The Great Lie (1941)

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

Lenore J. Coffee (screen play)
Polan Banks (novel)

Release Date:

12 April 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

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.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Marriage | Maryland | Desert | Missing Person

Awards:

Won Oscar.

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 Mason
Jerome Cowan	...	Jock H. Thompson
Charles Trowbridge	...	Sen. Ted Greenfield
Thurston Hall	...	Worthington James
Russell Hicks	...	Colonel 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)
Georgia Caine	...	Mrs. Pine (uncredited)
Richard Clayton	...	Page Boy (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Billy Eugene Ferris	...	Pete Van Allen Jr. #1 (uncredited)
George Kirby	...	Minister (uncredited)
Doris Lloyd	...	Bertha, Sandra's Maid (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Backstage Waiter (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Man Greeting Sandra Backstage (uncredited)
George Reed	...	Greenfield's Butler (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Harry Anderson (uncredited)
Napoleon Simpson	...	Parker, Greenfield's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Timony Tennyson	...	Pete Van Allen Jr. #2 (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Lottie Williams	...	Woman with Minister at Maggie's (uncredited)
Charlotte Wynters	...	Mrs. Anderson (uncredited)

Directed by
Edmund Goulding

Writing credits
Lenore J. Coffee		(screen play) (as Lenore Coffee)
Polan Banks		(novel "The Far Horizon")

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Frank Mattison	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Sullivan	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound

Special Effects by
Robert Burks	....	special effects
Byron Haskin	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arranger
Ray Heindorf	....	orchestral arranger
Max Rabinowitz	....	musician: piano (uncredited)

Other crew
Norma Drury Boleslavsky	....	stand-in: hands playing piano (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1941) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Mojave Desert, Victorville, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 2, 1942 with George Brent and Mary Astor reprising their film roles.

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.

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!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

How Dry I Am

Overblown but good soap opera

A rich woman Maggie (Bette Davis) is in love with Peter Van Allen (George Brent) who is married to famous concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Mary Astor). Them Van Allen finds out his marriage to Kovak isn't legal--they got married before her divorce was final. So he marries Maggie which infuriates Kovak. Then Kovak discovers she's pregnant and Van Allen disappears when his plane crashes in the jungle...

As you can see this is more than a little silly. The above plot just covers the first 30 minutes or so--the story gets even more ridiculous. This is wildly overly melodramatic and has an ending where reality totally disappears, but production values, music and performances pull it over.

It was lushly made (Warners Brothers spared no expense on this one) and there's some great music here--LOVE the piano solos that Astor is supposedly playing. Brent is good in his role--handsome and intelligent. Davis is (as always) good--she ALMOST overdoes it but is pulled back. Astor is GREAT--she deservedly won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this. She takes her role and runs with it--she's playing an almost totally evil, self-absorbed woman and enjoys it.

So it IS silly but worth seeing. I watched the film with a smirk on my face the whole time but I DID keep watching. I give it a 7.