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Mood:
- SentimentalBittersweetEmotionalTouching
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Plot:
- InfidelityLove TriangleSocial DifferencesPregnancyLove and RomanceCouplesFamily RelationsBabies and Infants more...
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Genres:
- DramaMelodramaSoap Opera
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Time/Period:
- 40s
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Place:
- New YorkPhiladelphiaLatin AmericaUSA
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Audience:
- Date Night
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Praise:
- Oscar Winner
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Based on:
- Based on Book
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealistic
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Look:
- B&W
Does this gene fit The Great Lie?
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The Great Lie, 1941
English
USA
Profile of The Great Lie
The Great Lie can be described as bittersweet, sentimental, and emotional. The plot revolves around pregnancy, social differences, and infidelity. The main genre is drama. In terms of style, The Great Lie is a melodrama and is a soap opera. In approach, it is serious and realistic. It is located in Philadelphia, South America, and New York. Visually, The Great Lie is black and white. It is based on a book. The movie has received attention for being an Oscar winner. The Great Lie is well suited for a date night.
Summary of The Great Lie
Bette Davis was at the top of her game when she starred in this soap opera-like drama by director Edmund Goulding. (Goulding had already proven himself a good director for Davis with THE OLD MAID and DARK VICTORY, though legend has it they fought like crazy during filming). As Maggie Patterson, Davis is a spritely southern belle in charge of a fertile plantation, and in love with a boozy, irresponsible pilot, Peter Van Allen (George Brent). However, she's competing for his hand with a glitzy New York rival, Sandra Kovac (Mary Astor). Maggie eventually wins Peter as a husband, but Sandra winds up pregnant with his child. When his plane goes down over the Amazon and he's presumed dead, the two decide to make a deal where Sandra has the baby in secret and Maggie pretends the child is her own. Of course all bets are off when Peter suddenly shows up. The result is a classy, cocktail and conversation melodrama, made sublime by the wonderfully bitchy dueling between Davis and Astor.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 5 April 1941 |
| Runtime: | 108 min |
| Awards: | Academy Awards |
Awards
Cast and Crew
as Maggie Patterson Van Allen
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
as Sandra Kovak
as Aunt Ada Greenfield
