A contrived soap opera which wouldn't pass muster even today.
The only thing that saves it is the superb performance of Mary Astor in what could have been a one-dimensional bitch role. She richly deserved her Oscar.
BTW, I can't imagine two intelligent women fighting over the likes of Pete Van Allen. He wasn't worth it. Maybe if he was portrayed by a better actor than the boring George Brent, but... .
I agree. This movie was practically unwatchable...
share"I agree. This movie was practically unwatchable..."
I've always found this movie extremely watchable, thanks to the efforts of Davis and Astor. Yes, the plot is preposterous, and both actresses knew it, but they make grand soap-opera of it.
"Stone-cold sober I find myself absolutely fascinating!"---Katharine Hepburn
What was so "preposterous" about this movie? The divorce/wedding date thing was a little contrived but it was the most efficient way to deal with the whole plot.
Whether the marriage was valid or not, Pete and Sandra had a "wedding night." The fact that she got pregnant is completely possible. It only takes one time to make a baby ya know.
It was the early 1940s and there was no way Sandra could have kept the baby and her career. Both she and the baby would have been shunned and because she was a public figure and single women couldn't adopt she wouldn't have been able to explain where he came from. People wouldn't have cared that she "thought" she was married when she got pregnant.
The fact is she didn't want the baby at all, she was just planning to use him as a way to get Pete back and only because she didn't want Maggie to have him. When she thought Pete was dead, she couldn't wait to give the baby to Maggie. All she cared about was that she couldn't eat what she wanted to.
Maggie wanted the baby because he was a part of Pete and she knew she could love him and give him the home and advantages that Sandra couldn't.
I saw this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago on TCM. Bette Davis was wonderful in it. She didn't overact and she was really made you care about Maggie, not just kick back and be entertained by Bette. This movie is in the top 5 BD performances.
Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff
I agree with you!
shareI agree there's nothing "preposterous" about this movie, in that era an unmarried pregnant woman would have easily gone along with a scheme like this and they could have probably pulled it off. I've heard stories of women who feigned their unmarried daughter or sister's kid was their own and there's the famous case of movie legend Loretta Young who like Sandra went off to secluded Arizona and secrely gave birth to an illegitimate child in 1936 whom she later passed off as an orphan she decided to adopt. In fact, I wonder if Loretta's saga, often whispered about but never confirmed until the 1990's until her daughter wrote a book, inspired this story.
And certainly there are plenty of women even today passing off a baby as being fathered by someone who actually was not the real father.
I love it. Bette Davis and Mary Astor make it worth watching
shareA 67 year old film dated? How can that be? Why do posters post things like that about old movies? Of course it's somewhat dated due to it's age!
It's a great movie none the less. While the marriage/pregnancy is a bit contrived they had to do it that way to get past the production codes of the day. In today's society it would be nothing. When I watch old movies I keep that in mind.
I think George Brent is a fine actor. Bette Davis and Mary Astor were wonderful too.
I Gregory Peck
~Amanda~
It's a terrific movie. Good performances, clothes to die for.
And Mary Astor looked lovely - deserved her Oscar.
People need to lighten up!
mary astor looked ok, but bette looked as good in this movie as she looked her entire career. neither she or her rival, joan crawford, aged very well but both looked great in the late 30s, early 40s.
shareI love this movie to bits. Apart from the performances, what makes it is the glances between Davis and Astor. They are simply priceless! So bitchy, and so many nasty one-liners like "Supposing you go", "I wish all your days will be as happy as this one", not to mention the double slap in the desert!
The premise of the movie is a bit surreal, but not so much more surreal than most premises of movies of that era. When people get married after just meeting, no sex, no kissing....
well, its not today and most likely nothing even close would be made today. accept and enjoy it for what it was, a way above average movie of 1941. nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you watch it.
shareIf you had listened to Robert Osbourne, according to Davis and Astor the script was "junk". So they rewrote it and didn't even receive credit for it. I love this movie and I do agree on Astor, just wow. Davis went on to make, "The Little Foxes". Phenomenal actress!
I really liked the film, and the Davis and Astor did a phenomenal job too.
The Divine Genealogy Goddess
Excluding Mary Astor's terrific, over-the-top performance, I found the film to be a bore. There are some of these 40s melodramas at Warner Brothers that are fun to watch because they are so outlandish that I can't help but enjoy it. The Great Lie should have been in that category, but the script is so unimpressive that the cast overall doesn't get the chance to show their skills.
I'm no Bette Davis fan, but I'd much rather watch In This Our Life. It's no great work of art, but it's a blast to see.
"Now what kind of man are YOU dude?"
Have to agree on Peter. Someone a little more emotional and committed to acting than George Brent may have improved the feel of the film. The end bothered me most when he tells Maggie that her little bit of crying may make the arriving lunch guests think he slapped her... then he says if she doesn't stop he will have to slap her around a little. That type of talk and when Maggie slaps Sandra while at the Arizona cabin is very dated stuff from Hollywood. Films frequently showed people being brought to their senses by being slapped across the face. I don't think this film should be held to modern standards though. Just getting a look at what the industry produced in 1941 is interesting and somewhat reflective of those times. I thought Hattie McDaniel had some nice lines early in the film as did Astor.
shareyea dated and soap opera like but Bette is still awesome in it When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...