Deception
Directing by Irving Rapper
Written by John Collier, Joseph Than and Louis Verneuil
1946/US
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Alexander Hollenius: She tells me you’re some sort of a genius, if such a term can be applied to a mere performer.[/box]
For me, this Bette Davis vehicle actually belongs to Claude Rains and to Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s beautiful score.
Christine Radcliffe (Davis) is a classical pianist. She accidentally stumbles upon her lost love Karel Novak (Paul Henreid), a cellist, playing at a college concert. They became separated during the war, she returning to the U.S. and he suffering some unstated horrors in Europe. They have an emotional reunion and decide to marry at once.
Novak senses there is something amiss with Christine’s lavish apartment and possessions but Christine cannot bring herself to admit that she was the protegee and mistress of famous composer Alexander Hollenius (Rains) during the war. Hollenius does not react well to Christine’s marriage announcement. He keeps needling her in a semi-threatening manner to tell Novak the truth. Then suddenly he decides to hire Novak as the soloist for the premier of his cello concerto. But Hollenius keeps the nervous and sensitive cellist so off balance that he can scarcely play. To Christine, this all seems to be heading to a dramatic revelation by her temperamental and imperious ex-lover.
This is basically a “woman’s picture” that shades into noir in the last ten minutes. I found Davis’s and Henreid’s characters almost insufferably neurotic. I had a hard time feeling any sympathy for Christine’s crazy making deception. That said, Claude Rains has a big part and is fascinating throughout. There’s a lot of humor in his characterization that makes the stock “genius” character very human. The other strong point is the wonderful score. Korngold wrote a cello concerto for the movie that is now played in concert halls.
The DVD had a very nice commentary. The film historian kept asking the audience to watch how the Martha Graham-trained Davis moved. She really is wonderful whether she strides into a room or runs up a flight of stairs. I’m taking note of that for the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmBvAR7ArRU
Trailer – cinematography by Ernest Haller
