It is not all about Eve, it is in fact all about Margo, Margo Channing that is, brilliantly portrayed by Bette Davis who is the driving force of this film. 20th Century Fox’s 1950 backstage drama draws the viewer in right from the narrated beginning at an awards ceremony and utilises the flashback to tell the rest of the story of how Eve infiltrates a group of theatre darlings, including aging stage actress Margo, and charms her way to the top. As Margo Channing Bette Davis produces one of her most memorable performances and is often compared to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard of the same year, Margo is not as over the top but is certainly in the same league. Anne Baxter as the conniving Eve Harrington is perhaps not as strong and believable as the manipulating character but this actually works in her favour as the audience is fooled by her to begin with as well. The cameo by Marilyn Monroe as an up and coming starlet is entertaining and George Sanders as Addison DeWitt gets some of the best one-liners ever.
All About Eve features an amazing script that showcases Joseph L Mankiewicz’s writing talent, he also directed the film, and there are moments that are rather profound. Mankiewicz opts for conventional camerawork and keeps things simple meaning this film is often overlooked as a great classic to study. However, the simplicity works beautifully with the electric script and can be seen as almost a homage to theatre. The film won 6 Academy Awards, although surprisingly Davis did not receive one, and is a brilliant example of Classical Hollywood filmmaking. At 138 minutes I thought I would get a little bored but I was absorbed throughout, it has a perfect ending and I could watch it again and again. This is a timeless classic that is particularly relevant today due to our celebrity obsessed culture and is full of witty, sharp dialogue with some great performances. Film doesn’t get much better than this, “fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!”.
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