Watch Deception For Free

So much average

I wanted to but couldn't!

Brilliant and touching

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Rainy Manhattan streets, shadowy interiors and expressionistic cinematography all contribute to the dark atmosphere of this romantic melodrama in which deception, jealousy and fear are prevalent throughout. Its story about a love triangle that involves classical musicians is characterised by mendacity, suspicion and passions that run so high that they eventually lead to murder and there's also an ever-present tension that exists because the stakes are so high for everyone involved.As it's based on the play "Monsieur Lamberthier" by Louis Verneuil, it's no surprise that some passages of the movie are stagy but on the more positive side, it also features a superior script with lots of witty dialogue to enjoy.Struggling pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) and talented cello player Karel Novak (Paul Henreid) are thrilled to meet up again in New York City after a long separation. The couple had known each other in Europe during World War 11 and Christine had returned home believing that her lover had been killed. After she takes Karel back to her penthouse apartment in Manhattan, he's suitably impressed but also wonders how she can afford to live in such surroundings and to pay for the fur coats that he sees in her wardrobe. She tells him that she gets well paid for giving piano lessons to students from well-off families.The couple decide to get married without delay and during their wedding party are surprised by the arrival of world-famous composer Alexander Hollenious (Claude Rains) who, as Christine's mentor, says he's concerned about how marriage might affect her dedication to her musical development and also mentions that Christine has never given piano lessons professionally. Hollenious has an overbearing manner and is obviously bitter and jealous about Christine getting married. His conduct at the party becomes so inappropriate that, after his departure, the other guests quickly disperse.Christine, who for some years had been enjoying the material benefits of being Hollenious' mistress, fears that he might tell Karel about their affair and when he offers Karel the opportunity to perform the cello solo in his newly-composed concerto, Christine becomes very suspicious of his motives. Knowing what Hollenious is capable of, she fears that he might be using the situation as a means to damage her new husband's career but the way in which subsequent events unfold, prove to be full of surprises for Christine, Karel and Hollenious.Acting styles obviously change over the years but Claude Rains' performance in this movie is so outrageously entertaining that it transcends any such concerns. The impact he makes in the wedding party scene and at a dinner that Hollenious arranges (purely to disconcert Karel) before the rehearsal for the new concerto, is absolutely tremendous as he dominates both scenes completely. Bette Davis looks shifty as she has to keep telling lie after lie to conceal her secret and Paul Henreid looks troubled throughout as a man who becomes suspicious of both Christine and Hollenious and struggles to cope with his fragile mental and emotional state (which is a consequence of his experiences during the War)."Deception" features some good camera-work with numerous well-framed shots and effective camera angles playing their part in enhancing the action. Interesting use is also made of mirrors, for example when Karel sees Christine for the first time and in a sequence where Christine, looking at her reflection, smoothly changes to Hollenious doing the same thing. This movie isn't a classic but is nevertheless, very enjoyable both for its entertaining plot and Rains' exceptional performance.

Watching this for the first time in 2015 the first thought that springs to mind is the rivalry between Davis and Crawford, both, in 1946, stars at Warners; what fascinates is this; was the rivalry so intense that BOTH had to co-star opposite an actor playing an outstanding classical musician - Crawford with violinist Garfield in Humoresque, and Davis with cellist Henried in this, Deception? Crawford of course got the better deal, better writer, Cliff Odets, better director, Jean Negulesco, and better leading man, John Garfield, on the other hand Davis doesn't actually need class in other departments, after all, journeyman Irving Rapper had already steered her through Now, Voyager, if the stuff isn't there on the page and/or behind the camera she simply puts that much more oomph into her acting, so this isn't a total loss. True, there could have been a tad (make that a megawatt) more chemistry between her and Henreid: premise, she thinks he's dead, meets him again, he, theoretically, loves her with equal passion but when they meet again instead of ripping each others' clothes off they embrace almost platonically and even when she takes him back to her apartment they're content to make small talk. But this IS Davis and a Claude Rains on top form which means it's a winner.

Almost impossibly dull, plodding story about a petty lover's quarrel between three music world denizens. In a decent noir (male audience), the movie would have shown the dramatic backstory that this tosses away with two lines of dialog in the first 15 minutes. It's tossed away as a favor to female viewers who want the entire running time devoted to class fantasy, women's fashions and the melodramatics of being the bauble whom two men are feuding over. Though calling Rains a 'man' here is pushing it. Rains plays the jealous teacher/lover as a pompous, effeminate poseur, along the lines of Clifton Webb. He's quite annoying. One sock in the jaw is all it would take to end that conflict! As a bonus it would shut him up.There are about 12 micro-drama/flare-ups that are all equally uninvolving. The conflict eventually lead to the belabored ordering of a pretentious meal in some restaurant, which is supposed to be grueling for Paul Henreid. It was grueling for me. You have to sit through scads of excruciating, inscrutable chatter to get to a murder. A tense moment is undermined by an inane radio commercial for a scrubbing product ("Remember, 'Drawrof' spelled backwards is 'Forward'") that draws guffaws instead of anxiety. And remember girls, when choosing between two men, the right guy is the one who tries to strangle you when he's upset. (!)The only trace of excitement here is the title. A pile of ham. A tremendous snoozer. Te De um!

Deception (1946)A marvelous chamber piece, in a way, involving orchestral music. The cast begins with two principals, played with usual intensity by Bette Davis and with usual restraint by Paul Henreid. This broods a bit and suggests trouble, and then comes the third player, who outdoes them both, in the form of Claude Rains. The rest of the movie is an interplay between the three, a push and pull and game of dodging and, of course, deception.So how to judge this kind of tightly woven enterprise? It feels as though William Wyler could have directed it, so polished and rich it all is. But this is a Warner Brothers drama, so there is another kind of layer of dark danger, and of a noir inspired lighting and camera-work. This visual aspect, in a way, is the real star of the film, which says a lot, considering the high level of acting involved. In all it's purely an entertainment, but at the highest level. The backdrop of classic music and classical musicians hasn't worn well over the years, but I grew up with this kind of scene and it brought back a lot of those vibes. A terrific movie within its own genre.