941 American [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Edmund Goulding]], and starring [[Bette Davis]], [[George Brent]] and [[Mary Astor]].<ref name=variety>{{cite news| title=Review: The Great Lie| url=https://variety.com/1940/film/reviews/the-great-lie-1200413466/| date=December 31, 1940| newspaper=Variety| accessdate=March 15, 2018}}</ref> The screenplay by [[Lenore J. Coffee]] is based on the novel ''January Heights'' by Polan Banks.<ref name=sikov/>

⚫
'''''The Great Lie''''' is a 1941 American [[drama film]] directed by [[Edmund Goulding]]<ref>Review from ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' April 9, 1941.</ref> and starring [[Bette Davis]], [[George Brent]], and [[Mary Astor]]. The screenplay by [[Lenore J. Coffee]] is based on the novel ''January Heights'' by Polan Banks.<ref>Sikov 2008, p. 172.</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
When concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor) and her aviator husband Peter Van Allen (George Brent) discover their impulsive marriage is invalid because her divorce had not been finalized before they wed, he leaves her and marries his old flame Maggie Patterson (Bette Davis). Peter travels to [[Brazil]] on business and, when his aircraft goes missing, it is presumed it crashed in the jungle and he was killed.
When concert pianist Sandra Kovak ([[Mary Astor]]) and her aviator husband Peter Van Allen ([[George Brent]]) discover their impulsive marriage is invalid because her divorce had not been finalized before they wed, he leaves her and marries his old flame Maggie Patterson ([[Bette Davis]]). Peter travels to [[Brazil]] on business and, when his aircraft goes missing, it is presumed it crashed in the jungle and he was killed.


Sandra discovers she is pregnant by Peter, and Maggie proposes she be allowed to raise the child as her own in exchange for taking care of Sandra financially. The two women go to [[Arizona]] to await the birth, and Sandra delivers a boy who is named after his father.
Sandra discovers she is pregnant by Peter, and Maggie proposes she be allowed to raise the child as her own in exchange for taking care of Sandra financially. The two women go to [[Arizona]] to await the birth, and Sandra delivers a boy, who is named after his father.


Sandra embarks upon a world tour, during which Peter, who survived the crash, returns home, and Maggie leads him to believe the boy is theirs. Sandra, wanting both father and son for herself, taunts Maggie that Peter has remained with her only because of the boy and demands she confess she misled him. When Maggie explains the true situation, Peter is shocked by Sandra's behavior and announces she can take the baby but he will remain with Maggie. Sandra, accepting the fact Peter truly loves Maggie and knowing she will be a far better mother to the child, takes her leave.
Sandra embarks upon a world tour, during which Peter, who survived the crash, returns home. He reunites with Maggie who introduces him to "their" son. Peter is overjoyed to find he has a child. However, Sandra, wanting both father and son for herself, taunts Maggie that Peter has remained with her only because of the boy and demands she confess she misled him. When Maggie explains the true situation, Peter is shocked and disgusted by Sandra's horrid behavior and announces she may take the baby but he will remain with Maggie. Sandra, accepting that Peter truly loves Maggie and knowing Maggie will be a far better mother to the child, sits down at the piano and announces she is leaving the child with his mother as she plays [[Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Concerto No. 1]].


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Bette Davis]] as Maggie Patterson
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
*[[Bette Davis]] - Maggie Patterson
* [[George Brent]] as Peter Van Allen
*[[George Brent]] - Peter Van Allen
* [[Mary Astor]] as Sandra Kovak
*[[Mary Astor]] - Sandra Kovak
* [[Lucile Watson]] as Aunt Ada Greenfield
*[[Lucile Watson]] - Aunt Ada Greenfield
* [[Hattie McDaniel]] as Violet
⚫
* [[Grant Mitchell (actor)|Grant Mitchell]] as Joshua Mason
*[[Hattie McDaniel]] - Violet
* [[Jerome Cowan]] as Jock Thompson
{{col-break}}
⚫
* [[Charles Trowbridge]] as Sen. Ted Greenfield
⚫
*[[Grant Mitchell (actor)|Grant Mitchell]] - Joshua Mason
*[[Jerome Cowan]] - Jock Thompson
* [[Thurston Hall]] as Oscar Worthington James
* [[Russell Hicks]] as Colonel Harriston
⚫
*[[Charles Trowbridge]] - Sen. Ted Greenfield
* [[J. Farrell MacDonald]] as Dr. Ferguson
*[[Thurston Hall]] - Oscar Worthington James
*[[Sam McDaniel]] - Jefferson
* [[Sam McDaniel]] as Jefferson
{{col-end}}


==Production==
==Production==
After completing ''[[The Letter (1940 film)|The Letter]]'', [[Bette Davis]] vacationed in [[New Hampshire]], and upon her return to Hollywood she was offered the role of Maggie Peterson in ''The Great Lie''. "I wasn't very excited about it," she later recalled, but fan mail urging her to play a nice role for a change of pace prompted her to accept. "Maggie was one of the few times I played a character basically like myself off the screen," she said.<ref name=Stine>Stine and Davis 1974, pp. 139–145</ref> The chance to play a sympathetic character was appealing as fan mail had been universally calling for her to be "nice."<ref>Sikov 2008, p. 171.</ref>
After completing ''[[The Letter (1940 film)|The Letter]]'', [[Bette Davis]] vacationed in [[New Hampshire]], and upon her return to Hollywood she was offered the role of Maggie Peterson in ''The Great Lie''. "I wasn't very excited about it," she later recalled, but fan mail urging her to play a nice role for a change of pace prompted her to accept. "Maggie was one of the few times I played a character basically like myself off the screen," she said.<ref name=Stine>Stine and Davis 1974, pp. 139–145</ref> The chance to play a sympathetic character was appealing as fan mail had been universally calling for her to be "nice."<ref name=sikov>{{cite book| last=Sikov| first=Ed| title=Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVF8dddede8C&q=great+lie| location=New York| publisher=Macmillan| year=2008| isbn=978-0-8050-8863-2| pages=172–174}}</ref>
[[File:Mary Astor in The Great Lie trailer.jpg|right|thumb|From the film's trailer]]The role of Sandra Kovak proved difficult to cast. Although she was ideal for the part, [[Miriam Hopkins]] was not considered because of the many problems she had created while co-starring with Davis in ''[[The Old Maid (1939 film)|The Old Maid]]''. Among those who tested for the part were [[Anna Sten]], [[Sylvia Sidney]], [[Muriel Angelus]], [[Katherine Locke]], and [[Mary Astor]],<ref name=Higham>Higham 1981, pp. 140-143</ref> who was, in fact, an accomplished pianist.<ref name=Stine/> Davis, who enjoyed working with powerful actresses capable of challenging her to outmatch them in scenes in which they interacted, felt Astor was the best of the lot and insisted studio head [[Jack L. Warner]] test her again, this time playing the piano, when producer [[Hal B. Wallis]] seemed disinclined to offer her the role. Filming began with the role of Sandra still uncast, much to Davis' distress. She and director Edmund Goulding engaged in so many heated discussions the actress developed [[laryngitis]], and filming was suspended for two days. When Davis returned to the set on November 8, 1940, she learned Wallis and Warner had acquiesced to her demand Astor be cast.<ref name=Higham/>
[[File:Mary Astor in The Great Lie trailer.jpg|right|thumb|From the film's trailer]]The role of Sandra Kovak proved difficult to cast. Although she was ideal for the part, [[Miriam Hopkins]] was not considered because of the many problems she had created while co-starring with Davis in ''[[The Old Maid (1939 film)|The Old Maid]]''. Among those who tested for the part were [[Anna Sten]], [[Sylvia Sidney]], [[Muriel Angelus]], [[Katherine Locke]], and [[Mary Astor]], who was, in fact, an accomplished pianist.<ref name=Higham/><ref name=Stine/>
Davis, who enjoyed working with powerful actresses capable of challenging her to outmatch them in scenes in which they interacted, felt Astor was the best of the lot and insisted studio head [[Jack L. Warner]] test her again, this time playing the piano, when producer [[Hal B. Wallis]] seemed disinclined to offer her the role.
Filming began with the role of Sandra still uncast, much to Davis' distress. She and director Edmund Goulding engaged in so many heated discussions the actress developed [[laryngitis]], and filming was suspended for two days. When Davis returned to the set on November 8, 1940, she learned Wallis and Warner had acquiesced to her demand Astor be cast.<ref name=Higham>{{cite book| last=Higham| first=Charles| title=The Life of Bette Davis| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHeiSMRr-LsC&q=great+lie| location=New York| publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company| pages=140–143| date=October 1, 1981| isbn=978-0025515000|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:Bette Davis in The Great Lie trailer.jpg|left|thumb|From the film's trailer]]
[[File:Bette Davis in The Great Lie trailer.jpg|left|thumb|From the film's trailer]]
Davis and Astor bonded immediately. "This picture is going to stink! It's too incredible for words... so it's up to us to rewrite this piece of junk to make it more interesting," Davis told her co-star, and the two women set about to eliminate many of the [[soap opera]] elements from their dialogue and create a great deal of business for their characters.<ref name=Stine /> Still, there were some problems the two could neither anticipate nor avoid. The baby hired to play the infant Peter was sick during much of the filming, causing delays in the schedule, and when a nurse dropped him, he was injured so seriously he needed to be replaced. (His parents consequently filed a lawsuit against the studio.) Davis, Astor and [[George Brent]], cast as Peter Van Allen, also were ill at various times, creating problems with the schedule. Astor was distracted by marital problems with Manuel del Campo, who refused to join her on location in [[Victorville, California]] after she was given permission for him to do so. Davis was determined filming be completed by Christmas so the cast and crew could enjoy the holidays and she could plan her [[New Year's Eve]] wedding with [[Arthur Farnsworth (Bette Davis' husband)|Arthur Farnsworth]].<ref name=Higham/>
Davis and Astor bonded immediately. "This picture is going to stink! It's too incredible for words... so it's up to us to rewrite this piece of junk to make it more interesting," Davis told her co-star, and the two women set about to eliminate many of the [[soap opera]] elements from their dialogue and create a great deal of business for their characters.<ref name=Stine />


Still, there were some problems the two could neither anticipate nor avoid. The baby hired to play the infant Peter was sick during much of the filming, causing delays in the schedule, and when a nurse dropped him, he was injured so seriously he needed to be replaced. (His parents consequently filed a lawsuit against the studio.) Davis, Astor and [[George Brent]], cast as Peter Van Allen, also were ill at various times, creating problems with the schedule. Additionally, Astor was distracted by marital problems with [[Manuel del Campo]], who refused to join her on location in [[Victorville, California]] after she was given permission for him to do so. Davis was determined filming be completed by Christmas so the cast and crew could enjoy the holidays and she could plan her [[New Year's Eve]] wedding with [[Arthur Farnsworth (Bette Davis' husband)|Arthur Farnsworth]].<ref name=Higham/>
⚫
Although Astor was capable enough to play the piano during the concert sequences, her instrument was a dummy while Max Rabinovitch was playing a real one behind the scenes. Taking her cues from the conductor, the actress matched notes with the pianist until perfect [[synchronization]] was achieved. [[Jose Iturbi]] later asked Astor, "How could you ''not'' be playing? I have played the concerto many times, and you were right in there!" Davis stated, "These concert scenes of Mary's were the most believable ever seen on screen - because she really ''was'' a pianist par excellence." <ref name=Stine/>


⚫
Although Astor was capable enough to play the piano during the concert sequences, her instrument was a dummy while Max Rabinovitch was playing a real one behind the scenes. Taking her cues from the conductor, the actress matched notes with the pianist until perfect [[synchronization]] was achieved. [[Jose Iturbi]] later asked Astor, "How could you ''not'' be playing? I have played the concerto many times, and you were right in there!" Davis stated, "These concert scenes of Mary's were the most believable ever seen on screen - because she really ''was'' a pianist par excellence."<ref name=Stine/>
At Davis' request, the film premiered in [[Littleton, New Hampshire]] on April 5, 1941, her 33rd birthday, as a benefit for the local hospital. It opened nationwide the following week.<ref name=Stine/>


On March 2, 1942, Brent and Astor reprised their roles for a ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' broadcast, with [[Loretta Young]] assuming the Davis role.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=2789&category=Notes "Notes: 'The Great Lie'."] ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: January 9, 2010.</ref>
At Davis' request, the film premiered in [[Littleton, New Hampshire]] on April 5, 1941, her 33rd birthday, as a benefit for the local hospital. It opened nationwide the following week.<ref name=Stine/> On March 2, 1942, Brent and Astor reprised their roles for a ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' broadcast, with [[Loretta Young]] assuming the Davis role.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2789/the-great-lie#notes "Notes: 'The Great Lie'."] ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: March 14, 2024.</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
[[Bosley Crowther]] of the ''[[New York Times]]'' observed, "There is precious little substance to this elaborately surcharged dilemma in which Miss Davis has been caught up... So the only excuse to be found for this thoroughly synthetic tale is that it gives Miss Davis an opportunity to display her fine talent for distress, to be maternal and noble... And in that role there is no question that she conducts herself handsomely... Mary Astor... provides a beautiful contrast of cold and poisonous conceit... In short, the acting is impressive, the direction of Edmund Goulding makes for class, but the story is such a trifle that it hardly seems worth the while. However, the women will probably love it, since fibs are so provocative of fun."<ref>Crowther, Bosley. [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E4D7113DE33BBC4A52DFB266838A659EDE " 'The Great Lie' review."] ''New York Times''. Retrieved: January 9, 2010.</ref>
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' observed, "There is precious little substance to this elaborately surcharged dilemma in which Miss Davis has been caught up... So the only excuse to be found for this thoroughly synthetic tale is that it gives Miss Davis an opportunity to display her fine talent for distress, to be maternal and noble... And in that role there is no question that she conducts herself handsomely... Mary Astor... provides a beautiful contrast of cold and poisonous conceit... In short, the acting is impressive, the direction of Edmund Goulding makes for class, but the story is such a trifle that it hardly seems worth the while. However, the women will probably love it, since fibs are so provocative of fun."<ref name=nyt/>


''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "a well-rounded package of dramatic entertainment" due to "excellent performances by the players, deft direction by Edmund Goulding, and a compact script by Lenore Coffee."<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791353.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 " 'The Great Lie' review."] ''Variety''. Retrieved: January 9, 2010.</ref>
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "a well-rounded package of dramatic entertainment" due to "excellent performances by the players, deft direction by Edmund Goulding, and a compact script by Lenore Coffee."<ref name=variety/>


==Awards and nominations==
==Awards and nominations==
Mary Astor won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].
Astor won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].


==Home media==
==Home media==
Line 71: Line 76:
;Bibliography
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
* Higham, Charles. ''The Life of Bette Davis''. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1981. ISBN 0-02-551500-4.
⚫
* {{cite book| last1=Stine| first1=Whitney| first2=Bette| last2=Davis| title=Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis| location=New York| publisher=Hawthorn Books| date=January 1, 1974| isbn=978-0801551840| url=https://archive.org/details/mothergoddam00whit}}
* Sikov, Ed. ''Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis''. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8050-8863-2.
⚫
* Stine, Whitney and Bette Davis. ''Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis''. New York: Hawthorn Books 1974. ISBN 0-8015-5184-6.
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|The Great Lie (film)}}
{{commons category|The Great Lie (film)}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0033677}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0033677}}
*{{Amg movie|id=20697}}
* {{Amg movie|id=20697}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=2789}}
* {{AFI film|id=26723|title=The Great Lie}}


{{Edmund Goulding}}
{{Edmund Goulding}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Lie, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Lie, The}}

[[Category:1941 films]]
[[Category:1941 films]]
[[Category:1940s drama films]]
[[Category:1941 drama films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:Black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films based on novels]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award-winning performance]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Edmund Goulding]]
[[Category:Films directed by Edmund Goulding]]
[[Category:Films produced by Hal B. Wallis]]
[[Category:Films produced by Hal B. Wallis]]
[[Category:Film scores by Max Steiner]]
[[Category:Films scored by Max Steiner]]
⚫
[[Category:1940s American films]]

Latest revision as of 06:59, 20 August 2024

Not to be confused with Big lie.
The Great Lie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdmund Goulding
Screenplay byLenore J. Coffee
Based onJanuary Heights
1936 novel
by Polan Banks[1]
Produced byHal B. Wallis
StarringBette Davis
George Brent
Mary Astor
CinematographyTony Gaudio
Edited byRalph Dawson
Music byMax Steiner
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • April 12, 1941 (1941-04-12)
Running time
108 minutes
LandVereinigte Staaten
SpracheEnglisch
Budget$689,253[2]

The Great Lie is a 1941 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding, and starring Bette Davis, George Brent and Mary Astor.[3] The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee is based on the novel January Heights by Polan Banks.[4]

Plot

[edit]

When concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor) and her aviator husband Peter Van Allen (George Brent) discover their impulsive marriage is invalid because her divorce had not been finalized before they wed, he leaves her and marries his old flame Maggie Patterson (Bette Davis). Peter travels to Brazil on business and, when his aircraft goes missing, it is presumed it crashed in the jungle and he was killed.

Sandra discovers she is pregnant by Peter, and Maggie proposes she be allowed to raise the child as her own in exchange for taking care of Sandra financially. The two women go to Arizona to await the birth, and Sandra delivers a boy, who is named after his father.

Sandra embarks upon a world tour, during which Peter, who survived the crash, returns home. He reunites with Maggie who introduces him to "their" son. Peter is overjoyed to find he has a child. However, Sandra, wanting both father and son for herself, taunts Maggie that Peter has remained with her only because of the boy and demands she confess she misled him. When Maggie explains the true situation, Peter is shocked and disgusted by Sandra's horrid behavior and announces she may take the baby but he will remain with Maggie. Sandra, accepting that Peter truly loves Maggie and knowing Maggie will be a far better mother to the child, sits down at the piano and announces she is leaving the child with his mother as she plays Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

After completing The Letter, Bette Davis vacationed in New Hampshire, and upon her return to Hollywood she was offered the role of Maggie Peterson in The Great Lie. "I wasn't very excited about it," she later recalled, but fan mail urging her to play a nice role for a change of pace prompted her to accept. "Maggie was one of the few times I played a character basically like myself off the screen," she said.[5] The chance to play a sympathetic character was appealing as fan mail had been universally calling for her to be "nice."[4]

From the film's trailer

The role of Sandra Kovak proved difficult to cast. Although she was ideal for the part, Miriam Hopkins was not considered because of the many problems she had created while co-starring with Davis in The Old Maid. Among those who tested for the part were Anna Sten, Sylvia Sidney, Muriel Angelus, Katherine Locke, and Mary Astor, who was, in fact, an accomplished pianist.[6][5]

Davis, who enjoyed working with powerful actresses capable of challenging her to outmatch them in scenes in which they interacted, felt Astor was the best of the lot and insisted studio head Jack L. Warner test her again, this time playing the piano, when producer Hal B. Wallis seemed disinclined to offer her the role.

Filming began with the role of Sandra still uncast, much to Davis' distress. She and director Edmund Goulding engaged in so many heated discussions the actress developed laryngitis, and filming was suspended for two days. When Davis returned to the set on November 8, 1940, she learned Wallis and Warner had acquiesced to her demand Astor be cast.[6]

From the film's trailer

Davis and Astor bonded immediately. "This picture is going to stink! It's too incredible for words... so it's up to us to rewrite this piece of junk to make it more interesting," Davis told her co-star, and the two women set about to eliminate many of the soap opera elements from their dialogue and create a great deal of business for their characters.[5]

Still, there were some problems the two could neither anticipate nor avoid. The baby hired to play the infant Peter was sick during much of the filming, causing delays in the schedule, and when a nurse dropped him, he was injured so seriously he needed to be replaced. (His parents consequently filed a lawsuit against the studio.) Davis, Astor and George Brent, cast as Peter Van Allen, also were ill at various times, creating problems with the schedule. Additionally, Astor was distracted by marital problems with Manuel del Campo, who refused to join her on location in Victorville, California after she was given permission for him to do so. Davis was determined filming be completed by Christmas so the cast and crew could enjoy the holidays and she could plan her New Year's Eve wedding with Arthur Farnsworth.[6]

Although Astor was capable enough to play the piano during the concert sequences, her instrument was a dummy while Max Rabinovitch was playing a real one behind the scenes. Taking her cues from the conductor, the actress matched notes with the pianist until perfect synchronization was achieved. Jose Iturbi later asked Astor, "How could you not be playing? I have played the concerto many times, and you were right in there!" Davis stated, "These concert scenes of Mary's were the most believable ever seen on screen - because she really was a pianist par excellence."[5]

At Davis' request, the film premiered in Littleton, New Hampshire on April 5, 1941, her 33rd birthday, as a benefit for the local hospital. It opened nationwide the following week.[5] On March 2, 1942, Brent and Astor reprised their roles for a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast, with Loretta Young assuming the Davis role.[7]

Reception

[edit]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times observed, "There is precious little substance to this elaborately surcharged dilemma in which Miss Davis has been caught up... So the only excuse to be found for this thoroughly synthetic tale is that it gives Miss Davis an opportunity to display her fine talent for distress, to be maternal and noble... And in that role there is no question that she conducts herself handsomely... Mary Astor... provides a beautiful contrast of cold and poisonous conceit... In short, the acting is impressive, the direction of Edmund Goulding makes for class, but the story is such a trifle that it hardly seems worth the while. However, the women will probably love it, since fibs are so provocative of fun."[1]

Variety called the film "a well-rounded package of dramatic entertainment" due to "excellent performances by the players, deft direction by Edmund Goulding, and a compact script by Lenore Coffee."[3]

Awards and nominations

[edit]

Astor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Home media

[edit]

On April 1, 2008, Warner Home Video released the film in DVD format as part of the box set The Bette Davis Collection, Volume 3, which also includes All This, and Heaven Too, In This Our Life, Watch on the Rhine and Deception.

References

[edit]
Notes
  1. ^ a b Crowther, Bosley (April 12, 1941). "Bette Davis Wriggles Out of 'The Great Lie,' at the Strand -- Dead End Kids at Rialto". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. ^ Behlmer, Rudy (November 29, 1985). Inside Warner Bros (1935-1951). Viking. p. 208. ISBN 978-0670804788. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Review: The Great Lie". Variety. December 31, 1940. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Sikov, Ed (2008). Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis. New York: Macmillan. pp. 172–174. ISBN 978-0-8050-8863-2.
  5. ^ a b c d e Stine and Davis 1974, pp. 139–145
  6. ^ a b c Higham, Charles (October 1, 1981). The Life of Bette Davis. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. pp. 140–143. ISBN 978-0025515000.
  7. ^ "Notes: 'The Great Lie'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: March 14, 2024.
Bibliography
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Great Lie (film).
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