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All About Eve Movie Review

All About Eve is a 1950 drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter among many others. This is one of the greatest films of all time.

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“Fasten your seatbelts,

it’s going to be a bumpy night!“

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Margo, an established theatre actress, appoints Eve, an aspiring actress, as her personal assistant. However, Margo is unaware of Eve’s intention to take over her career. This movie was a big critical and commercial hit when it was released and it went on to win six Oscars out of the record 14 nominations. All of this praise was fully earned as it remains one of the best movies ever made and firmly sitting in my top ten personal favorites for sure.

It’s mind-blowing that this masterpiece was released the same year when ‘Sunset Boulevard’ came out. The two movies went against each other at the Academy Awards and both share a similar concept – the aging actress failing to cope with her situation. They are similar initially, though they have wildly different endings. This one ended on a more positive note in spite of all odds as we see Davis’s character realize that there is more to life than career. It’s a perfect, ever so relevant message that did not feel preachy at all, but was still essential to convey.

This is a story about the dangers of fame and how personal insecurities and extreme ambition can really lead to questionable moral behavior as was the case with Eve’s character. The plot is perfect as it is about one theme only, but it explores that theme to the fullest extent. It’s a textbook example of how to properly write a screenplay as writing is where Mankiewicz has always excelled at most. He directed the movie incredibly well of course, but his screenplay is his biggest accomplishment in this instance.

There is also the superb structure to the film that felt timely, but also effortlessly modern. It begins with the ending, but then narration is introduced. I rarely like narration in my movies, but here even this device was brilliantly executed and it made the movie intriguing and mysterious as we had to peace out what happened and how we would arrive to the point of Eve accepting her award. It’s a brilliantly written script that reveals layers about characters in every single scene, leaving no moment unnecessary. And of course it concludes with that deliciously ironic final scene that deftly went full circle and was just impeccable.

All About Eve wouldn’t have worked nearly as well had it not been for its impressive cast of performers firing on all cylinders. Every single turn here was absolutely incredible and you can make the case that this ranks among the best-cast and performed films of all time. I loved Thelma Ritter in her charming role of the no-nonsense Birdie. It’s a shame that she disappeared in the second half when she was so memorable beforehand. Marilyn Monroe was present here in just one sequence, but she made an impression nonetheless. Hugh Marlowe and Gary Merrill are the least memorable of the cast, but both served their purpose in well-written roles.

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Celeste Holm was just wonderful as Margo’s best friend. It’s a shame that she lost her Oscar when she easily deserved to win for playing Karen with so much dignity, charm and a lot of heart. The character was a bit too naïve at times, but that was an important plot device, so it made perfect sense in that context. As for George Sanders, he played an obviously gay character, but in a very subtle way. His British accent was delightful here and so was his immaculate delivery of all his lines. This is one of the most villainous roles in the film, but he played this devious snake of an agent with so much charisma and elegance. He entirely deserved his Oscar win.

Anne Baxter killed it in the role of the calculating and scheming Eve. She represents everything that is wrong with career-driven people and this is truly an iconic villain role. Baxter has never been better than she was here, delivering a truly outstanding performance. But of course the standout is Bette Davis in the famous role of Margo Channing. This just might be her career-best turn, which says a lot as she had so many amazing roles throughout her career.

Margo felt like a real person due to excellent characterization, but also due to Davis’s magnetic presence. She wasn’t just immensely charismatic, but also very funny at times and at other times quite moving and vulnerable. This character is all about the dangers of ageism in the entertainment industry and you really feel for her. Bette wasn’t just the best part of this movie, but she is this film, which is huge praise from a cast that is this brilliant.

All About Eve is filled with unforgettable sequence from that intriguing opening to that twisty ending, but the highlight for me was clearly the dinner scene. This is where Davis was having the time of her life, delivering some of the most famous lines of dialogue in the history of cinema. This is a larger than life performance that still felt modern and nuanced, which is why it especially is painful that she lost an Oscar to Judy Holliday. I loved her turn as well, but it was evident that the split votes for Baxter, Davis and Swanson led to her unexpected win.

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This drama looks and sounds great. The score is quite strong, the cinematography is competent and the editing is fantastic. It flows well and is consistently engaging throughout its rather long runtime. Every scene counts, which is rarely the case for this type of length. It’s a technically polished feature even if the focus clearly was on the script, performances and dialogue more so than the technical aspects. And oh boy does this dialogue sound beautiful to the ears – it’s funny, it’s sophisticated, it’s playful and it’s just riveting to follow. Above all else, this is one of those pictures where it is almost impossible to find any flaws, leading to one of the most perfect pieces ever put to celluloid.