All about Eve 1950
Cast:
Bette Davis......Margot Channing
Anne Baxter......Eve Harrington
George Sanders...Addison de Witt
Celeste Holm.....Karen Richards
Gary Merrill.....Bill Sampson
Hugh Marlowe.....Lloyd Richards
Thelma Ritter....Birdie
Marilyn Monroe...Miss Caswell
Gregory Ratoff...Max Fabian
Barbara Bates....Phoebe
Walter Hampden...Aged Actor
Randy Stuart.....Girl
Graig Hill.......Leading Man
Leland Harris....Doorman
Barbara White....Autograph Seeker
William Pullen...Clerk
Eddie Fisher.....Stage Manager
Claude Stroud....Pianist
Eugen Borden.....Frenchman
Helen Mowery.....Reporter
Steve Geray......Captain of Waiters
138 minutes, Black and white
20th Century Fox
Director: Joseph Mankiewicz
Producer: Darryl Zanuck
Screenplay: Joseph Mankiewicz
Adapted from the story and radio play,The Wisdom of Eve, by Mary Orr
Cinematographer: Milton Krasner
Based on the story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is an elegantly bitchy backstage story revolving around aspiring actress Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). Tattered and forlorn, Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing (Bette Davis), telling a melancholy life story to Margo and her friends. Taking pity on the girl, Margo takes Eve on as her personal assistant. Before long, it becomes apparent that naïve Eve is a conniver who cold-bloodedly uses Margo, her director Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), Lloyd's wife Karen (Celeste Holm), and waspish critic Addison De Witt (George Sanders) to rise to the top of the theatrical heap. Also appearing in All About Eve is Marilyn Monroe, introduced by Addison De Witt as "a graduate of the Copacabana school of dramatic art." This is but one of the hundreds of unforgettable lines penned by writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the most famous of which is Margo Channing's lip-sneering admonition, "Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve received 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and still co-holds the record (14, shared with Titanic) for the most nominations.
Critics:
"Dialog is scintillating, characters showy and even extraordinary, direction well nigh perfect and production as fine as anything 20th Century Fox has turned out in years. All this adds up to a film which any studio might well be proud of . . . Bette Davis and Anne Baxter enact the two principal roles . . . Likewise standouts are Thelma Ritter, Marilyn Monroe and Barbara Bates, in smaller but most effective parts." - Daily variety
