All About Eve, 1950

Not Rated

Oscar’s first most nominated film was “All About Eve” in 1950. It was nominated for fourteen awards and walked away with six; the only other film with that many nominations was my beloved “Titanic” (47 years later). The story follows the lives of six characters for the most part: an aging stage actress and her boyfriend (the director), a playwright and his wife, a drama critic, and an aspiring young actress with whom the film is mostly “all about”, Eve. Around them, the film depicts what goes on behind the scenes of New York theatre. Being a big theatre fan (more musical, though), I was intrigued throughout the film.

If there’s one thing I think this movie is known for, it’s that it’s full of fabulous one-liners. Naturally, if I wrote some here, you wouldn’t understand them out of context, so I encourage you to rent this film if you like witty conversations/arguments. I found myself smiling or chuckling out loud at quite a bit of the dialogue. I can easily see how this film reinvigorated Bette Davis’ career… she was so entertaining to watch and it seemed the part was written just for her. Perhaps one of the most famous lines from her is: “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night!”

There’s not a whole lot I can say about this film though… if it were a book, I’d say it’s an “easy read”. Like I mentioned, Davis’ role of the cynical thespian steals the show, but the young woman who plays Eve is pretty fascinating too. I won’t give it away, but I will say that she had me second guessing her throughout most the movie. Knowing she was playing an actress, I couldn’t decide whether to think she was conniving or innocent (until it is revealed, of course).

Bette Davis had an affair with her on-screen boyfriend (the director)during the filming. He later became her fourth husband when both of their divorces became final. Marilyn Monroe has a bit part in the film , no biggie. It also stars Celeste Holm as the playwright’s wife (pictured below). I immediately recognized her as the old “Miss Snow” in the Disney made-for-TV movie “Polly” from 1989 (a recreation of the classic story “Pollyanna” with an African-American cast). I LOVED that show and enjoyed dancing around my Grammie’s living room with my cousin to all the gospel church music.

This film’s measly competitors were “Father of the Bride” (the remake of this is one of my absolute favorite movies), “Sunset Boulevard”, “Born Yesterday”, and “King Solomon’s Mines”. I take that back, “Sunset Blvd” gave it a run for its money; the two films together had 25 nominations. This film also holds the record for having the most female nominations, and surprisingly, they all lost.

FAVORITE SCENE:

Pretty much any scene that had Bette Davis arguing with someone was a favorite scene of mine. The lines written for her were fantastic and her delivery perfect. One that sticks out more than the others, was when she gets inebriated at her own party and retires early. (That's Marilyn in the middle.)

LESSON LEARNED:

Broadway is cut-throat. It’s better that I followed my passion into teaching than my hobby into musical theatre, because I wouldn’t have survived. The conniving and back-stabbing that can happen for roles isn’t for me.