My quick review of 'All About Eve': Bette Davis' best film!

My quick review of 'All About Eve': Bette Davis' best film!

All About Eve is a 1950 American Drama written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr. Stars Bette Davis, Ann Baxter, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, and Marilyn Monroe in her 1st screen appearance round out the cast. 

Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is so obsessed with Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) that she travels cross-country from her home in San Francisco to New York in hopes of seeing her idol which she does by way of Margo's friend Karen Richards (Celeste Holm) who is impressed by the humble, polite-spoken Eve. Through tons of flattery, Eve earns herself a job as Margo's personal assistant. Eve's constant praises are just what Margo's ego needs as roles for aging actresses are far and few between. Little does Margo know what her younger protege is really after or even who and what her protege is. Eve has everybody fooled, everybody except theater critic Addison DeWitt!

All About Eve is among only 3 films nominated for 14 Academy Awards with the other 2 being 1997s Titanic and 2016s LaLa Land. Eve walked away with 6 Academy Awards and is the only film ever to have 2 actresses nominated for awards in 2 categories, Bette Davis and Anne Baxter for Best Actress and Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter for Best Supporting Actress. Although she only had a few lines in the film, Marilyn Monroe’s performance is also great as Addison's DeWitt's busty-but-not-as-dumb-as-I-look date at Margo Channing's Birthday Party. 

Everything from the cinematography (by Milton R. Krasner) to the editing by Barbara McLean are terrific. Back then, you had to know how to write as there weren't any gimmicks such as computer effects to hide behind, nor was there a soundtrack to distract you from the actors. Also, not being a color film removes another layer of distraction from the actors’ performances. 

This is 1 of those movies that seems to get better as movies today become more and more kiddified by Marvel and DC and sequels on top of sequels. At the time she appeared in this film, Bette Davis' real-life career was also undergoing a transition because of her age (40), something that most likely added to her role as Margo Channing and something that resonates today with actresses disappearing around 40 years of age. In a way, All About Eve is like Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard without the swimming pool at the end. 

I have this film on DVD and the image and sound quality are excellent. If you wonder what a lot of older folks mean when they say they don't make them like they used to, see All About Eve and you'll know why.