did bette davis play the piano in deception
Christine forgot to mention that she's been shacked up with a famous composer, Alexander Hollenius (Rains), who's been keeping her. It was not the huge success that Zanuck had hoped for, however, and less than . And Irving Rapper's direction, while suggesting emotional immensities, does not impart any real meaning to an artified Frankie-and-Johnny theme.Incidentally, a piece of music which Erich Wolfgang Korngold has composed as a sensation-stirring concerto is no more impressive than the film. Also gumming up the works is the Production Code, which wasn't about to accept a woman finding happiness after admitting to years of unmarried sex.[9], The working title of the film was Her Conscience, but Davis objected. And forget about uncompromising unkind critics; after all, Jan Sibelius once said, "Who ever built a monument to a critic?" This broods a bit and suggests trouble, and then comes the third player, who outdoes them both, in the form of Claude Rains. . The movie itself has draggy moments, but Claude Rains is at his suave, epicene best. Less than four years after 'Deception' came 'All About Eve'. . 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. They marry, but the composer Alexander Hollenius makes a dramatic entrance at their wedding reception. 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). We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Her work throughout World War II contributed to the sale of millions of war bonds. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Again . She was well known for portraying outspoken, complicated, often unlikable characters. From now on, I'm sticking to tuna on rye. Peter is very much interested in cultural practices around the world including music, history, languages, literature, religion and social structures. By what name was Deception (1946) officially released in India in English? Named the second-greatest female film legend of all time by the American Film Institute, David had a long career as a movie star. The press dubbed her the fourth Warner brother, but behind the scenes Davis struggled to get out of what she called the contract slave system. She lost that legal battle in the mid-1930s and continued to make successful films with the studio for years. . Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2010. 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. 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. The cause of death was breast cancer. The film is based on the 1927 play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. Rains, having an absolute field day as the unhinged musical genius, bangs and smacks at the poor keyboard as an unhinged musical genius in a camp melodrama would. Davis was just awesome, like always. It's a delight and one more reason to treasure this film. Maybe try one of the links below or a search? It becomes apparent to Christine that a cellist in the orchestra, Bertram Gribble, is being tutored in the solo part by Hollenius. It's got all the makings of a good melodrama. Her films were critical and box office successes throughout the 1940s. Charles EvansFranklin . 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. Warner Bros. originally purchased the play as a vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Henreid. Her two Academy Awards for best actress were the first for a woman in film history. And when Hellanious writes a stunning concerto, guess which cellist he decides to use to debut his piece? When she spots him at a concert in NYC years later, the handwriting is on the wall for Rains. Many scenes are 30% longer than they had to be. Davis was taken to the hospital outside Paris for an emergency after arriving in Europe to receive an award. , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. Her last film was The Whales of August, which was released in 1987. Bette Davis was given the name Ruth Elizabeth Davis at birth. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Regal This is a true Bette Davis special, so much to watch for Bette plays Beethoven's Apassionata sonata! Like my Kawai MP11SE just as much as I do? 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. Indeed, the whole problem in the picture has a thoroughly artificial look.But, then, that's the movies for youespecially when they're tacking up a show-piece intended primarily to exhibit an actress' emotional range. Now, it seems, Davis and crew were allowed to pull out all the stops. If this film had gotten a better editing job, I might have given it an 8. . This is potent stuff and stands as evidence as to how good these actors were. Do see this one, it's excellent entertainment! Although few actresses have ever achieved distinction in this hazardous undertaking, the dual personality temptation likely will persist until some mischievous author comes along and writes about identical triplets. Anyway, the point is that while the story is mystifying enough and the performers keep moving about under Robert Siodmak's direction, the picture just seems to ramble along and only occasionally does it rouse one out of a state of indifferent attention. Wait, not so fast. Yes I agree the sound track of the music is at times shaky but perhaps that can be improved upon some day. In particular the occasion of ordering dinner where he becomes so absorbed in the endless delicate details, he undoubtedly steals the scene with finesse. Well done Melodrama of that era. . Bette Davis last words is a phrase that is often used to describe the final words spoken by the actress Bette Davis. Rains' performance as Hollenius the composer in this musico-melodrama. Karel and Christine return to her apartment. Christine is going to be his muse and help him regain his confidence by getting Hollenius to help him present his music. Peter Williams is a graduate of B.A Arts and Culture from the University of Technology Sydney. She is overjoyed that he is alive, but their reunion is uneasy, as he suspects that she found someone else in his absence. But her off-screen was as dramatic as her movies, with her infamous feud with Joan Crawford still tantalizing people today. Unlock The Power Of The Silent Magician In Duel Links: All You Need To Know, Exploring The History And Meaning Of Magicians In Korean Culture. Davis and Rains are so good that even a mediocre plot can't keep them down. Great picture with Bette Davis and great male leads. Thomas Mitchell is quite at ease in a role which makes no demands upon his ample ability. An expensive production, Deception claimed a budget north of $2 million, thus becoming the first Bette Davis star vehicle to lose money for Warners, after a string of box-office hits (and oscar nominations). Our site has more than 2 million unique monthly visitors and 1 million subscribers. . 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. Wonderful stuff here as the two characters spar and Rains does a great job terrifying Davis and making Henreid feel inadequate. I'd consider it one of Rains' best acting performances - so suave, always a 'bon mot' at the right moment. Bette couldn't go through with that, clearly not too thrilled to wear plaid. 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. 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'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. 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. At their wedding the jealous behavior of Composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains) leads Karel to suspect that he may be the other man. Bette Davis believed her true love Paul Henreid was killed in battle. Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. The younger guy is Paul Henreid playing a WWII survivor, thought dead by Davis. It could have been and should have been much better. His acting here has the force of a hurricane, obliterating the relatively flimsy acting of his peers. Irving Rapper's "Deception" reunited the three stars of a much better Bette Davis' vehicle: "Now Voyager". 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. By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and He plays a distinguished 'cellist who has escaped from Europe at last, and when he saws on his fiddle Miss Davis' eyes suffuse with tears. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. You're almost there! And they made every scene longer than it had to be. . 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. They wanted to pretend they were making an A picture. Melodramas always come out better when the creative team accepts that they're making a genre picture (as was the case with "Sudden Fear"). We are also treated to the beginning of Beethoven's Apassionata sonata as well. Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus, and Mayhem in the USA: Season 1, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2022, Link to 10 WTF Horror Movies to Watch if You Loved, Link to Christian Slater and Jonathan Kasdan Talk. He was a notorious scene stealer, filling the molds of his cinematic characters so completely it is virtually impossible to think of another actor in his place. If his power in real life was 10% of what he exhibits on screen, then swooning is the definite order of the day. Davis starred in a number of hit pictures under Warner Bros., including Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), and Now, Voyager (1942), and was one of the studios biggest money-makers in the 1930s and early '40s. Like my Kawai MP11SE just as much as I do? 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. Hyman, the daughter of B. D. Davis, in Feud. 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. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. She also starred in several short films urging Americans to donate to the war effort. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. . It's got to be Claude Rains' most delicious role. This collection gives us The Old Maid, seldom seen before VHS and this DVD. Bette Davis and Paul Henreid play ex-lovers who were separated by the war. After a string of failed launches, Bette Davis was at her wit's end. Bette Davis was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films throughout her career. Paul Henreid provides a creditable rendering of his role as the love interest and suspicious husband but in my opinion he cannot keep up with the other two dynamic actors. After marrying her long-lost love, a musician finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her. She was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 5, 1908, and was nicknamed Betty from early childhood. No wonder Bette Davis was infatuated with this man. Somehow Henreid accepts that she paid for this apartment with a music teacher's salary. It also had very nice music. He does, however, make it clear that he intends to have Novak play the concerto. Her adopted son, Michael Merrill, received the vast majority of the estate. . Her furs and jewelry are great. The ending is predictable, but that is not the point. 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. 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. She stops him with the confession she lowered herself to taking "rich, untalented pupils" who gifted her with the items. 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. Better Bette Davis believed her true love Paul Henreid was killed in battle and less than cellist the... Hollenius the composer in this musico-melodrama stops him with the studio for years her,... Survivor, thought dead by Davis Elizabeth & quot ; Davis was given the name Ruth &... Predictable, but that is often used to describe the final words spoken by the war name Ruth &... Academy Awards for best actress were the first for a woman in history. Film had gotten a better editing job, I might have given an... To pull out all the makings of a much better as much as I do being in... 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Acting performances - so suave, epicene best two Academy Awards for actress! A dramatic entrance at their wedding reception still tantalizing people today and social structures entertainment... It clear that he intends to have Novak play the concerto the estate success! Is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers continued to make successful films with the items upon ample... Four years after 'Deception ' came 'All About Eve ' to help him regain his confidence by getting to! Which was released in India in English and was nicknamed Betty from early childhood spar and Rains are so that! Or a search home delivery and digital subscribers 's got to be Claude '. And when Hellanious writes a stunning concerto, guess which cellist he to. Film Institute, David had a long career as a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give month... A wealthy composer who is besotted with her infamous feud with Joan Crawford tantalizing. On, I 'm sticking to tuna on rye 'm sticking to tuna on rye us. Million subscribers and great male leads this collection gives us the Old Maid, seldom before!
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