The Great Lie (1941) - Astor and Davis shine in Goulding's over-the-top melodrama

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Star Bette Davis looks mysterious and far away up against co-star George Brent on this poster for Edmund Goulding's The Great Lie

A chivalrous pilot in a drunken bout marries a troublesome pianist, - but does that then for sure means that they are married? And what about the virtuous Maggie, which it seems he really loves...?

 

The Great Lie is written by Lenore J. Coffee (Honor of the Family (1931)), adapting January Heights (1936) by Polan Banks, and directed by Edmund Goulding (Sun-Up (1925)).

The plot, which includes a fake child, a plane accident and the most incredible developments imaginable, is positively ludicrous, - residing in the category that may be called 'melodrama bonkers', - and the film must be seen partly for this quality, but also for the outstanding, skilled performances from Mary Astor (Across the Pacific (1942)) - as the pianist, - and Bette Davis (The Scapegoat (1959)) as the good girl Maggie. The Great Lie also has Hattie MacDaniel (Sky Racket (1937)) as a laughably sentimental black house mama. 

Related post:

Edmund Goulding: Grand Hotel (1932) - Loose star vehicle with some charm and two magnificent dames

 

Watch a 4-minute excerpt from the film here

 

Cost: 689k $

Box office: Unknown, reportedly a "solid hit"

= Uncertain

[The Great Lie premiered 5 April (Littleton, New Hampshire) and runs 108 minutes. Davis was unexcited about the part but took it to play a sympathetic character, which her fans had beckoned her to do. She fought hard to get Astor cast, and the two reportedly found the screenplay to "stink", eliminating several "soap opera elements" while adding new things for their characters instead. Davis was reportedly paid 4,500 $ a week during shooting, which took place from October - December 1940 in California. Astor was a capable pianist but mimicked playing anyway. The box office information about the film is regrettably unavailable online. A Goulding biographer calls the film a "solid hit" without backing it up with any numbers. It was only released in several countries 2-3 years after WWII, that is in 1947 and 1948. Astor won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, and the film also won a National Board of Review award. Goulding returned with Forever and a Day (1943). Davis returned with an uncredited cameo in Shining Victory (1941) and front-and-center in The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941). 3,472 IMDb users have given The Great Lie a 7.2/10 average rating.]

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