IMDb RATING
7.1/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
After a newlywed's husband apparently dies in a plane crash, she discovers that her rival for his affections is pregnant with his child.After a newlywed's husband apparently dies in a plane crash, she discovers that her rival for his affections is pregnant with his child.After a newlywed's husband apparently dies in a plane crash, she discovers that her rival for his affections is pregnant with his child.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins total
J. Farrell MacDonald
- Dr. Ferguson
- (as J. Farrell Macdonald)
Olin Howland
- Ed - Arizona Ranch Hand
- (scenes deleted)
Georgia Caine
- Mrs. Pine
- (uncredited)
Richard Clayton
- Page Boy
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBette Davis and Mary Astor thought the original script was not very good. They ended up doing massive rewrites on the script themselves.
- GoofsThe cake that Violet and Jefferson take to the party changes size from the time it leaves the kitchen to 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!
- SoundtracksPiano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
(1888) (uncredited)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sandra Kovac's signature concert piece.
Excerpts played over opening credits
Variations played often as background music
Featured review
Mary Astor's Triumph
The chief reason to watch this highly implausible melodrama is the bravura supporting performance of the stunning Mary Astor, ably abetted by Bette Davis, the lead actress, both at their cinematic peaks. Astor plays a passionate but emotionally fickle concert pianist with lusty appetites who battles decent and simple Bette for the affections of George Brent. No need to detail the plot about one woman persuading another to give up her baby. Suffice it to say that whenever these two powerhouse actresses occupy the screen, especially together, the viewer can accept anything. Outstanding is a sequence shot at least in part on location in the desert where the battling ladies reach a climax of sorts in their emotional duel. It is said that the two performers rewrote some of Lenore Coffee's script to spike it up; if so, they succeeded brilliantly. Their contrasting natures - physically, vocally, emotionally and, thanks to wise costume design, sartorially - make them an exciting and volatile combination. Astor has never been more ravishing and even Davis photographs unusually well in many scenes. The always entertaining Hattie McDaniel and Lucile Watson are on hand as the maid and a matronly aunt, respectively, though they do nothing here they haven't done better elsewhere. Astor, in addition to her expert histrionics, is said to have actually played as opposed to faking - classical piano pieces throughout, adding substance, emotional coloring and much-needed authenticity. If she was faking, then it was dazzling fakery!
helpful•165
- mukava991
- Aug 30, 2007
- How long is The Great Lie?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $689,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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