The Great Lie 1941

Sandra Kovak Mary Astor and her aviator husband Peter Van Allen George Brent discover their impulsive marriage is invalid because her divorce had not been finalized before they wed, and he leaves her to marry his old flame Maggie Patterson Bette Davis. Peter travels to Brazil on business, but his aircraft goes missing and is presumed to have crashed in the jungle.

Sandra learns she is pregnant by Peter, and Maggie proposes that she raise the child as her own in exchange for taking care of Sandra financially. The two women move to Arizona to await the birth, and Sandra gives birth to a boy who is named after his father.

Sandra embarks on a world tour, while Peter, who survived the crash, returns home and is reunited with Maggie, who introduces him to “their” son. Peter is overjoyed to discover he has a child. However, Sandra taunts Maggie, insisting that Peter stayed with her only because of the boy and demanding a confession that she misled him. When Maggie explains the truth, Peter is shocked and disgusted by Sandra’s cruel behavior, declaring that while Sandra may take the baby, he will stay with Maggie. Sandra, recognizing that Peter truly loves Maggie and that Maggie would be a far better mother to the child, concedes the point, and, in a final, decisive moment, sits down at the piano to announce that she is leaving the child with his mother as she plays Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.