Themes: Haunted By the Past, Lovers Reunited, Musician's Life
Main Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, John Abbott, Benson Fong
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
Plot
Deception is an operatic rehash of the 1929 film Jealousy. Music teacher Bette Davis--who evidently has a large student pool, judging by the size of her penthouse apartment--is reunited with her cellist lover Paul Henreid, whom she believed to have been killed in the war. Henreid wants to marry Davis, but he is unaware that she has, for the past several years, been the "protege" of composer Claude Rains. Rains agrees to keep quiet about his affair with Davis, but takes sadistic delight in tormenting the woman and working behind the scenes to sabotage Henreid's career. When Rains tells Bette of his plans to publicly humiliate Henreid, she shoots her ex-lover dead. Henreid agrees to stand by Davis no matter what is in store for her. Director Irving Rapper had originally wanted to treat the hoary plot twists of Deception comically, with the three principals walking off together at the end with a "what the hell?" attitude. He was tersely told to stick to the script; after all, people didn't pay to see Bette Davis but to see her suffer. Like the 1929 version of Jealousy, Deception was based on a play by Louis Verneuil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Melodramas don't come much soapier than Deception. If that means the film doesn't qualify as art, it doesn't prevent it from being a rollicking good time -- provided one is willing to let oneself get in the right mood. That mood might be called "Bette Davis on the Loose," for Deception is one of those pictures in which Davis is called upon to suffer nobly and hints of glycerin tears in the eyes; to use halting body language to disguise her ill-concealed past; and to vent her wrath in a no-holds-barred manner that shakes the heavens. It's not one of Davis' great performances, but it has the sound and fury that is so rewarding. The same cannot be said of Paul Henreid, whose performance is lifeless and annoying. But Claude Rains is another matter. Whereas Davis is simply playing to the balcony, Rains gives a truly fine performance. He's a cold and manipulative monster, but the actor understands that a veneer of warmth, a tendency to underplay and an ability to keep the fires on the inside rather than belching out can add definite layers of interest to a character. Irving Rapper's direction is nowhere near as fine as in Now, Voyager, but he hits the high points in an audience-friendly manner. Ernest Haller's cinematography enhances the picture, but modern viewers are likely to find Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score a bit too much for their tastes. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Anton Grot - Art Director, Bernard Newman - Costume Designer, Irving Rapper - Director, Alan Crosland, Jr. - Editor, Jack L. Warner - Executive Producer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ernest Haller - Cinematographer, Henry Blanke - Producer, George James Hopkins - Set Designer, John Collier - Screenwriter, Joseph Than - Screenwriter, Louis Verneuil - Play Author
