Deception (Warner Bros.) (1946)

New Warner Drama, ‘Deception’, Opens Tonight At Strand (Opening Day Reader) Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains comprise the star trio of Warner Bros.’ new romantic drama, “Deception,” which opens tonight at the Strand Theatre. Based ona play by Louis Verneuil, the motion picture tells the highly dramatic story of a woman who loves two men. Directed by Irving Rapper and produced by Henry Blanke, the film play was written by John Collier and Joseph Than and boasts an impressive musical score including a number of classics, in addition to an original concerto by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Always Romantic, Hopes For Single Tough Action Role “Romantic type—bah!” That is the succinct opinion of Paul Henreid, who can’t help it but is definitely the romantic type himself. Apparently nothing much can be done to alter the prevailing idea that there is no other man on the screen who is quite so romantic as Henreid. Of course, nobody really wants to alter that idea—nobody, that is, but Paul Henreid. Henreid wants to be known as a versatile actor. “And for the life of me,” he says, “I don’t see how a man can ever become known as a versatile actor if he’s always identified as a screen lover. It all goes back to that pre-war British film, “Night rl Deh atc Bo Rae which Henreid portrayed a Nazi agent. He was continuously referred to thereafter in yy No. 1¢ fan letters Paul Henreid from the distaff side of the movie audiences as “that cute Nazi.” Well, that cute Nazi came to Hollywood and before he could comb his hair and straighten his tie, he became the screen’s foremost continental type lover. From “Joan of Paris,” through “Now, Voyager” and “Casablanca” and on into Warner Bros.’ “Deception,” his current picture which stars Bette Davis, Henreid and Claude Rains, he has been building his fame as the man with a way with the women. No More Kisses Why, asks the actor, can’t he be thought of, instead, as a rugged, straightforward guy, with no more thought about those continental kisses? “After all,” the actor declares, “I haven’t always played the ardent lover. In ‘Casablanca,’ for instance, I was a husband—just a plain old husband. And what everybody seems to forget is that my role in the film which brought me _ to America was that of a villain —a Nazi villain, than which there was probably none. worse.” Offhand, Mr. Henreid doesn’t seem to have a chance to escape his continental romantic appellation. Not in “Deception” anyway. In that drama he has no less than nine love scenes with Bette Davis. The romantic type indeed! 4 Stil No. BD3039 BETTE DAVIS is spotlighted in a modern role in Warner Bros.’ "Deception," the story of a woman who loved two men. The Strand Theatre's current feature, the film also stars Paul Henreid and Claude Rains. MAT No. 2G Actress Claims Glamour Need Not End After 30 ‘“‘& woman doesn’t have to be twenty-one and a sweatergirl to have romantic appeal,” says Bette Davis, who is not twenty-one, rarely wears sweaters and who, today, is a notable example of the truth of her statement. “If a woman keeps her figure, her complexion and a youthful outlook on life, she can be considerably more glamorous when she has passed thirty than at twenty-one,” she claims. “Why, when I was twentyone, I must have had about as much romantic appeal as a beetle! I simply didn’t know the meaning of style and poise. Those are things that have to be learned.” Not since “Mr. Skeffington,” three years ago, has Bette been the glamorous woman she is in her current film, Warner Bros.’ “Deception,” now at the Strand, which also stars Paul Henreid and Claude Rains. It was a matter of general comment on the lot during the picture’s filming that the actress never looked more attractive. When complimented, she always gave part of the credit to her role and her wardrobe in ‘“Deception.” Both are on the glamorous side. The actress has little patience with women who fold their hands, settle back and let themselves go to seed when they pass thirty, but she believes that this is not merely so much the case with women today as it was with those of a generation or two ago. “And we can thank the movies for that—at least in part,” she says, “ because the women appearing on the screen are constant reminders to the women sitting out front that they can retain their youth and allure beyond the giddy teens and the settling twenties.” By the time a woman is thirty, Bette argues, she ought to know what to do with her hands and her feet; she ought to know what is becoming to her in clothes and what isn’t; and most of all, she ought to have reached a mental and emotional maturity that will render her irresistible. An Actress By Any Other Name Still Answers To ‘Bette’ Bette Davis, of whom it may be said that she is probably Hollywood’s most active actress, wonders if the day will come when she has exhausted the world’s supply of names. After 55 films, it is a certainty that most of the usual and many unusual feminine first names have been used by Bette on the screen. For instance, she has been Grace, Kay, Madge, Ruth, Fay, Jenny, Helen, Norma (twice), Lynn, Joan, Arlene, Patricia (twice), Mildred, Miriam, Ellen, Daisy, Valerie, Mary (twice), Louise, Elizabeth, Charlotte (also twice), Henriette, Joan, Maggie, Sara, Katherine, Fanny. Currently, in Warner Bros.’ “Deception,” the Strand’s current feature in which she costars with Paul Henreid and Claude Rains, Bette is called Christine. Once she had a last name but no first name, as Miss Moffat of “The Corn Is Green.” Then she had a first name and no last name as Alabama in “Parachute Jumper.” , “J,” Bette allows, must b her lucky letter. For she was Joyce when she won the Academy Award for “Dangerous.” and Julia when she won it for “Jezebel.” She has also played Bette twice. She was Bette Davis in “Hollywood Canteen” and “Thank Your Lucky Stars.” Prestissimo Mental Work Makes Claude Rains Allegro Man Claude Rains, who doesn’t know a sharp from a flat and admits it, worked out his own musica] instruction chart for conducting a symphony orchestra in Warner Bros.’ “Deception,” romantic drama which stars Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Rains currently at the Strand. “IT confess to no academic knowledge of music,” Rains says, “but emotionally and aesthetically I have always loved and understood music — from Beethoven to Berlin.” Therefore, the actor points out, it was not difficult for him, under the expert tutelage of Einar Nilson, conductor, to put the proper dramatics into his conducting performance. The chart, which he worked out with Nilson’s help, carried directions for each movement Rains makes as he leads the symphony in an original cello concerto by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. “Bars — rests — key —allegro — adagio — smorzando — pianissimo — such nonsense means nothing to me,” Rains says, “but when my chart explained smorzando, say, as ‘fading away’ and allegro, say, as ‘cheerful,’ then I knew what I was doing.” Rains’ instructor was amazed at his pupil’s ready grasp and intelligent interpretation of the music. “It’s phenomenal,” Nilson said, “the way Mr. Rains understands the music — completely untrained as he is. He has the mood and temperament of a musician. What a pity he wasn’t one!” Rains’ conductorial performance was exhausting. He put all his not inconsiderable dramatic talent into it. Besides which, his role of Hollenius, the great composer-conductor of “Deception,” is supposed to be florid and high-strung. “T fear,’ Rains commented when the picture had been completed, “that I am beginning to look like Stokowski, and I love it.” Still No. CR189 CLAUDE RAINS portrays a brilliant composer-conductor in Warner Bros.’ “Deception, opening Friday at the Strand. The film, a romantic drama, stars Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Rains. MAT No. IF Smart Fashions For Star In Strand Film Fashion-minded women will be glad to learn that Bette Davis has nine costume changes in “Decepton,” newest Warner Bros. drama opening Friday at the Strand, in which she co-stars with Paul Henreid and Claude Rains. The star’s wardrobe was designed by Bernard Newman, who describes her costumes as “expensively sophisticated.”