Customer Reviews

The Great Lie

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bette Davis, Mary Astor, a love triangle, a child born out of wedlock, lots of great production values... what's not to be engrossed about? And I'm saying this as a guy who's really not the primary audience for this quintessential "women's picture".

"The Great Lie" on DVD features a sharp picture and good sound, and a variety of extra features. The bonus materials are not so much "behind the scenes" pieces about the main feature, but rather short subjects that movie-goers may have been exposed to if they went to see "The Great Lie" in theaters back in 1941. All were interesting in varying degrees except for the newsreel footage of a banquet of some kind, which featured no sound. One wonders why they included it here.

In any event, pick up this DVD for the good story and powerful character interaction between Ms. Davis and Ms. Astor during the movie itself. Everything else is just a minor bonus.

The Great Lie is a slick, classic "women's picture" which Warners were very much the specialists at by the early 40's.

Mary Astor is the perfect self indulgent, spoiled, and tempestuous concert pianist opposite Davis' more subdued character. The scenes between her and Davis are most enjoyable with fur flying exquisitely in certain scenes. Nice to see an artist with the talent and versatitlity to match Davis. Very much a Davis picture with Brent who is cast perfectly opposite Davis. He was a very versatile leading man at Warners opposite strong leading ladies such as Davis - they appeared many times together.

This film was produced at the height of Davis' powers and the handsome production values and sets show this. Topped off by another of Max Steiner's rich scores that make this unmistakably a Warners top production.

This is one of my favorite classic movies. I watch it over and over, and I never get tired of the story. Mary Astor certainly deserved her Oscar nod for this! Some of the best scenes are of these two formidable ladies and how they cat fight it out. Bette is awesome and you really see why she is such an acting talent. George Brent is great too, but the ladies fold the movie up and put it in their pocket. You won't regret buying this one. It's a keeper!

THE GREAT LIE is really Bette Davis at her finest. She and George Brent always seemed to make magic on film and a chemistry that is so intense the audience can't help but feel, and they didn't fail us with "The Great Lie". Bette Davis and fellow star Mary Astor work off of each other in a glorious way and keep you enjoying both characters and wanting to see "just how much can you rely on a promise from a woman who loves the same man you do". They make you laugh, they make you cry, they make you furious...they are AMAZING in this film.
As a side note, Mary Astor respected Bette Davis' work so much, when they made "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte", even though Astor had a rather small (but very important) part in the movie and not even a scene together with Davis, she wanted Davis on the set because she respected her opinion so much! So check out "The Great Lie", it wont disappoint.

Davis is at her self-sacrificing best! Outspoken with her opinions,she drives her "fiance" into the arms of another woman. Twists, turns, near tragedy, deals, and lies. How will there ever be a happy ending? Not a dark story, Davis is youthful and the queen of the soap-operas. A perfect movie for a snowy afternoon.

WOW!!!THIS IS A GREAT DAVIS FILM.FOR ONCE SHE'S THE "SWEET" LITTLE THING IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER WOMAN'S MAN...BRENT,WHO HAS A WIFEY ,ASTOR. ASTOR IS GREAT HERE AS A REAL ARTISTIC "BITCH"QUEEN WHO HAS THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING GOTTEN PREGNANT BY BRENT BEFORE A QUICKIE DIVORCE WHERE UPON BRENT MARRIES DAVIS.THIS WAS A REAL ADULT SCRIPT FOR IT'S TIME..AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND DAVIS AND ASTOR REWROTE SOME OF THE SCRIPT.BRENT MISTAKENLY DIES AND BETTY WANTS THE BABY THAT ASTOR DOES'NT WANT,AS IT WILL INTERFER WITH HER CAREER AS A CONCERT PLAYER.SHE AND BETTY MAKE A DEAL THAT BETTY CAN HAVE THIS CHILD AFTER BIRTH AND CLAIM IT AS HER OWN. BUT WAIT...BRENT IS FOUND ALIVE AND ASTOR WANTS HIM AND HER BABY BACK!WHAT'S A BETTY TO DO?THIS FILM IS LONG BUT WILL WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY.AND IT DEALS WITH ADULT THEMES NOT USUALLY FOUND IN FILMS MADE AT IT'S TIME/

I love Bette Davis & if I find a movie she is in I buy it. This is one of her best. She is in love with a man who is involved with another womam who is not the nicest person in the world. There is a child involved & parts of this movie is very sad.

It's Bette Davis! She is my favorite actress of all time. I only wish I could have met her in person. She was the first person to really move women forward in their careers and personal lives. Women owe her a great deal of thanks and respect.

I have this on vhs from amazon a very entertaining movie.My favorite Bette Davis movie,

Bette Davis and Mary Astor duel splendidly in the 1941 melodrama THE GREAT LIE, based on a book by Polan Banks. Mild-mannered Maggie Van Allen (Davis) and flamboyant concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Astor) strike a desperate bargain when Maggie's husband Peter (George Brent)--who was also briefly married to Sandra--dies in an aeroplane accident. But Maggie's deception comes back to haunt her when Peter makes a miraculous return from the grave...

To some extent it's a re-tread of material that Davis had previously played in "The Old Maid", but THE GREAT LIE is notable for it's searing, Oscar-winning performance from Mary Astor as Sandra. Davis had personally recommended Astor for the role, aware that she had in fact studied piano and could convincingly pull off the scenes in which Sandra performs her various concertos. The one thing that Davis hated was Lenore Coffee's script ("It's soap opera drivel and it stinks in all departments!" she complained); so she enlisted Astor's help in re-tooling some of the scenes between the two women. Much of what they did on the screen was quite skillfully improvised, and the director Edmund Goulding was delighted with the resulting performances.

Of course, rumours flew that Davis was increasingly jealous that Mary Astor was stealing the entire film away from her, but Astor demurred, instead saying "She handed THE GREAT LIE to me on a silver platter". The movie showcases both ladies to their full advantage, and Davis never had a cause to worry. Davis and Astor continued a friendship right up until Astor's death; indeed, Davis pulled Astor out of retirement to play a small but very important role in the 1964 thriller "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte".

The DVD of THE GREAT LIE is only available as part of Warner's third Bette Davis boxset, which also boasts "The Old Maid", "Watch on the Rhine", "All This, and Heaven Too", "Deception" and "In This Our Life".