The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

A doctor treats a woman suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder.

Director:

Nunnally Johnson

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Corbett Thigpen (book) (as Corbett H. Thigpen M.D.)

Stars:

Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joanne Woodward	...	Eve White / Eve Black / Jane
David Wayne	...	Ralph White
Lee J. Cobb	...	Doctor Curtis Luther
Edwin Jerome	...	Doctor Francis Day
Alena Murray	...	Secretary
Nancy Kulp	...	Mrs. Black
Douglas Spencer	...	Mr. Black
Terry Ann Ross	...	Bonnie White
Ken Scott	...	Earl
Mimi Gibson	...	Eve - Age 8
Alistair Cooke	...	Narrator

Storyline

Eve White is a quiet, mousy, unassuming wife and mother who keeps suffering from headaches and occasional black outs. Eventually she is sent to see psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and, while under hypnosis, a whole new personality emerges: the racy, wild, fun-loving Eve Black. Under continued therapy, yet a third personality appears, the relatively stable Jane. This film, based on the true-life case of a multiple personality, chronicles Dr. Luther's attempts to reconcile the three faces of Eve. multiple personalities.

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Plot Keywords:

multiple personality | psychiatrist | multiple personality disorder | dissociative identity disorder | younger version of character | 

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Taglines:

A moment ago she was the nicest girl in town . . . A moment from now she will be anybody's pick-up!

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1957 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Tres caras tiene Eva

Filming Locations:

Stage 8, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$965,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Orson Welles was courted for the part of Dr. Luther, played in the movie by Lee J. Cobb, but opted instead to direct Touch of Evil (1958). Welles even read the script and told director Nunnally Johnson that whoever played the lead would win the Oscar (Joanne Woodward did, in fact, win the Oscar).

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Goofs

In at least two scenes, including the opening with Eve being driven to the doctor's office, there are cars in the background newer than 1951 when the scene is indicated to be taking place.

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Quotes

Jane: It's not you marrying me. It's me marrying anybody. I'm sick. I am mentally sick, and I can't marry anybody, ever.

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Crazy Credits

introducing Alistair Cooke distinguished journalist and commentator

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Connections

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

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Soundtracks

Hold Me
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Little (as Little Jack Little), Dave Oppenheim and Ira Schuster
Performed by Joanne Woodward

User Reviews

highly engaging and entertaining and mostly psychological mumbo jumbo

For the average viewer, this will be a highly entertaining film. Joanne Woodward's performance is extremely colorful and entertaining--she really did a good job in portraying the 3 personalities! However, the sad problem with the film is that so much of the movie just isn't true or sound psychologically--at least according to the average psychotherapist. This is actually a pretty controversial topic among some therapists today. Many (and probably the vast majority) therapists now believe that these multiple personalities are, in fact, not a real manifestation of underlying parallel personalities but are unintentionally created by the therapists themselves or are created by the patient due to all the exposure MPD has in the media (such as after the film SYBIL appeared on TV). For example, IF the therapist believes that multiple personalities exist, they tend to find that MANY of the patients who come to them have MPD--while those who don't believe in its existence do not see people with these traits. In addition, many cases (especially the more famous "Sybil") have actually been debunked as frauds.

PS--In response to OTHER postings on IMDb, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders are NOT the same. Even among therapists who believe MPD exists, there is universal agreement among professionals that MPD and schizophrenia are not at all the same. The DSM (the therapists' bible for diagnosing mental illnesses) lists them as separate disorders with very different symptoms. They are VERY different and are treated VERY differently. This movie was NOT about schizophrenia. I use the movie myself in my psychology class as it is a wonderful introduction into this controversy. Great entertainment but "fact"? I am skeptical.

PPS--In response to one posting advising others to IGNORE another posting because it is WRONG. I would NEVER want to do this. Whether you believe DID/MPD exists, it is very unwise to advise others to ignore those whose opinions differ. Provided you have an informed opinion (like the 2 in question), it's nice to hear the controversy. I want people to be aware there is a lot of disagreement--don't believe any one posting is definitively right just because they say so!