Deception (1946)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Irving Rapper

Writers:

John Collier (writer)
Joseph Than (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

18 October 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

THE STAR OF 'STOLEN LIFE' STEALS ANOTHER LIFE! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Music teacher Christine Radcliffe thought Karel Novak to have been killed in the war. She loves him more than ever and insists they marry...

Plot Keywords:

Cello Concerto | Lover | Music Teacher | Love Triangle | Source Music

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Christine Radcliffe
Paul Henreid	...	Karel Novak
Claude Rains	...	Alexander Hollenius
John Abbott	...	Bertram Gribble
Benson Fong	...	Jimmy, Hollenius' Servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Russell Arms	...	Student (uncredited)
Lois Austin	...	Norma, Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Patricia Barry	...	Music student (uncredited)
Gertrude Carr	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Marcelle Corday	...	Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	(uncredited)
Suzi Crandall	...	Student (uncredited)
Jean De Briac	...	Andre the Matre'd (uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti	...	Beggar (uncredited)
Earle S. Dewey	...	Mr. Day, Jovial Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Norma Drury Boleslavsky	...	Wedding guest (uncredited)
Richard Erdman	...	Jerry Spencer, Bugle Music Editor (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Wedding Guest ringing Glass (uncredited)
Ross Ford	...	Student (uncredited)
Jane Harker	...	Student (uncredited)
Kenneth Hunter	...	Manager (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin	...	Elderly Gentleman (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Einar Neilsen	...	Neilsen, Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)
Alex Pollard	...	Pollard the Butler (uncredited)
Ramon Ros	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Richard Walsh	...	Porter (uncredited)
Richard Wang	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Jean Wong	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Clifton Young	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Irving Rapper

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Collier		writer
Joseph Than		writer
Louis Verneuil		play "Monsieur Lambertheir aka Satan aka Jealousy"

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller

Film Editing by
Alan Crosland Jr.

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Set Decoration by
George James Hopkins

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jesse Hibbs	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dolph Thomas	....	sound

Special Effects by
Edwin B. DuPar	....	special effects
William C. McGann	....	special effects director (as William McGann)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bernard Newman	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
LeRoy Prinz	....	stager: orchestral numbers
Eleanor Aller	....	musician: cello solo (uncredited)
Simon Bucharoff	....	orchestrator: Hollenius Cello Concerto (uncredited)
Shura Cherkassky	....	musician: piano player for Bette Davis (uncredited)
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Daniels	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Her Conscience (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | USA:Approved (PCA #11772, Adult Audience)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Paul Henreid's cello-playing was dubbed by Eleanor Aller (Mrs Felix Slatkin) while she was pregnant with Frederic Zlotkin. Her father, Gregory Aller, coached Henreid in plausible bow movements.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the film, after Karel Novak has played the Hollenius Cello Concerto and is receiving an ovation, as he acknowledges the applause, his cello mysteriously appears and disappears. In the close ups as he takes his bow, he has it, but when the camera cuts to him in long shot, it is missing.

Quotes:

Alexander Hollenius: [snatches his bleeding hand away from Christine Radcliffe] Like all women: white as a sheet at the sight of a couple of scratches... but calm and smiling as a hospital nurse in the presence of a mortal wound... Good night!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Impromptu, Op. 142, No. 2 in A Flat Major

Superb Trio in Classic of Classical Music Score

One of the few actors of Bette Davis' time who could match her screen intensity was Claude Rains. Paul Henreid is paired with Davis as her true love for another convincing romance. But, the script-stealing scene is between Davis and Rains. Matched penultimately perfect for the picture, Davis and Rains match each other's most intense acting skills during a major bedroom blow-out between them. I live to watch that scene over and again for its acting mastery.

Since Deception is about three classical music artists, the classical music score makes Deception's choice script musically enhanced to a classy degree. I love how Rains takes "the 4th Warner Brother's" acting intensity and levels it with his own. Even Bogie couldn't do that when staged with Davis! Don't miss this tightly wound triangulation with Henreid underplaying himself as his role calls for.