All About Eve (1950)

 All About Eve (1950)

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve is about as good as a film you can get. Even though the film is more than seventy years old, it remains as timely as ever as it tackle important themes such as aging in Hollywood. Fiction becomes fact as the great, vivacious Bette Davis stars as one of the main leads. This film is an autobiography of hers as much as it is a work of fiction. This is also an actor’s film. This remains one of the best acted films I have seen to this day. Perhaps that is what happens when you give these legendary actors such juicy material to work with. Mankiewicz created a film that is bold, timely, realistic, and most importantly entertaining. In my own humble opinion, it is one of the best films that the Golden Age of Hollywood has produced.

People often compare this film to a similar film, Sunrise Boulevard (which I still have yet to see but I soon will, I promise). Both films tackle what it is like to age in Hollywood, and both have received top honors. Although this film combats that issue with a more realistic take. No matter how good of an actress someone can be, Father Time does not care. It is especially a brutal occurrence for actresses. There are some quotes here that will stick with me regarding this theme. When Davis’s character claimed “Bill's thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years ago, he'll look it twenty years from now. I hate men,” it really made me think. Men can age gracefully within their careers, but women can be outcasted by the time they turn thirty. In any career really.

Mankiewicz heralded from a family of writers. His brother actually wrote the script for a little film known as Citizen Kane. So, this family oozes with talent when it comes to paper and pen. The story came to be in the 1940’s when Mary Orr was told a story by theater actress Elisabeth Bergner. She employed a young fan as her assistant but regretted it when she tried to undermine the actress. Mankiewicz wanted to make a film about aging in Hollywood and it so happens he came across Orr’s story. He combined this story and his original idea to create one of the best screenplays ever put forth on screen. The characters, Birdie and everyone’s favorite film critic Addison DeWitt were Mankiewicz’s creations. In addition to aging in Hollywood, some important themes that were tackled were the idea of a traditional housewife (Rosie the Riveter was fresh in everyone’s minds) and the powerful film critic who could make or break one’s film career.

The film begins with a narration by critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) as he begins to talk about the narrative. Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is a major theater star but is happening to grow older. She has a steady relationship with director Bill Simpson (Gary Merrill) and is dear friends with playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife Karen (Celeste Holm). Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) enters the picture as a huge fan of Margo’s. She becomes her assistant and eventually her understudy. It goes bad for Margo when she misses a show which allowed DeWitt to hand Eve great reviews and criticizes aging actresses. It gets worse when Eve tries to force Karen to give her the leading role in Lloyd’s new play. Sooner than later, Addison is aware of Eve’s schemes and lies that may or may not end Margo’s career.

This kind of screenplay is heaven for actors/actresses, which is why Davis knew she needed this role when she read the script. Her character is essentially a version of herself, so it is not hard to see when people claim this is her best performance. I loved her performance and that of Anne Baxter’s. Baxter was always a supporting actress, so this was her time to take the spotlight. Her character seemed so innocent in the beginning, so color me surprised when her character took a nosedive for the worst. George Sanders was magnificent as DeWitt, and he had a memorable monologue in which I will never forget (and probably that won him the Academy Award). Celeste Holm is fantastic as Karen who is essentially the traditional housewife. Same as Thelma Ritter who plays Birdie, the caretaker who was suspicious of Eve from the getgo. Finally, you may recognize the very young Marilyn Monroe. This is one of the early films that got her started. Her role is brief, but it will not be missed.

All About Eve won Best Picture of 1950 and it deserved every accolade. This is about as close to perfection you can get. Led by Bette Davis and George Sanders, these are performances that are unforgettable and timely. Mankiewicz’s script and direction are also powerful factors that carry the film. This is one of those films that were produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood that needs to be seen immediately. It is that kind of film!

My Grade: A+