All About Eve (1950)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

15 January 1951 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It's all about women---and their men!

Plot:

An ingenue insinuates herself in to the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Critic | Theater | Director | Party

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Margo
Anne Baxter	...	Eve
George Sanders	...	Addison DeWitt
Celeste Holm	...	Karen
Gary Merrill	...	Bill Simpson
Hugh Marlowe	...	Lloyd Richards
Gregory Ratoff	...	Max Fabian
Barbara Bates	...	Phoebe
Marilyn Monroe	...	Miss Casswell
Thelma Ritter	...	Birdie
Walter Hampden	...	Aged Actor
Randy Stuart	...	Eve's Pal on Telephone
Craig Hill	...	Leading Man in 'Footsteps on the Ceiling'
Leland Harris	...	Doorman
Barbara White	...	Autograph Seeker
Eddie Fisher	...	Stage Manager of Theatre
William Pullen	...	Clerk
Claude Stroud	...	Pianist
Eugene Borden	...	Frenchman
Helen Mowery	...	Reporter
Steven Geray	...	Captain of Waiters (as Steve Geray)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gertrude Astor	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest on Dais (uncredited)
Stanley Orr	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Marion Pierce	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Robert Whitney	...	Actor in 'Hearts of Oak' (uncredited)

Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writing credits
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		(written by)
Erich Kästner		dialogue: German version (uncredited)
Mary Orr		story "The Wisdom of Eve" (uncredited)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)

Film Editing by
Barbara McLean

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little
Walter M. Scott

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Franz Prehoda	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Kay Reed	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Gladys Witten	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Robert R. Snody	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gaston Glass	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
Thomas T. Moulton	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Vaughn Ashen	....	gaffer (uncredited)
James E. Lavin	....	grip (uncredited)
Paul Lockwood	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ray Nolan	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	costume designer: Miss Bette Davis
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director (as Charles LeMaire)
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)
Alfred Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	presenter
Weslie Jones	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (produced by)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Park Circus (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Best Performance (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1987) | South Korea:15 | UK:U (2007) | USA:Approved (certificate #14544) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The movie's line "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night!" was voted as the #12 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the beginning of Addison DeWitt's "introduction-speech" of everyone in the movie, he's supposed to look at the stage. But the rest of the audience behind him is clearly staring in a different direction.

Quotes:

Addison DeWitt: Miss Casswell is an actress, a graduate of the Copacabana School of Dramatic Art.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: My Fair Maid-y (#1.12)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Thou Swell

***** Perfect!

Here's perfect writing if ever a movie ever had it-where did Joseph L. Mankiewicz come up with these people? Who would have thought he could not only revive Bette Davis' career with her greatest-ever role, but actually make her even more fascinating than she ever was before? Davis plays famous and established actress Margo Channing, a self-centred and tough but vulnerable woman who is purused relentlessly by Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), a seemingly innocent woman who worships Channing-she even becomes her personal assistant. However, her devotion soon becomes sinister, and Margo lets her friends know, though they just think she's being selfish and unfair. Celeste Holm is excellent as Margo's best friend, who at first is on Eve's side but eventually sees how conniving Eve can be and how ruthless she is in climbing to the top. The party scene early on in the film features some of the film's best lines (`Fasten your seat belts…it's going to be a bumpy night!'), though my personal favourite is when Davis tells Baxter to put her award `where you heart should be'; Margo Channing is just about the best female character of the fifties. Features Marilyn Monroe in an early role.