All About Eve (1950)
“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”
As memorable and fantastic as that famous line from All About Eve is, there are so many other wonderfully clever lines from Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s screenplay. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any wasted words in the entire movie.
It’s quite the experience to watch this movie for the first and second times, but when you’ve seen it close to a dozen times (like us old movie buffs) it does lose a little bit of its magic. While Joe Mankiewicz did write an extremely clever and glib screenplay, his direction missed the mark. Much of the film takes place at the theatre, but I never felt immersed in the theatrical world. Other films have been so well directed, I could smell the sweat, rented costumes, and greasy makeup, as well as feel the cramped backstage area. A Double Life, The Turning Point, and even parts of The Country Girl were immersive. All About Eve could have taken place in any setting: the suburbs, a women’s magazine office similar to The Best of Everything, or even warring telephone operators in a department store. As important as this story is, it isn’t limited to the theatrical world – and it glosses over some important aspects of that environment.
The direction aside, the acting in this movie is superb. Bette Davis, though not the first choice, completely defines the role, making it feel like blasphemy to even imagine anyone else in the part. (Claudette Colbert was supposed to play Margo, but when she broke her back during the filming of Three Came Home, she was unavailable.) All of Bette’s classic talents are utilized in her snappy dialogue, almost as if the part were written for her and her specific way of talking. “Max, you sly puss,” she drawls like no other actress could. Even Tallulah Bankhead, upon whom the character is supposedly based, wouldn’t have delivered the lines as perfectly and punchily as Bette. Just try and think about her “fire and brimstone” speech, how the words were written on paper. Imagine how Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, of, God forbid, Ginger Rogers, would have delivered it.
I’m sure countless other actresses wanted the part of Eve, but Anne Baxter couldn’t have been any better. Her simpering, whispering delivery is very effective as her character is revealed. Ava Gardner would also have been perfect, since she shared some characteristics of Eve offscreen. It makes you wonder, had she won the role, how the two women’s careers might have changed. Ava’s might not have changed too much, since she rocketed to stardom around the same time, but Anne might have returned to the sweeter roles of her early career, like The Pied Piper.
George Sanders, who won an Oscar for Addison DeWitt, also got typecast because of his believability in the heartless, glib role. There are a couple of movies where you can catch him in a different part, but mostly, he played Addison for decades. He was very good at it! Thelma Ritter, as Bette’s faithful and street-smart assistant, and Gary Merrill (who fell in love with Bette on the set and married her) were also believable in their roles. Celeste Holm, though, as a seasoned playwright’s wife, wasn’t as convincing. Part of it wasn’t her fault, as the screenplay gave her something very out-of-character to do, but she didn’t seem to put anything else into the part that distinguished it from her other roles.
If you’ve never seen All About Eve, you’re missing out on one of the great treasures of the silver screen. A staple from the decade, one that crowned Bette Davis’s career and launched a new star (a very green, unremarkable Marilyn Monroe), this cinematic experience will stick with you. In 1950, it was a novelty, and almost seventy-five years later, it still stands the test of time.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Video Raspberry Meringe Movies" for posting!
More Thelma Ritter movies here!
As memorable and fantastic as that famous line from All About Eve is, there are so many other wonderfully clever lines from Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s screenplay. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any wasted words in the entire movie.
It’s quite the experience to watch this movie for the first and second times, but when you’ve seen it close to a dozen times (like us old movie buffs) it does lose a little bit of its magic. While Joe Mankiewicz did write an extremely clever and glib screenplay, his direction missed the mark. Much of the film takes place at the theatre, but I never felt immersed in the theatrical world. Other films have been so well directed, I could smell the sweat, rented costumes, and greasy makeup, as well as feel the cramped backstage area. A Double Life, The Turning Point, and even parts of The Country Girl were immersive. All About Eve could have taken place in any setting: the suburbs, a women’s magazine office similar to The Best of Everything, or even warring telephone operators in a department store. As important as this story is, it isn’t limited to the theatrical world – and it glosses over some important aspects of that environment.
The direction aside, the acting in this movie is superb. Bette Davis, though not the first choice, completely defines the role, making it feel like blasphemy to even imagine anyone else in the part. (Claudette Colbert was supposed to play Margo, but when she broke her back during the filming of Three Came Home, she was unavailable.) All of Bette’s classic talents are utilized in her snappy dialogue, almost as if the part were written for her and her specific way of talking. “Max, you sly puss,” she drawls like no other actress could. Even Tallulah Bankhead, upon whom the character is supposedly based, wouldn’t have delivered the lines as perfectly and punchily as Bette. Just try and think about her “fire and brimstone” speech, how the words were written on paper. Imagine how Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, of, God forbid, Ginger Rogers, would have delivered it.
I’m sure countless other actresses wanted the part of Eve, but Anne Baxter couldn’t have been any better. Her simpering, whispering delivery is very effective as her character is revealed. Ava Gardner would also have been perfect, since she shared some characteristics of Eve offscreen. It makes you wonder, had she won the role, how the two women’s careers might have changed. Ava’s might not have changed too much, since she rocketed to stardom around the same time, but Anne might have returned to the sweeter roles of her early career, like The Pied Piper.
George Sanders, who won an Oscar for Addison DeWitt, also got typecast because of his believability in the heartless, glib role. There are a couple of movies where you can catch him in a different part, but mostly, he played Addison for decades. He was very good at it! Thelma Ritter, as Bette’s faithful and street-smart assistant, and Gary Merrill (who fell in love with Bette on the set and married her) were also believable in their roles. Celeste Holm, though, as a seasoned playwright’s wife, wasn’t as convincing. Part of it wasn’t her fault, as the screenplay gave her something very out-of-character to do, but she didn’t seem to put anything else into the part that distinguished it from her other roles.
If you’ve never seen All About Eve, you’re missing out on one of the great treasures of the silver screen. A staple from the decade, one that crowned Bette Davis’s career and launched a new star (a very green, unremarkable Marilyn Monroe), this cinematic experience will stick with you. In 1950, it was a novelty, and almost seventy-five years later, it still stands the test of time.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Video Raspberry Meringe Movies" for posting!
More Thelma Ritter movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Picture of 1950: The Rainmaker
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actress: Bette Davis
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Baxter
Best Dramatic Screenplay