Nominated in: 1951
Did it win? Yes. “Eve” won 6 Oscars total and was nominated for 14, the most for any film up to that point
Worth watching: Yes
Standout performance: Bette Davis as Margo Channing
Watchfl’s favorite quote: “I love a psychotic” – Bette Davis
Haven’t we all made friends who, as we got to know them better, turned out to be slightly or severely crazy? As unpleasant as the experience may be, it makes for a great story. Plus, watching someone else’s experience with it can be hilarious. And, um, upsetting of course…
I didn’t have any expectations for All About Eve. I knew the story vaguely: a famous stage actress (Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis) takes an adoring fan under her wing. The fan (Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter) turns out to be an ambitious wackjob who will stop at nothing to assume the actress’ lifestyle, friends and career. The fascinating story presents a thorough examination of human behavior and the ruthlessness of show business.
It takes quite a while for Margo and her close-knit group of friends to realize Eve is crazy. In fact, Eve succeeds in driving them all apart for a time by cleverly exploiting their weaknesses and insecurities. For example, the fabulous, boozy Margo is a brilliant (albeit aging) star dating a younger man. Eve finds little ways to play on Margo’s age sensitivity until she explodes, alienating her friends making everyone think she is the crazy one.
We first meet Eve (left) in a dark alley. That should be a red flag. Don’t let her backstage!
One of the more interesting things about this movie is that life is not fair. Eve is able to cheat and bribe her way to stardom, although she loses all meaningful relationships along the way. This is brilliantly illustrated in a scene toward the end, where she delivers the phoniest award acceptance speech of all time. As a result, we are made to wonder how many human casualties are caused by the rise of famous actors. Or any successful person, for that matter.
There were strong performances all around, aided considerably by a sharp and cynical screenplay – just my style. Loved it.
1 Comment
June 10, 2008 at 1:47 pm
[...] All About Eve (I love a psychotic) I didn’t have any expectations for All About Eve. I knew the story vaguely: a famous stage actress (Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis) takes an adoring fan under her wing. The fan (Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter) turns out to … [...]