Genre: Drama
Awards: 14 Oscar Nominations - 6 Wins:
Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor - George Sanders, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Recording.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm
There are many things that make All About Eve stand out in cinematic history; having the most actresses nominated for an Academy Award (Davis, Baxter, Holm and Thelma Ritter were all nominated in both Best Actress and Supporting Actress categories.) It is the first of only 2 films to ever be nominated for 14 Oscars including Best Picture (the other was Titanic (1997), All About Eve won 6 Titanic won 11, both won Best Picture). It was a come back role for the legendary Bette Davis and had some of the best scripted dialogue in film history (Fasten your seatbelts, its going to be a bumpy night!). It also happens to be one of the greatest stories about the entertainment industry in existence.
Anne Baxter in the performance of a lifetime plays Eve Harrington a young theatre fan who is so in awe of Margo Channing, the biggest star on Broadway that she sees every performance of her current play. One night Karen (Holm) the wife of Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) the plays author and good friend of Margo sees Eve in the alley way by the stage door and recognises her, after hearing she has seen every performance she takes Eve backstage to meet Margo. In her dressing room she meets the plays director also Margo's current boyfriend Bill Sampson, (Gary Merrill, whom Davis actually fell in love with, they were married not long after production ended) Lloyd, Margo and her assistant Birdie (Thelma Ritter). The group are all stunned that she has seen every performance and ask her why, Eve tells a moving story about growing up in financial difficulty and losing her husband in the war, she followed Margo to New York after seeing a performance in San Francisco. Margo is moved by Eve's tale and takes her into her home and social circle as an all round assistant.
At first Eve seems to be simply thrilled to be near Margo but there is something not quite right, no one can be that interested in a person with no apparent gain. Birdie seemingly because she is being shut out mentions her dislike of Eve to Margo who shuts her down, but it turns out Birdie's instincts are correct. Eve begins to show signs of scheming; she slyly becomes Margo's understudy, sabotages the relationship between Margo and Bill and Margo and Lloyd. Margo eventually comes to resent Eve and the others think she is simply paranoid. Eve then persuades Karen into helping her get Margo to miss a performance, knowing in advance that she will get to perform she invites all of the press to the performance, she gets rave reviews. With the help of a venomous reporter Addison DeWitt (Sanders) a scathing interview with Eve is released and in the wake of it Margo and Bill, Lloyd and Karen reunite, Eve seems alone now that the group are back together. However she black mails Karen into getting Lloyd to give her his next leading role as Margo is too old to play it. She threatens to tell Margo of Karen's part in her missing the performance if she doesn't agree.
All About Eve is a spellbinding film with stunning performances. It is no wonder the film was nominated for so many Academy Awards it is only a surprise it didn't win more than the 6 it received. Perhaps showing just how great it truly is, it took another 47 years, (that is countless nominated films) before another could equal its nominations.
All About Eve is a triumph of acting, writing, directing and is a dark perhaps cynical but gripping look at the inner workings of the entertainment industry; its process its stars and the cut-throat competition involved in making it to the 'big time'. If you haven't yet seen this master piece of cinema I can't recommend strongly enough a viewing.
