All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit.
All About Eve held its world premiere in New York City on October 13, 1950.[1] Highly praised by critics at the time of its release, it received a record 14 nominations[notes 1] at the 23rd Academy Awards, becoming the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations (Davis and Baxter as Best Actress, Holm and Ritter as Best Supporting Actress). It went on to win six awards, including Best Picture, as well as Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Mankiewicz's second consecutive wins in both categories.
The story begins in medias res, told via narration by acerbic theatre critic Addison DeWitt, who introduces the various characters as they attend the ceremony for the distinguished Sarah Siddons Award for Prestigious Achievement, awarded to rising star actor Eve Harrington. DeWitt's narration promises the audience will learn Eve's true story as the narrative voice switches to that of Karen Richards.
Some years previous, Broadway star Margo Channing, recently turned 40, worries about what advancing age will mean for her career. After a performance of Margo's latest play, Margo's close friend, Karen Richards, wife of the play's author Lloyd Richards, brings besotted fan Eve Harrington backstage to meet Margo. In Margo's dressing room, Eve tells Karen, Lloyd, and Margo's maid Birdie, that she followed Margo's last theatrical tour to New York City after seeing her perform in San Francisco. She tells an engrossing story of growing up poor in Wisconsin and losing her young husband, Eddie, in the South Pacific during World War II. Moved by Eve's story, Margo takes her into her home as her assistant, upsetting Birdie. Eve quickly manipulates her way into Margo's life, acting as both secretary and adoring fan.
Adding to Margo's concerns about aging is her romantic relationship with the play's director, Bill Sampson, 8 years her junior. Without telling Margo, Eve places a long-distance phone call "on Margo's behalf" to Bill when Margo forgets his birthday. This results in Margo's embarrassment, exposing her to Bill's realizing that Margo forgot his birthday, while Eve remembered and even sent her own greetings. Margo grows increasingly distrustful toward Eve, particularly after catching Eve taking a bow in front of a mirror while pretending to wear Margo's costume. Margo asks producer Max Fabian to hire Eve at his office, but instead, Eve becomes Margo's understudy without Margo's knowledge.
The film's trailer
As Margo's irritation grows, Karen sympathizes with Eve, believing that Margo is overdramatizing her resentment of Eve out of temperamental peevishness. Hoping to humble Margo, Karen conspires for her to miss a performance so that Eve can perform. Eve invites the city's theater critics to attend the performance – including the influential DeWitt. Eve's performance is a triumph. Later that night, Eve attempts to seduce Bill, who as a successful Broadway producer might be useful to her career. Bill rejects Eve, letting her know that he sees her manipulations. Instead, Addison takes an interest in Eve. He interviews her for a column, harshly criticizing Margo for resisting younger talent.
Margo and Bill announce their engagement at dinner with Lloyd and Karen. Eve summons Karen to the ladies' room and, after first appearing regretful, delivers an ultimatum: Karen must recommend her to Lloyd to play Cora, the lead role in Lloyd's new play. Otherwise, she will reveal Karen's part in Margo's missed performance. When Karen returns to the table—to her relief—Margo surprisingly announces that she does not wish to play Cora, saying she is too old for the ingénue role.
Eve is cast as Cora. Just before the new play's premiere in New Haven, Eve reveals her next plan to Addison: to marry Lloyd—who she has seduced despite his wife Karen's championship of her—so that Lloyd can write plays for her to star in. Angered with Eve's audacity, Addison says he knows her backstory is entirely lies; her real name is Gertrude Slescynski, she was never married, and she was paid to leave town over an affair with her married boss. He also says Lloyd would never leave Karen for Eve. Addison then blackmails Eve, saying she now "belongs" to him.
The story catches up to the opening scene; months later, Eve is a Broadway star headed for Hollywood. While accepting the Sarah Siddons Award, she thanks Margo, Bill, Lloyd, and Karen as all four coldly stare back. Eve skips the after-party and returns home, where she encounters Phoebe, a teenage fan who slipped into her apartment and fell asleep. Phoebe professes her adoration and ingratiates herself with Eve, then begins packing her trunk. Eve invites her to stay over rather than take the long subway ride back to Brooklyn. While Eve is resting, Addison brings Eve's forgotten award to the door and is greeted by Phoebe, who admits she chose her own theatrical name. Addison realizes Phoebe will do to Eve what Eve did to Margo. When she is alone, Phoebe puts on Eve's elegant cloak and poses in front of a floor-length mirror, holding the award and bowing.
The story of All About Eve originated in an anecdote related to Mary Orr by actress Elisabeth Bergner. While performing in The Two Mrs. Carrolls during 1943 and 1944, Bergner allowed a young fan to become part of her household and employed her as an assistant, but later regretted her generosity when the woman attempted to undermine her. Referring to her only as "the terrible girl", Bergner related the events to Orr, who used it as the basis for her short story "The Wisdom of Eve" (1946). In the story, Orr gives the girl an even more ruthless character and allows her to succeed in stealing the older actress's career and the husband of the unnamed female narrator. Bergner later confirmed the basis of the story in her autobiography Bewundert viel, und viel gescholten (Greatly Admired and Greatly Scolded).
In 1949, Joseph Mankiewicz was considering a story about an aging actress and, upon reading "The Wisdom of Eve," felt that the conniving girl would be a useful element. He sent a memo to Darryl F. Zanuck saying it "fits in with an original idea [of mine] and can be combined. Superb starring role for Susan Hayward." Mankiewicz presented a film treatment of the combined stories under the title Best Performance. He changed the main character's name from Margola Cranston to Margo Channing and retained several of Orr's characters – Eve Harrington, Lloyd and Karen Richards and Miss Casswell – while removing Margo's husband completely and replacing him with a new character, Bill Sampson. The intention was to depict Margo in a new relationship and allow Eve to threaten Margo's professional and personal lives. Mankiewicz also added the characters Addison DeWitt, Birdie Coonan, Max Fabian and Phoebe.
Zanuck was enthusiastic and provided numerous suggestions for improving the screenplay. In some sections, he felt that Mankiewicz's writing lacked subtlety or provided excessive detail. He suggested diluting Birdie Coonan's mistrust of Eve so the audience would not recognize Eve as a villainess until much later in the story. Zanuck reduced the screenplay by about 50 pages and chose the title All About Eve from the opening scene in which Addison DeWitt says that he will soon tell "more of Eve ... All about Eve, in fact."[10]
Among the actresses originally considered to play Margo Channing were Mankiewicz's original inspiration Susan Hayward, who was rejected by Zanuck as "too young", Marlene Dietrich, dismissed as "too German" and Gertrude Lawrence, who was ruled out when her lawyer insisted that she not have to drink or smoke in the film and that the script would be rewritten to allow her to sing a torch song.[11] Zanuck favored Barbara Stanwyck, but she was not available. Tallulah Bankhead was considered, as was Joan Crawford, who was working on the film The Damned Don't Cry.[12]
The role went to Claudette Colbert, but she withdrew after an injury shortly before filming began. Mankiewicz briefly considered Ingrid Bergman before offering the role to Bette Davis.[11] Davis, who had recently ended an 18-year association with Warner Bros. after several poorly received films, accepted the role, saying later that the script was among the best that she had ever read. Margo had been originally conceived as genteel and knowingly humorous, but with the casting of Davis, Mankiewicz revised the character to introduce abrasive qualities. Mankiewicz praised Davis for her professionalism and for the caliber of her performance.
Anne Baxter had spent a decade in supporting roles and had won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Razor's Edge. She won the role of Eve after Jeanne Crain, the first choice, became pregnant. Crain was at the height of her popularity and had established a career playing likable heroines; Zanuck believed that she lacked the "bitch virtuosity" required by the part and that audiences would not accept her as a deceitful character.
Mankiewicz greatly admired Thelma Ritter and wrote the character of Birdie Coonan for her after working with her on A Letter to Three Wives in 1949. As Coonan is the only character immediately suspicious of Eve Harrington, Mankiewicz was confident that Ritter would contribute a shrewd characterization that cast doubt on Eve and provided a counterpoint to the more theatrical personalities of the other characters. Marilyn Monroe, relatively unknown at the time, was cast as Miss Casswell, referred to by DeWitt as a "graduate of the Copacabana School of Dramatic Art."
Monroe won the part after a lobbying campaign by her agent,[13] despite Zanuck's initial antipathy and belief that she was better suited to comedy.[citation needed][13] The inexperienced Monroe was cowed by Davis, and it took 11 takes to complete the scene in the theater lobby; when Davis barked at her, Monroe left the set to vomit.[13] Smaller roles were filled by Gregory Ratoff as the producer Max Fabian, Barbara Bates as Phoebe and Walter Hampden as the host of the award ceremony.[10] Hampden was the president of the prestigious Players Club in New York, a club for actors that gives a lifetime achievement award.
The film earned $3.1million in receipts in the United States during its release,[14] more than double its original budget of $1.4million.[3][4]As of 2012[update] the film had a cumulative gross of $8.4million,[5] more than five times its production costs.
Critical response
All About Eve received widespread critical acclaim upon its release on October 13, 1950, at a New York City premiere. The film's competitor, Sunset Boulevard, released the same year, drew similar praise, and the two were often favorably compared. Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times loved the picture, stating that "a fine Darryl Zanuck production, excellent music and an air of ultra-class complete this superior satire."[15]Variety called it "a literate, adult film" with "exceedingly well-cast performances,"[16] while Harrison's Reports called it "a fascinating, continually absorbing story about Broadway theatrical people, given a mature treatment and penetrated with realistic dialogue and flashes of slick, sardonic humor."[17]John McCarten of The New Yorker called it "a thoroughly entertaining movie."[18]
Writing in 2000, film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times praised the film, saying of Bette Davis that "veteran actress Margo Channing in All About Eve was her greatest role."[19] Boxoffice.com stated that it "is a classic of the American cinema– to this day the quintessential depiction of ruthless ambition in the entertainment industry, with legendary performances from Bette Davis, Anne Baxter and George Sanders anchoring one of the very best films from one of Hollywood's very best Golden Era filmmakers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz."[20]
As of 2021 review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, All About Eve holds an approval rating of 99% based on 107 reviews, with an average rating of 9.30/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Smart, sophisticated, and devastatingly funny, All About Eve is a Hollywood classic that only improves with age."[21] In 2019 Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 98 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]
Critics and academics have delineated various themes in the film. Rebecca Flint Marx, in her Allmovie review, notes the antagonism that existed between Broadway and Hollywood at the time, stating that the "script summoned into existence a whole array of painfully recognizable theatre types, from the aging, egomaniacal grand dame to the outwardly docile, inwardly scheming ingenue to the powerful critic who reeks of malignant charm."[23] Abel Green, writing in Variety said, "The snide references to picture people, the plug for San Francisco ("an oasis of civilization in the California desert") and the like are purposeful and manifest an intelligent reflex from a group of hyper-talented people towards the picture business."[16]
Roger Ebert, in his review in The Great Movies, says Eve Harrington is "a universal type", and focuses on the aging actress plot line, comparing the film to Sunset Boulevard.[24] Similarly, Marc Lee's 2006 review of the film for The Daily Telegraph describes a subtext "into the darker corners of show business, exposing its inherent ageism, especially when it comes to female stars."[25]Kathleen Woodward's 1999 book, Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations (Theories of Contemporary Culture), also discusses themes that appeared in many of the "aging actress" films of the 1950s and 1960s, including All About Eve. She reasons that Margo has three options: "To continue to work, she can perform the role of a young woman, one she no longer seems that interested in. She can take up the position of the angry bitch, the drama queen who holds court (the deliberate camp that Susan Sontag finds in this film). Or she can accept her culture's gendered discourse of aging which figures her as in her moment of fading. Margo ultimately chooses the latter option, accepting her position as one of loss."[26]
All About Eve has long been a favored film among gay audiences, likely due to its campy overtones (in part due to the casting of Davis) and its general sophistication. Davis, who long had a strong gay fan base, expressed support for gay men in her 1972 interview with The Advocate.[27][28][29]
The film opens with the image of a fictitious award trophy, described by DeWitt as the "highest honor our theater knows: the Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement." The statuette is modeled after the famous painting of Siddons costumed as the tragic Muse by Joshua Reynolds, a copy of which hangs in the entrance of Margo's apartment and often visible during the party scene. In 1952, a small group of distinguished Chicago theater-goers began to give an award with that name, which was sculpted to look like the one used in the film. It has been given annually, with past honorees including Bette Davis and Celeste Holm.
Adaptations
The first radio adaptation was a one-hour broadcast on Lux Radio Theatre on CBS Radio on October 1, 1951, with Bette Davis, Gary Merrill and Anne Baxter reprising their original roles.[42]Lux Radio Theatre did a follow-up adaptation on November 23, 1954, this time on NBC radio with Ann Blyth and Claire Trevor playing the lead roles, with Trevor replacing Ida Lupino when she became ill and was unable to attend the broadcast.[43]
A radio version of All About Eve starring Tallulah Bankhead as Margo Channing was presented on NBC's The Big Show by the Theatre Guild of the Air on November 16, 1952. Bankhead and many contemporary critics felt that the characterization of Margo Channing was patterned on her, a long-rumored charge denied by both Mankiewicz and Davis,[44] but attested by costume designer Edith Head.[10] Additionally, Bankhead's rivalry with her understudy (Lizabeth Scott) during the production of The Skin of Our Teeth[45] is cited as an alternative hypothesis for the origin of Mary Orr's The Wisdom of Eve, the original short story that formed the basis for the film.[46][47] Bette Davis played three roles on film that Tallulah Bankhead had originated–Dark Victory, Jezebel and The Little Foxes, much to Bankhead's chagrin. Bankhead and Davis were considered to be somewhat similar in style.[48] Several decades later Davis called Channing "the essence of a Tallulah Bankhead kind of actress" in an interview with Barbara Walters.[49] The production is notable in that Mary Orr, of The Wisdom of Eve, played the role of Karen Richards. The cast also featured Alan Hewitt as Addison DeWitt (who narrated), Beatrice Pearson as Eve Harrington, Don Briggs as Lloyd Richards, Kevin McCarthy as Bill Samson, Florence Robinson as Birdie Coonan, and Stefan Schnabel as Max Fabian.[48]
The plot of the film has been used numerous times, frequently as an outright homage to the film, with one notable example being a 1974 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show titled "A New Sue Ann". In the episode, the character of Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), hostess of a popular local cooking show, hires a young, pretty and very eager fan (Linda Kelsey) as her apprentice and assistant, but the neophyte quickly begins to sabotage her mentor, in an attempt to replace her as host of the show. Sue Ann, however, unlike Margo Channing, prevails in the end, countering the young woman's attempts to steal her success and sending her on her way.[51]
Brazilian telenovela Celebridade was loosely based on All About Eve plot; it features Malu Mader as the successful businesswoman and former model Maria Clara Diniz, who hires Laura Prudente da Costa (Cláudia Abreu) for a job in her company after she saves her life and claims to be her greatest fan — but she is, in fact, an imposter who wants not only to take everything from the other woman, but to become a new Maria Clara.[52]
The English rock band All About Eve took their name from the film.[53]
Steven Soderbergh's 2012 film Magic Mike is a loose re-working of the All About Eve plot and includes subtle references in homage to the original. The lead actor Channing Tatum name checks Bette Davis's character Margo Channing, and instead of Eve, the ambitious young upstart is named Adam, played by Alex Pettyfer. Like Eve, Adam gets his stage debut filling in for an absent star, and his subsequent ruthless rise to glory at the expense of others mirrors that of Eve.[54]
A 2008 episode of The Simpsons titled "All About Lisa" is influenced by this film. In the episode, Lisa Simpson becomes Krusty the Clown's assistant, eventually taking his place on television and receiving an entertainment award.[55]
In the fifth season of The L Word, a fan becomes Jenny Schecter's assistant while she is directing a movie; later the fan blackmails the movie studio into letting her direct and she proceeds to take over Jenny's life.
In the second season of Glee, Kurt Hummel calls his fellow glee club member Santana Lopez "a Latina Eve Harrington", after learning she is blackmailing a closeted jock into becoming her "beard" and running mate for Prom Queen and King.
In the first season of Will & Grace, Grace becomes dependent on a maid to give her a confidence boost during a design competition. This prompts her drunken assistant Karen to suspect a plot and she confronts the maid, exclaiming "I've seen All About Eve. Poooor Eve!"
In the pilot episode of Political Animals, when Susan suspects Georgia, a fellow reporter, has a crush on her boyfriend and is attempting to outshine her at the newspaper, she says, "If Eve Harrington were an actual person today, she would look like Georgia. She would bake cupcakes, and she would have a blog."
In the third season of Gilligan's Island, the episode "All About Eva" concerns the character of Eva Grubb coming on the island and taking over Ginger's persona, with both roles played by actress Tina Louise.
In the fifth season of Quantum Leap, the plot of the episode "Goodbye Norma Jean" mirrors that of All About Eve. In it, Sam Beckett leaps into Marilyn Monroe's chauffeur and finds himself pitted against an aspiring actress who is trying to steal Monroe's part for the film The Misfits. Sam succeeds in stopping Monroe's rival, and she rightfully takes her place as Clark Gable's leading lady.[56][57]
In Alex Holdridge's 2007 film In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Vivian, an amateur actress played by Sara Simmonds, says to Wilson, played by Scoot McNairy: "I just don't think people out here have the raw ambition that I do." And he replies: "You are a real All About Eve."
A season 6 episode of Designing Women titled, "All About Odes to Atlanta", sees Carlene, Mary Jo, and Julia entering a song contest and drawing the attention of a young "fan" who seems all too eager to help them, much to Allison's distrust.
The season 20 episode of Family Guy titled, "All About Alana", is a homage to the film and sees Lois Griffin allowing one of her piano students Alana Fitzgerald to move in with the family, who begins slowly taking over Lois' life.
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15, of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in 1900, it focuses on the struggle for control of a family business. Tallulah Bankhead starred in the original production as Regina Hubbard Giddens.
Sleuth is a 1972 mystery thriller film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. The screenplay by playwright Anthony Shaffer was based on his 1970 Tony Award-winning play. Both Olivier and Caine were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. This was Mankiewicz's final film. Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Elisabeth Bergner was an Austrian-British actress. Primarily a stage actress, her career flourished in Berlin and Paris before she moved to London to work in films. Her signature role was Gemma Jones in Escape Me Never, a play written for her by Margaret Kennedy. She played Gemma, first in London and then in the Broadway debut, and in a film version for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1943, Bergner returned to Broadway in the play The Two Mrs. Carrolls, for which she won the Distinguished Performance Medal from the Drama League.
Anne Baxter was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy.
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944). She also had a brief but successful career on radio and made appearances on television. In all, Bankhead amassed nearly 300 film, stage, television and radio roles during her career. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1981.
Thelma Ritter was an American character actress who, known for her strong New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. She earned a Tony Award and six Academy Award nominations, more than any other actress in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in consecutive years for A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950), the latter of which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six.
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The musical is based on the 1950 film All About Eve and the short story on which the movie is based, Mary Orr's "The Wisdom of Eve". The story centers on aging star Margo Channing, who innocently takes a fledgling actress under her wing, unaware that the ruthless Eve is plotting to steal her career and her man.
Barbara Jane Bates was an American singer and actress, best known for her portrayal of Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve and as Katy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954–1956).
The Sarah Siddons Award, established in 1952, is presented annually to an actor or actress for an outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production. The winner receives a statuette of the Welsh stage actress Sarah Siddons.
This is a complete filmography of Bette Davis. She began acting in films in 1931, incipiently as a contract player with Universal Studios, where she made her film debut in Bad Sister. She was initially seen as unappealing by studio executives, and was assigned to a string of B-movies early in her career.
The Anniversary is a 1968 British black comedy film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films and Seven Arts and starring Bette Davis. The screenplay, by Jimmy Sangster, was adapted from Bill MacIlwraith's 1966 play.
The 8th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film for 1950 films, were held on February 28, 1951, in the Ciro's nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.
The 16th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honored the best filmmaking of 1950.
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The Little Foxes is a 1941 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1939 play The Little Foxes. Hellman's ex-husband Arthur Kober, Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell contributed additional scenes and dialogue.
Mary Caswell Orr was an American actress and author whose short story "The Wisdom of Eve", published in the May 1946 issue of Cosmopolitan, was the basis of the Academy Award-winning film All About Eve (1950). In private life, Orr used her married name, Mary Orr Denham.
Malaya Rivera Drew is an American stage, film and television actress. Drew is best known for her role as Adele Channing on the cable television series The L Word (2008) and for her role as Katey Alvaro on NBC's long-running ER (2006–2007). She has had recurring roles on Entourage (2005), Las Vegas (2006–2007). American Horror Story (2011), The Originals (2013), Mayans MC (2019) and Good Trouble (2021-2022), as well as notable roles on stage and in film. In film she has appeared in many independent films, as well as playing Gabriella Forester in the 2016 Academy Award nominated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. She also narrates the scripted podcast “The Don” for I Heart Radio, currently in its second season.
Channing is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
References
Notes
↑ This feat was only matched by the 1997 film Titanic and the 2016 film La La Land.
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