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The Great Lie
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The Great Lie (1941) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   1,030 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Edmund Goulding
Writers:
Polan Banks (novel)
Lenore J. Coffee (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Great Lie on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 April 1941 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Sometimes there's a terrible penalty for telling the truth.
Plot:
After a newlywed's husband apparently dies in a plane crash, she discovers that her rival for his affections is now pregnant with his child. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. more
User Comments:
missing husbands, mystery babies, warring ladies more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Bette Davis ... Maggie Patterson Van Allen
George Brent ... Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
Mary Astor ... Sandra Kovak
Lucile Watson ... Aunt Ada Greenfield

Hattie McDaniel ... Violet
Grant Mitchell ... Joshua 'Josh' Mason
Jerome Cowan ... Jock H. Thompson
Charles Trowbridge ... Sen. Ted Greenfield
Thurston Hall ... Oscar Worthington 'Worthy' James
Russell Hicks ... Col. Harriston
Virginia Brissac ... Sadie
J. Farrell MacDonald ... Dr. Ferguson (as J. Farrell Macdonald)
Addison Richards ... Mr. Talbot
Sam McDaniel ... Jefferson Washington
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Olin Howland ... Ed, Arizona Ranch Hand (scenes deleted)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Far Horizon (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
108 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Bette Davis and 'Mary Astor (I)' thought the original script was not very good. They ended up doing massive rewrites on the script themselves. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The cake that Violet and Jefferson take to the party changes size from the time it leaves the kitchen and its arrival in the dining area. It leaves the kitchen very tall and arrives considerably shorter. more
Quotes:
Sandra Kovac: I'm not one of you anemic creatures who can get nourishment from a lettuce leaf - I'm a musician, I'm an artist! I have zest and appetite - and I like food! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (1997) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
The Sailor's Hornpipe more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful:-
missing husbands, mystery babies, warring ladies, 23 January 2008
5/10
Author: didi-5 from United Kingdom

An average melodrama with a powerhouse performance by Mary Astor (if you've only seen her as Marmie in 'Little Women' she's a bit different here). Bette Davis and George Brent are former lovers still on the boil, and circumstances mean that he is passed between her and Astor depending on what's happened on a particular day. Then he goes missing in a plane, there's a baby, there's a plan ... and that's about it.

'The Great Lie' is a typical Warners potboiler, lengthy, not very believable, but with decent enough performances and production values. In the 1940s there were a lot of love triangles in the movies and a lot about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of children; this film is no exception. The husband may be a bit colourless, but the ladies he is involved with more than make up for that, although it is hardly Davis' best performance.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Song? SarahKayW
Novel by Polan Banks timlindamood
Cuba Libre nunezarnaldo
So Pete Was A Real A-Hole evilbastard9
the first lie lkpo90
Copy of DVD? bjnevin
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