Movie Notes: All About Eve

March 15th, 2009

= 5 stars

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

My appreciation for All About Eve rose the second time I saw it, or maybe the third. On first viewing I was enthralled by the unfolding of the carefully crafted plot, the second time I was able to concentrate on the stellar performances. The third time I suppose I had time to review in detail the poetically pointed dialog, which tends to whiz by on the first and second.

On one hand All About Eve is really all about Margo Channing (Bette Davis), a top theater star with an ego to match. She has a symbiotic relationship with a playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and a best friend in his wife Karen (Celeste Holm). I suppose in a world where you’re only as big as your last role, it’s better to have friends of this sort rather than as your enemies. Bette Davis’ performance is a firebrand vehicle, where she trades barbs with her boyfriend, Hollywood-leaning director Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill) in some of charming yet bristling dialogue I’ve seen. Writing was obviously was a higher priority in older films such as these.

The Eve (Anne Baxter) of the title is Eve Harrington, a theater-obsessed ingenue who gains the affections of Margo and her friends, and slowly fawns her way into their circle. As the film progresses it’s slowly revealed what her true intentions are, and the focus of the film slowly shifts from Margo entourage to the plight of Eve, the actress whose finest role no one is privy to except sarcastic columnist Addison DeWitt (George Sanders).

All About Eve comments on the snobby world of the theater and what makes actors and actresses do the things they do; their motivation. We wonder if actors and actresses ever really leave the stage. Every time they enter a conversation it seems the spotlight has returned. The characters in this film only show their true natures when completely alone.

The theater is parodied in some pointedly funny exchanges when the roles of playwright and actress come to a head. The comment “It’s about time the piano realizes it didn’t write the concerto” just about sums up the truth, which is that actors and actresses spend a lifetime pretending they’re something they’re not, and pretending to people that only exist in the minds of the writers, without an original thought of their own. As we see Eve pretend to be something she’s not so she gets the chance to pretend in front of other people, she’s literally spending her lifetime preparing for a role.

Three of the film’s pivotal characters are women, Margo, Eve, and Lloyd’s wife Celeste. It’s she who plays a key role as the perpetrator of a big mistake, but first clues in on Eve’s ruse and true intentions. Her power is underestimated. Margo and Celeste’s conversation about how a woman, despite all her achievements, is still considered nothing without a man is a poignant moment in the film.

Lastly, this film is about the cycle of fame, as one star fades and another rises to take their place. The weakest moments of the movie for me are the final scenes where Eve demonstrates that her transformation into Margo is complete, from her dour attitude to her very own hanger-on. Unfortunately, due to the strength of Bette Davis’ performance, it’s difficult to imagine Eve ever filling Margo’s larger-than-life shoes.

A literal example of one star rising is a brief role featuring Marilyn Monroe. Her bit part is that of a blond at Margo’s party. One can only wonder if she was studying the actresses around her, taking notes and learning?

Despite all the great performances and good humor, All About Eve contains a dark side that occasionally bubbles to the surface. Margo tries to protect the situation she’s built for herself, to the point of lying within a tantrum in order to protect a choice role. The story of Eve doing whatever necessary, to the point of subverting her own identity to become an actress is nearly horrific. But the last gasp is that Eve eventually becomes symbiotic with Addison, who’s cynical final scene reveals him as an even more opportunistic and parasitic person. I suppose it’s possible that all stars have the potential for planets that revolve around them, some of which prove to be cold, lifeless bodies.

IMDB: All About Eve
Wikipedia: All About Eve
Rotten Tomatoes: All About Eve 100%