Deception (1946)

Sadly Over-hyped

hyped garbage

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Almost impossibly dull, plodding story about a petty lover's quarrel between three music world denizens. In a decent noir (male audience), the movie would have shown the dramatic backstory that this tosses away with two lines of dialog in the first 15 minutes. It's tossed away as a favor to female viewers who want the entire running time devoted to class fantasy, women's fashions and the melodramatics of being the bauble whom two men are feuding over. Though calling Rains a 'man' here is pushing it. Rains plays the jealous teacher/lover as a pompous, effeminate poseur, along the lines of Clifton Webb. He's quite annoying. One sock in the jaw is all it would take to end that conflict! As a bonus it would shut him up.There are about 12 micro-drama/flare-ups that are all equally uninvolving. The conflict eventually lead to the belabored ordering of a pretentious meal in some restaurant, which is supposed to be grueling for Paul Henreid. It was grueling for me. You have to sit through scads of excruciating, inscrutable chatter to get to a murder. A tense moment is undermined by an inane radio commercial for a scrubbing product ("Remember, 'Drawrof' spelled backwards is 'Forward'") that draws guffaws instead of anxiety. And remember girls, when choosing between two men, the right guy is the one who tries to strangle you when he's upset. (!)The only trace of excitement here is the title. A pile of ham. A tremendous snoozer. Te De um!

Deception (1946)A marvelous chamber piece, in a way, involving orchestral music. The cast begins with two principals, played with usual intensity by Bette Davis and with usual restraint by Paul Henreid. This broods a bit and suggests trouble, and then comes the third player, who outdoes them both, in the form of Claude Rains. The rest of the movie is an interplay between the three, a push and pull and game of dodging and, of course, deception.So how to judge this kind of tightly woven enterprise? It feels as though William Wyler could have directed it, so polished and rich it all is. But this is a Warner Brothers drama, so there is another kind of layer of dark danger, and of a noir inspired lighting and camera-work. This visual aspect, in a way, is the real star of the film, which says a lot, considering the high level of acting involved. In all it's purely an entertainment, but at the highest level. The backdrop of classic music and classical musicians hasn't worn well over the years, but I grew up with this kind of scene and it brought back a lot of those vibes. A terrific movie within its own genre.

Musician Bette Davis (Christine) tracks down her pre-war love Paul Henreid (Karel) who is performing as a cellist and they marry. However, in the years that they have been apart, ie, the 2nd World War years, Davis has had an affair with superstar composer Claude Rains (Hellonius) which she wants to keep a secret from Henreid. This is the deception that will later prove tragic as Rains is not so keen on her alliance with Henreid and does his best to undermine their union....... This film belongs to Claude Rains and Bette Davis. Rains is excellent in every scene that he is in and provides great entertainment as a jilted, bitchy prima-donna. The dialogue in this film is very good, especially the scenes between Rains and Davis. Davis's performance comes second to Rains and her "Bette Davis eyes" reactions don't disappoint.The film also succeeds in it's use of music in both the score for the film and the characters playing the instruments - Rains on the piano, Davis on the piano and Henreid on the cello. Unfortunately, Henreid gives a mixed performance. He is dislikable at the beginning but strangely becomes a more sympathetic character in the last half hour. His personality completely changes from a jumped-up jealous type to an understanding, caring soul. Very strange. There is also a fundamental flaw in the plot for modern audiences. Why doesn't Davis just tell Henreid that she has had an affair with Rains after presuming Henreid had been killed. It's totally understandable so what's the big deal in keeping it a secret? We have to remind ourselves of a bygone time where social mores were very different from today. Without that mindset, the film seems like a total nonsense in terms of plot. Still, the film is an entertaining story about 3 neurotic musicians and it leaves you thinking about what happens next when it has finished.

"Deception" released in 1946, is a mildly entertaining film that has some top-notch stars. Bette Davis stars again with Claude Rains and Paul Henried. The three principle actors had previously starred together four years earlier in "Now Voyager" a superior film to this one. This was the fourth film Davis and Rains did together, and their last. In this film, Davis plays a pianist who finds an old love, played by Henried, a cellist. Rains plays an arrogant symphony conductor. The film centers around the world of music, of the classical variety. Davis and Henried marry in the film, much to the dismay of Rains, who was Davis' mentor and lover. It all gets somewhat complicated, with the arrogant Rains playing games with the two other stars, or is he? One is never sure whether he is out to destroy the career of the up and coming Henried out of jealousy or is he just playing his usual obnoxious games. Davis has never told her new husband about the true nature her relationship with Rains, although he seems to always suspect it. Davis and Rains have it out at the end, and the film ends rather strangely as well. "Deception" starts out rather flat and dull, does manage to pick up steam, but certainly does not live up to the standard of prior films of Bette Davis. It is a pity the film also lost money upon its release, for it gives Claude Rains one of the finest performances of his career. Paul Henried is also in fine form. Ms. Davis seems to take a bit of a backseat here to let the others actors shine, whether intentional or not. This was the beginning of the end for Davis at Warner Brothers, as her next few films would be flops and she would leave the studio by 1950. But what a run she had there!