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The Great Lie Movie Review

The Great Lie is a 1941 melodrama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Bette Davis, George Brent and Mary Astor. It’s a ridiculously plotted movie.

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“Whoever heard of an ounce of brandy?“

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Sandra and Pete elope but their marriage is invalid since she’s not yet divorced. Sandra is left pregnant when Pete returns to his ex-flame. When his plane crashes both women contest for the baby. Yes, all of this rang false and silly. I would even call this story preposterous as it is bordering on soap opera levels. I did not buy any of it, though you can definitely get some enjoyment out of these trashy plot points.

This is one of those forties movies where the whole pressure was put on the actors to deliver in order to elevate the material, and thankfully these ladies did just that. While George Brent is fine in a decidedly less interesting role, these is all about Davis and Astor and they are the reason why the movie is even worth seeing, even to the point of making it serviceable.

Bette Davis is excellent in a less stagy performance than usual for her from this period and her character is quite likable for sure. Her dynamic with Mary Astor was fantastic and the two are a joy to watch when they are together. But I would go so far to say that it is Astor who is the standout here, even trumping Davis. Her performance is energetic, believable and very emotionally driven. As a result, her winning an Oscar for this movie was very deserved, even if that year this particular category was stacked. This is the actress’s only award.

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The Great Lie is very limited in scope, thus the cinematography, score and direction are all just okay without being particularly cinematic, though some scenes here and there are elevated for just a bit. The dialogue is strong at times and the movie has its emotional scenes, but the preposterousness of the plot remained a problem throughout, and I cannot imagine what this movie had sounded like before these two ladies changed the script.