All About Eve (1950)

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

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders

Top Rated Movies #115 | Won 6 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Davis	...	Margo
Anne Baxter	...	Eve Harrington
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	...	Girl
Craig Hill	...	Leading Man
Leland Harris	...	Doorman
Barbara White	...	Autograph Seeker

Storyline

Eve (Anne Baxter) is waiting backstage to meet her idol, aging Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis). It seems innocent enough as Eve explains that she has seen Margo in EVERY performance of her current play. Only playwright/critic DeWitt (George Sanders) sees through Eve's evil plan, which is to take her parts and her fiancé, Bill Simpson (Gary Merrill). When the fiancé shows no interest, she tries for playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), but DeWitt stops her. After she accepts her award, she decides to skip the after-party and goes to her room, where a young woman named Phoebe has sneaked into her room and fallen asleep. This is where the "Circle of Life" now comes to fruition as Eve will get played like she played Margo.

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Plot Keywords:

starlet | meta film | famous line | title spoken by character | character name in title | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

27 October 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Best Performance

Filming Locations:

242 West 45th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,177, 8 October 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$10,177, 8 October 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The popular English gothic rock band All About Eve took their name from the film. They enjoyed chart success in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s with several hit singles such as "Martha's Harbour" and "What Kind of Fool".

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Goofs

In The Cub Room, Margo holds a lit cigarette. In the next shot, without having put it in her mouth, she puffs a cloud of smoke.

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Quotes

Eve: If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights.

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Crazy Credits

Eddie Fisher is credited in the cast as 'Stage Manager,' although all of his scenes were cut from the released print. This is not the the singer Eddie Fisher, but another actor.

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Connections

Featured in All About Bette (1994)

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Soundtracks

Manhattan
(1925) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Played on the piano at the party when Margo and Max are in the kitchen

User Reviews

A Magnificent Timeless Tale of Ambition, Manipulation and Betrayal - Certainly One of the Best Classics Ever

The ambitious Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) gets close to the great and temperamental stage artist Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her friends Karen Richards (Celeste Holm) and her husband, the play-writer Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe); her boyfriend and director Bill Sampson (Gary Marrow); and the producer Max Fabian (Gregory Ratoff). Everybody, except the cynical critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), believe that Eve is only a naive, humble and simple obsessed fan of Margo and they try to help her. However, Eve is indeed a cynical and manipulative snake that uses the lives of Margo and her friends to reach her objectives in the theater business.

"All About Eve" is a magnificent timeless tale of ambition, manipulation and betrayal, and certainly one of the best classics ever. Everything perfectly works in this movie: the direction is very precise and tight; dialogs are very acid and intelligent; Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders and Celeste Holm have awesome performances in very powerful characters; the dramatic story is amazingly good, showing what an evil person can plot to reach fame and success. I believe this movie will always be among my ten favorite movies ever. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "A Malvada" ("The Wicked")