Mary Astor in "The Great Lie"On this date in 1942, Mary Astor won her Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress of 1941 for her portrayal of Sandra Kovak, concert pianist in "The Great Lie".
The film starred Bette Davis and the story goes that the two stars made up most of their dialogue throughout the entire film. Whether they did or not, who cares? It's one of the bitchiest cat-fight films of all times.
Here it goes: Mary marries George Brent but the marriage isn't legal, so they aren't really married. However, Mary is pregnant.
George decides to marry Bette instead. He then flies off to the jungles of South America for the war effort. And of course his plane crashes and he's lost in the jungle and presumed dead.
Bette is inconsolable until she goes to New York and meets Mary in a night club and Mary tells her she is pregnant. Bette offers Mary millions to go away to the desert with her, have the baby and give it up to Bette. Hence "The Great Lie".
The scenes in the desert with the two women are the highlight of the film. Mary wakes up in the night and sneaks food she isn't supposed to eat screaming, "I'm an artist! I like food!" Bette plays the father figure when Mary's labor finally comes and the baby is born. But not before they go through a sandstorm just before the birth!
Of course, in true soap opera fashion George is rescued by natives in a remote village up the Amazon somewhere and flies home to Bette. Sandra appears and wants the baby and threatens to destroy their marriage by telling George the truth about "The Great Lie".
The truth comes out in the end and George tells Sandra she can take the baby, but he is staying with Bette. Sandra says she will leave the baby and begins to bang on her piano as the movie comes to a crashing dramatic end.
Only in Hollywood. Take a look at the trailer to the film:
The film starred Bette Davis and the story goes that the two stars made up most of their dialogue throughout the entire film. Whether they did or not, who cares? It's one of the bitchiest cat-fight films of all times.
Here it goes: Mary marries George Brent but the marriage isn't legal, so they aren't really married. However, Mary is pregnant.
George decides to marry Bette instead. He then flies off to the jungles of South America for the war effort. And of course his plane crashes and he's lost in the jungle and presumed dead.
Bette is inconsolable until she goes to New York and meets Mary in a night club and Mary tells her she is pregnant. Bette offers Mary millions to go away to the desert with her, have the baby and give it up to Bette. Hence "The Great Lie".
The scenes in the desert with the two women are the highlight of the film. Mary wakes up in the night and sneaks food she isn't supposed to eat screaming, "I'm an artist! I like food!" Bette plays the father figure when Mary's labor finally comes and the baby is born. But not before they go through a sandstorm just before the birth!
Of course, in true soap opera fashion George is rescued by natives in a remote village up the Amazon somewhere and flies home to Bette. Sandra appears and wants the baby and threatens to destroy their marriage by telling George the truth about "The Great Lie".
The truth comes out in the end and George tells Sandra she can take the baby, but he is staying with Bette. Sandra says she will leave the baby and begins to bang on her piano as the movie comes to a crashing dramatic end.
Only in Hollywood. Take a look at the trailer to the film:
2 comments:
NEtflix!!!
Love how the end zooms in on the word Great!
Liz
I've loved this movie for years and always wondered why it was so rarely shown. Maybe with your post, a new generation will discover it. Another fun movie, but one critics consider a bore is "Winter Meeting." Bette smokes up a storm. But the real hoot is Stacy, Bette's friend. Check out his dialogue in the restaurant scene.
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