{"id":4399,"date":"2007-10-01T10:32:40","date_gmt":"2007-10-01T17:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4399"},"modified":"2020-12-03T10:11:47","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T17:11:47","slug":"deception-1946","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4399","title":{"rendered":"Deception (1946)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-<em>Guide for the Film Fanatic<\/em> title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Sooner or later you&#8217;ll come back to your old teacher. You&#8217;ll realize that nothing matters except music; everything passes, except music &#8212; and me.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster-202x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster-202x300.png 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster-690x1024.png 690w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster-182x270.png 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Deception-Poster.png 761w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAspiring pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) &#8212; who believes her fiance Karel (Paul Henreid) has died in the war &#8212; is thrilled to find him performing in a cello concert in New York. Soon the two are married, but trouble arises when Davis&#8217;s wealthy mentor &#8212; composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains) &#8212; learns about his protegee&#8217;s romantic &#8220;betrayal&#8221;.\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis Films<\/li>\n<li>Claude Rains Films<\/li>\n<li>Composers<\/li>\n<li>Irving Rapper Films<\/li>\n<li>Jealousy<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Musicians<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on Louis Verneuil&#8217;s 1928 play <em>Jealousy<\/em>, this atmospheric melodrama (directed by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/irving-rapper?cat=entertainment\">Irving Rapper<\/a>) received negative reviews upon its release, and is generally considered to be merely an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/deception-film-2\">&#8220;operatic rehash&#8221;<\/a> of its source material &#8212; an assessment which doesn&#8217;t do this enjoyable film justice. The three leads (who starred together in Rapper&#8217;s earlier <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20381\"><em>Now, Voyager<\/em><\/a>) are all wonderful, with Bette Davis perfectly cast as the duplicitous yet well-meaning Christine, and Paul Heinreid appropriately handsome and moody as Karel. Yet it&#8217;s third-billed Claude Rains who most impresses: his portrayal of the egomaniacal Hollenius contains intriguing hints of closeted homosexuality, making his obsessive &#8220;love&#8221; for Christine seem more like a desire for control than a manifestation of lust or romance. Indeed, music itself is the <u>true<\/u> love interest in this sticky triangle, with murder eventually committed in its name; and while the film&#8217;s violent denouement seems to come out of nowhere, it&#8217;s fairly easy to forgive this melodramatic plot device considering the clever script that&#8217;s come before.<\/p>\n<p><strong>P.S.<\/strong> Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), Christine&#8217;s own musical ambitions are dropped as soon as Heinreid appears on the scene; she&#8217;s relegated to performing for guests at her own wedding celebration. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Claude Rains as Hollenius<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-rains.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-rains.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4401\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bette Davis as Christine<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-davis.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-davis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4402\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Paul Henreid as Karel<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-heinreid.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-heinreid.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4403\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>John Abbott in a bit role as a cellist<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-abbott.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-abbott.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4400\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric settings and backdrops<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-atmosphere.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-atmosphere.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4404\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Hollenius taking his sweet time ordering a fancy dinner at a restaurant<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-dinner.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/deception-dinner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4405\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Clever dialogue: &#8220;Extraordinary, isn&#8217;t it, that music can exist in the same world as the basest treachery and ingratitude?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Erich Korngold&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for Rains&#8217;s performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0038461\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1946\/10\/19\/archives\/the-screen-deception-warner-film-with-bette-davis-and-claude-rains.html\">NY Times Original Review (spoilers)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/65193\/deception.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Note: The following review is of a non-Guide for the Film Fanatic title; click here to read more.] &#8220;Sooner or later you&#8217;ll come back to your old teacher. You&#8217;ll realize that nothing matters except music; everything passes, except music &#8212; and me.&#8221; Synopsis: Aspiring pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) &#8212; who believes her fiance Karel (Paul Henreid) has died in the war &#8212; is thrilled to find him performing in a cello concert in New York. Soon the two are&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4399\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missing-title-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4399"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56114,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4399\/revisions\/56114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}