JohnHowardReid Producer: Henry Blanke. In charge of production: Jack L. Warner. Copyright 26 October 1946 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Hollywood: 18 October 1946. U.K. release: 20 October 1947. Australian release: 17 June 1948. 10,246 feet. 113½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: Cellist marries old love, not realizing she has acquired a "new" past.NOTES: Eugene Walter translated and partially rewrote Louis Verneuil's two-character play. It was presented on Broadway in 1928 starring Fay Bainter and John Halliday, under the title Jealousy. Paramount made a film version in 1929 with Jeanne Eagels and Fredric March. For the film the play was expanded, with Halliwell Hobbes playing the "guardian". Jean De Limur directed from an adaptation by Garrett Fort. In 1946 the Verneuil play was again revived, this time in an adaptation by Jane Hinton. Re-titled Obsession, it starred Eugenie Leontovich and Basil Rathbone.COMMENT: Nonsensical but superbly photographed soapie in which Claude Rains has one of the most marvelously flamboyant roles of his entire career. In fact, so electrifying is Rains' sheer presence (of course the writers have provided him with some wonderfully zesty lines) that when he leaves the action, the film just falls apart.Rapper's direction is also remarkably stylish. In less inventive hands, the film would come across as little more than a photographed stage play with music, but Rapper has dressed it up with short takes and dazzling long shots, dramatic angles and volumes of atmosphere. Grot's richly moody sets, dynamically photographed by Ernest Haller also contribute - as does Korngold's lavish music score.Rains wipes the floor with the rest of the cast, though Davis and Henreid strive valiantly. In all, a film for Rains' fans and Korngold music lovers.OTHER VIEWS: For a film that depends so much on its musical score, we cannot say that the sound was up to the usual Warner Bros high standard in the print under review. It was no more than passable. Fortunately the dialogue came across loud and clear. Not that the speeches given to Bette Davis and Paul Henreid are all that worth hearing, but those written for (and enunciated with such relish and bite by) Claude Rains are. In fact, Mr Rains has such a royal old time playing the nasty that Bette's "big scene" after his departure comes as a considerable let-down and anti-climax. The melodramatic plot is so unbelievably creaky, only the deliciously oily Rains can keep it moving. Admittedly, he receives some help from Rapper's more inventive-than-usual direction, from the superior deep-focus camerawork of Ernest Haller, and the broodingly atmospheric sets created by Anton Grot. But it is Rains' film - and really his alone.

seymourblack-1 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.

blitzebill I'll dispense with the details of the plot and move directly to Mr. Rains' performance as Hollenius the composer in this musico-melodrama.This is his show although Davis and Henreid attempt to hold their own in this film.His flair for manipulation and deception, hence the title, dominates the film. He does a great job of it, driving everyone crazy with his shenanigans and jealousy.The cinematography is well done and the story's setting in the world of post-WW II classical/modern music is interesting.I noted that early on, for instance, as Henreid finished a performance, audience members asked him who his favorite living composer was..."Sibelius...or Shostakovich...?" No mention of Aaron Copland or the many other composers alive at the time.Hollenius' work as a composer was a curious mix of tonal, traditional and slightly atonal influences, attempting to display "modern" music but watered down to keep the audience and us interested.The mimicking of the piano and cello performances by all three actors was fairly well done.I found it quite interesting too that both Davis and Rains were not "starving artists" like Henreid. Opulent apartments and lifestyles for piano teachers and composers were not common, but these two were well-off in an even garish sense.This was not the reality of the time in the music world.I'd recommend this film if you're a Rains or Davis fan. Henreid was not used for his full potential.

moonspinner55 Louis Verneuil's play "Monsieur Lambertheir", first filmed in 1929 as "Jealousy", became the last screen-teaming of Warners stars Bette Davis and Claude Rains; results are typically florid and predictably melodramatic. Paul Henreid is a European cellist who relocates to New York City after the war and is reunited with former flame Davis, a talented pianist; she quickly moves him into her luxurious apartment and marries him, forgetting to disclose that she has become the protégé (or rather, mistress) of a tyrannical, world-famous composer and conductor. The apparently-intimate relationship between Davis and the wittily snide Rains isn't disclosed in detail, but we are to assume he lavishes gifts upon her in the context of a sexual union (although there hardly seems to be any passionate energy between them, the writing being so frothy and hot-headed). Screenwriters John Collier and Joseph Than are far too wordy in their setting-up of what amounts to a maddeningly ineffectual plot. Somehow, between the classical music and the overheated performances, the picture is entertaining enough, but the old spark seems to be missing. Davis (pregnant in real-life) looks a bit haggard, and practically hands the film over to Rains, who is full of spite and malice. There are few principal supporting characters, and one eventually tires of the trio's tantrums. It's a fairly well-upholstered production, although literate in the sense that soap operas can be intelligent. Davis soon left Warner Bros., and one can see why: the magic is gone. ** from ****