merelyaninnuendo
All About EveDespite of being termed "All About Eve", its barely about Eve and I mean it in as an undercooked character way that never reaches its destination until the last act and when it does it seems like makers jumped or skipped some beats. Joseph L. Mankiewicz; the screen writer and director has done some appreciative work but his sheer effort to create this character driven feature with a wafer thin script shatters the feature into bits and pieces of some good material that fails to make a definite point or even bind it all. Bette Davis is the actual winner in here that is supported amazingly by George Sanders but unfortunately one of the lead actors Anne Baxter's performance is what itches all the way through. All About Eve is your slow pill that is definitely effective in its own way but when it does, the question starts to beg whether all of it was worth or not.
maxdaddytj
Each scene just flows seamlessly into the next - what a script! And what casting! IF I had been an Academy voter that year, it would have been tough - Bette Davis in this, or Gloria Swanson. Some great lines that live on and on. My only minor quibble - Birdie (the great GREAT Thelma Ritter!)( is never seen or mentioned again after the party scene - what happened?
Antonius Block
Bette Davis is so effortless and breathes fire in her performance as Margot, an aging actress who finds herself slowly and insidiously being usurped by a young fan, Eve, played by Anne Baxter. I don't think it's in a 'best ever' type of discussion, or worthy of its 14 Academy Award nominations, but its sharp dialog, predatory manipulation, and overall bitchiness make it entertaining, even if it's hard to like the characters. There are some great lines here; in addition to the famous "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night", I loved it when Davis exclaimed "I'm not twenty-ish, I'm not thirty-ish. Three months ago I was forty years old. Forty. 4-0. That slipped out. I hadn't quite made up my mind to admit it. Now I suddenly feel as if I've taken all my clothes off." Davis herself was 42, and this line and others ring true. George Sanders (as Addison DeWitt) is also fantastic, at one point saying "You're an improbable person, Eve, and so am I. We have that in common. Also, a contempt for humanity, an inability to love and be loved, insatiable ambition, and talent. We deserve each other."These quotes capture the spirit of the movie, which to me is simply about the difficulties that aging women face, and the cold and calculating world of the theater. There is supposedly a homosexual element, a theory put forth and apparently confirmed by writer and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, but it's so subtle, perhaps because of the Hays Code, that it didn't even register with me, and I think it's irrelevant. These characters are in the best cases rough around the edges, and in the worse, simply awful people. We see Margot being slowly replaced and want to feel sympathy for her, but it's tough because she's so abrasive. We see the evil side of Eve slowly unveil itself as it becomes apparent she's far from being a starstruck fan or even who she says she is. And at the end we see that she, too, will be replaced. It's all a bit grim: time, a machine that grinds them down, and competition for glory that leads to Machiavellian backstabbing. It's ironic that Davis was such a diva that there was discord amongst the actors, and Baxter pushing her way into a 'Best Actress' nomination instead of 'Best Supporting Actress' would lead to a division of the vote and neither of them winning. I was happy to see Marilyn Monroe in a small part at age 24 and before she was big, just to bring some lightness into the film. This is certainly a good movie, don't get me wrong, but it's not one I'd watch again and again as I would my favorites.
