All About Eve is a 1950 drama that for nearly fifty years stood as
the lone record holder for most Academy Award nominations. At the 23rd
Academy Awards it was nominated for a total of fourteen awards, a feat
unmatched until Titanic equalled it
in 1997. The film wouldn’t be a successful as James Cameron’s sprawling, water
based epic however and won just six of it’s nominations including the important
Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Sixty four years on and today
I watched the film for the first time to see what all the fuss is about. My
immediate impression upon completing the film was that of surprise for its
multiple nominations and victories but stepping back a little, the film
features a lot to like, not least some fantastic writing and superb acting
performances.
The film strangely shares many
themes with another 1950 release, Sunset Boulevard, and indeed the two would battle it out in eight of the
categories at the Oscar’s ceremony I just spoke of. Another film that All About Eve congers memories of is
stranger still and that is Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls.
All three movies feature stories about revered and ageing stars who are or at
least feel threatened by perkier, younger women. Here, the marvellous Bette
Davis plays Broadway star Margot Channing, a talented actress with an outwardly
sense of entitlement but who is inwardly frail and uneasy, worried for her
place in the theatre world. Her fears come to the forefront of her mind when
she is confronted with the attributes and ambitions of Eve Harrington (Ann
Baxter). Harrington begins the film as a timid and star struck young girl but
what lurks beneath her downtrodden and excited appearance is a viciously
ambitious starlet.
I have to admit that it took me a
while to settle into All About Eve. I
found the opening scenes set inside Channing’s dressing room to be overly
theatrical and boring. As I didn’t know what to expect from the film, I was
worried that it would be a thespian rollick full of ‘luvvies’ and ‘dearies’ and
was put off straight away. Once I let the film play though, I relaxed into a
taught drama about ageing and fame hunger which still resonates with today’s
world. Although dressed in ball gowns and sipping cocktails, these characters
are no different from the reams of fame hungry, idol worshiping people we find
ourselves surrounded with today. Those who find themselves in positions of fame
and wealth must too worry for their positions, especially as age catches up
with them. The movie has a lot to say about how the theatre world is conducted
and manages to do so with a small and tight cast. Actors, directors, producers
and writers are all featured and the film gives an interesting, if not entirely
accurate portrayal of life behind the curtain.
I thoroughly enjoyed Eve
Harrington’s transformation from quiet girl next door to ferocious femme fatale
and her part was exquisitely written. The change creeps up on the audience
quite slowly despite her going from one character to the next, using each for
her own personal gain. She’s like a whirlwind, spinning a character around at
her want before moving onto the next. She manages to use her charms on both men
and women and always lands on her feet. It personally took me quite a while to
realise what she was actually up to so it’s no wonder some of the characters
ended the film without a clue. Despite all her cunning, it was difficult not to
like the character as she was played so deviously that the despicable qualities
rarely bubbled to the surface.
Opposite Anne Baxter’s Eve is
Bette Davis’ Margo Channing. Although it’s Eve who is the ‘bad guy’ of the
piece, it is Channing who one is much less inclined to like. She is a woman who
has been a star too long, accustomed to getting her way and having the finest
things life can offer. She’s separated from reality for much of the film and
only towards the end does she come crashing down and the real woman behind the
actress come out. The writing of both central characters is superb and much
closer to the knuckle that I’d imagined. All throughout the film there are
wonderfully written characters and fantastic lines of dialogue. From the snappy
but humorous “Bill's thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years
ago; he'll look it twenty years from now. I hate men.” To the introspective and
longing “So many people know me. I wish I did. I wish someone would tell me
about me.” There are beautifully written lines dotted in every scene.
Alongside the fantastic writing,
the film is also notable for its acting. It garnered a total of five acting
nominations including two in each of the Best Actress and Best Supporting
Actress categories but its only win came for George Sanders as Best Supporting
Actor. Sanders is a cold-blooded and straight talking theatre critic who spews
some of the most wonderfully evocative and deeply cutting lines that the script
has to offer. He’s fantastic but no more so than the two stars, Bette Davis and
Ann Baxter. I’ve talked much about their characters but they are bought to life
vividly by the two actors who are on top form here and unluckily failed to
bring home a coveted Oscar. Celeste Holm is also superb, caught between the two
central characters and Thelma Ritter has a few feisty and funny moments. The
movie also afforded an early role for Marilyn Monroe who plays the outed
wannabe star to Eve’s closeted one. As always, it is difficult to take ones
eyes off her when she’s on screen but is so unfortunately for just a few
moments.
Overall I’m still a little
surprised by All About Eve’s total of
fourteen Oscar nominations but find myself disagreeing with few of them. It’s a
beautifully written tale that features some tremendous acting and holds up well
over sixty years after its original release. It’s still sharp, cutting and
relevant and despite some dull moments is still extremely watchable.
8/10
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