[The following is a guest post from abovethetitle.]
Perhaps the greatest film of all-time about show business, there are simply not enough superlatives in the OED to hurl at Bette Davis in “All About Eve.” At her snarky best, Davis’s Margo Channing is a highly-lauded but aging Broadway diva who finds her career and well-being threatened by a fan who ingratiates herself into her life. The story has spawned millions of versions of the understudy stealing the limelight from the star story but none with the biting wit of Joseph Mankiewicz’s screenplay. Davis was against another iconic story about an aging diva – Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard” – at the 1950 Oscars but, as Margo so famously said, “You can put that award where your heart is.” Perhaps no other film tapped into Davis’s unique sardonic deadpan quite as well as “Eve” did and I am proud to not only applaud this performance (musical theatre fans, that was a pun on “Applause,” the Broadway musical based on “Eve”!) but also to count this film in my overall top five favorites of all time.
Articles
Interviews
Novels, Fiction & Silliness
Reviews
So glad you profiled this! I could not agree more with you!! I absolutely adore Bette Davis and as you pointed out, no film showcases her sublime talents quite as well as ‘All About Eve.’ Peppered with sharp, witty dialogue (some of the best I’ve ever seen on-screen), this riveting film makes commentaries on gender, competition, aging, success and show biz. It is definitely in my list of fave movies too.