I posted this on Facebook last year:
"I get over a thousand TV channels if you count my Roku. I have a Criterion Channel subscription, a bunch of DVDs still in their shrink wrap, and a pile of 'to read' books.
"So of course because it's on TCM (again), what I'm doing is watching All About Eve for probably the 30th time. #Loser."
My favorite reply was:
"Kathy, I'd watch All About Eve if my house was on fire."
2020 marks the 70th anniversary – yes, 70th -- of the film's 1950 release.
Is there anything new to say about this record-Oscar-nominated story of female ambition, desire and friendship on mid-century Broadway, widely regarded as the greatest screenplay ever filmed?
I was half-hoping to dig up a plagiarism scandal at least:
That some feminist film scholar had uncovered studio archival evidence of an obscure woman writer's uncredited contributions to that lauded script.
But nope, it was all Joseph Mankiewicz's work, evidently. Well, not quite all: It's based on an undistinguished short story by Mary Orr, but comparing the two is like placing "Turkish Wizard of Oz" alongside the real thing.
I shouldn't have been disappointed or surprised: As I mentioned a while back, Mankiewicz was a man renowned for capturing the female experience on film; along with wit, he added insight and nuance to poor Mary Orr's pedestrian original:
I first watched All About Eve half a lifetime ago, picking it up at a video rental joint in Toronto's Boystown, from its perch on a shelf labeled GLAMOROUS ALCOHOLICS. I harboured unattainable ambitions to the former state, but consoled myself that at least I'd achieved considerable success when it came to the latter.
I bought my own VHS copy that week. On too many dark, lonely evenings (and the occasional sunny afternoon) I smoked and drank right along with stage star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her entourage: loyal factotum Birdie (Thelma Ritter); director/fiancé Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill); and playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlow) and his wife Karen (Celeste Holm), each of them subject to the barbs of warlockian critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), and the twisted machinations of the film's titular usurper, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter.)
All of whom, I must point out, are briefly upstaged by up-and-coming starlet Marilyn Monroe, as chorus girl Miss Caswell:
When VHS went extinct, I bought the DVD, which I've just replaced with Criterion's recently released two-disc edition.
Disappointingly, Criterion, who should know better, call this a "restoration," a word properly reserved for movies that have suffered neglect or, in the case of Pather Panchali, physical damage; "lost" films for which new negatives are painstakingly struck from the last known print, recently unearthed in some old South American theatre scheduled for demolition.
None of this applies to All About Eve, one of the treasures of the Fox vault. Rather, Criterion's is merely a 4K digital transfer. Now, a true restoration (be it of the Sistine Chapel ceiling or Abel Gance's 1927 Napoleon) aims to reveal the artist's original vision. Alas, All About Eve's unforgiving high-tech makeover has mostly unveiled something Mankiewicz and company were likely trying to camouflage — namely, Bette Davis' appearance.
It's now all too clear to a veteran viewer like me that her relatively smooth, taught face in original, older prints of this film was the result of painstaking lighting and other assists. This high-def Criterion edition not only exposes Davis' creeping jowls, forehead wrinkles and "marionette lines," it casts into high relief Davis' stubborn habit of overdrawing her upper lip and filling in her cupid's bow with lipstick. This shiny demarcation line can't be unseen.
Yes, Davis was famously willing to look old and even bizarre on screen when her character demanded it. But glamorous Margot Channing is decidedly not one such case; she isn't playing Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (released, coincidentally, the same year.)
That said, it is beyond Criterion's or Mankiewicz's control that advances in sunscreen, drugstore skincare, injectables and plastic surgery mean that 40-year-old Margot/Davis looks closer to 60 to modern eyes. (PS: Desmond is supposed to be 50...)
It's all ruefully ironic, considering that All About Eve is, in part, about a woman who is naturally yet neurotically concerned about getting older.
I also heard something for the first time:
How often the humble word "heart" pops up in this brutal story, in which position and prestige are gained and lost through a sociopathic game of musical chairs:
"Everybody has a heart," Margot mutters drunkenly. "Except SOME people," and so on.
But one of those lines acquired new gravity when I watched this edition.
Upon winning Broadway's most prestigious award mere months after the start of her scorched earth campaign for stardom, Eve delivers a cloying speech drizzled with fake humility, winding up with, "My heart is here, in the Theatre..."
"Nice speech, Eve," Margot tells her minutes later, as her ex-friend clutches the ungainly statuette to her bosom. "But I wouldn't worry too much about your heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be."
The movie famously freeze-frames the precise moment, just before the famous flashbacks begin, when Eve stretches out her arms to accept this prize. The setting is a banquet hall that hasn't been redecorated since the turn of the (previous) century, and its Victorian clutter includes a collection of antique pistols mounted along the wall behind her.
It is most probably a coincidence – Mankiewicz wasn't a director given to symbolism or other stylistic flourishes — so I guess it's that 4K stuff I was complaining about before, maybe messing with the depth of field. Whatever the reason, I noticed something I'd never seen before after all these years:
As a beaming Eve's lifelong dream comes true, the coveted award mere inches from her grasp, one of the pistols on the wall points directly at her heart:
~All About Eve airs January 19 on TCM, and streams on Amazon Prime.
Mark Steyn Club members can let Kathy know what they think in the comments. If you aren't yet a member but wish to join in on the fun, you can sign up or get a loved one a gift membership here. To meet your fellow Club members in person, consider joining our third annual Mark Steyn Cruise next October, featuring Conrad Black, Michele Bachmann and John O'Sullivan, among other distinguished special guests.
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39 Member Comments
I second what so many have preceded me in expressing: Your reviews open my eyes to film gems I haven't seen, or have seen but didn't appreciate. Thank you for the care and intelligence you lavish on each one and for educating me in the process!
Don't know if you have the time (or inclination) to review something like the recent miniseries "FosseVerdon" ? If one knew little about them and their work, the series' non-linear presentation, the focus on Fosse's addictions and predatory sexual habits and his and Gwen's professional power struggles leave a very strange impression that seems to overshadow their individual and collective achievements. Your thoughts, or those of others among your followers here...?
Wow thanks for saying that!
I tried watching Fosse/Verdon but hated almost everybody in it :-(
I wanted to like the one about the making of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, esp. because Bette Davis had said she wanted Susan Sarandon to play her some day. But Sarandon didn't nail Davis' voice (most impersonators don't) and much worse, that other actress was the worst "Joan Crawford" I can imagine. It was so distracting, it brought down the whole enterprise.
Great insights into a wonderful film, thanks. I wonder if the Copacabana School of Dramatic Art is anywhere near the Sheboygan Conservatory of Music.
Thank you Nigel!
Has there ever been an actor who so perfectly fit his character as George Sanders as Addison deWitt? I can't think of another quite so authentic. Thanks for the review, Kathy, it is one of my favorites. I would love to share it with my wife but she has this thing against Bette Davis and my entreaties are all in vain.
She doesn't know what she's missing!
Kathy: I've always wondered why I like this movie so much. (No, it's not Marilyn's appearance.) It is not the typical move I'd be drawn to. Your fascinating observations here have given me the clue. This is one of those rare movies that, from a number of perspectives, you can think deeply about.
Thanks, King!
Dear Kathy
I very much enjoy your articles and this one was no exception. Thanks.
Paul
Much appreciated, Paul!
Kathy, Kathy, Kathy, I know what you're trying to do here -- find classic movies from bygone days. However, you seem to be having some difficulty with that. If you truly get 1,000 channels, surely one of them must have a fellow called Svengoolie? I'd advise you to check him out as he shows true old movie classics. The movies he shows have real movie stars like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Bela Lugosi, not some woman who is only remembered because of that song about her eyes.
For example, last night's movie, "Revenge of the Creature" explored the complexities inherent in a love triangle between man, woman, and monster. The movie explored themes still relevant today, like when the male scientist tells the female scientist that she needs to choose whether she wants to be a scientist or a wife and mother. He explains that, being a man, he doesn't have to choose and adds, "I'm not saying it's right or wrong, it's just the way things are." Still true today!
If that doesn't convince you, this movie also introduced a young fellow named Clint Eastwood. Yes, in this movie about fighting a monster, Eastwood shines as an inept lab assistant, foreshadowing his future as a comic movie genius.
I hope this has been helpful, Kathy. All joking aside, I'm a big fan of you and your reviews. They are always well written and thought provoking.
Ha, thanks for the "tip" Steven. Alas, we never got Svengoolie up here, and I didn't know he was still alive.
The closest we came to a local horror host was Chuck the Security Guard on "The All Night Show." (I've been offered hundreds of bucks for my original t-shirt...) The phenomenon of local horror hosts fascinates me; there is a whole book about it I keep meaning to read.
Actually Kathy, the original Svengoolie is dead. He died in 2013 while the current Svengoolie started out 40 years ago as Son of Svengoolie until the original gave him permission to take the name.
Now I have a suggestion for the next movie you cover -- "Attack of the 50 ft. Woman". It's got everything you like: a marriage falling apart, alcoholism and mental illness, a 50 ft. woman. Rumor has it that Bette Davis was rejected for the lead role. Too short.
Don't laugh: I love that movie for those very reasons and may take you up on that.
If you ever want to know more about "All About Eve" than you ever thought you would want to know, I recommend the book "All About All About Eve" by Sam Staggs. Among the facts - that Mary Orr based her short story on a conversation she had with actress Elisabeth Bergner, who told Orr about taking in a young woman who had been hanging around the stage door of the theater where Bergner was performing and who Bergner later became convinced was trying to take over her life. Also, details on various casting choices and how members of the cast really felt about each other when the cameras weren't rolling. Joe Mankiewicz was one of those men who aren't just attracted to women but find them fascinating - I just finished a biography of him and his older brother Herman. If you haven't seen it - or even if you have - his "A Letter to Three Wives" is, I think, as excellent a movie as "All About Eve."
Very true.
And anyone who enjoys this film may want to check out the shooting script, available at DailyScript.com and other sites.
While there are a few typos, dialogue that was cut, and the scenes aren't in the order they appear in the finished film, Mank's descriptions of characters and so forth are quite entertaining:
"Between them, by the dressing table, is BIRDIE - Margo's maid. Her age is unimportant. She was conceived during a split week in Walla Walla and born in a carnival riot."
Having come to Bette Davis back to front, as it were, I have always had a hard time not seeing vestiges of The Nanny in her other roles. That she could be described as once having been pretty, let alone beautiful, seemed absurd. Yet so she was, stunning even. If the three ages of women in film are indeed "babe, district attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy" (per "The First Wives Club"), she excelled in all, over a 58 year career. FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS! (Sorry to shout.) No wonder she accentuated her gargoyle tendencies in later years: she had already played babe.
As Sondheim wrote:
First you're another sloe-eyed vamp/
Then someone's mother, then you're camp.
Oh, and "thanks" for the Turkish Wizard of Oz. I can't unsee Cenk Uygur in a gingham dress.
GAH!!!!!
Your movie reviews are fascinating, Kathy, though I'm reminded of my vast knowledge deficit re great films (similar to Mark's Song-of-the-Week) including missed cultural references.
I've just read last weekend's - "Make Way for Tomorrow": Your observations about the human awareness and fear "of being a burden, or having to shoulder one" - and those roles in real life - are so well-expressed it makes the film a must-see. But the essay is powerful in its own right.
Thanks very much, Kate!
Bravo! It's in my top 5 of all time. But then my family room is adorned with breathtaking photos of Bette Davis in her prime. It's funny, I really can't stand Anne Baxter - the breathless, husky voice puts my teeth on edge. But she is appropriate in this role since she become a character who I love to hate.
Kathy, absolutely love your movie reviews. I don't have a lot of free time to spend on Steynonline (bah!) but it's worth the price of membership to be able to dip into your reviews.
That's so nice of you to say, Jeanne. Thank you.
When a director places an object in the center of the shot and aligned so perfectly with an important prop you must assume it is an intentional symbol, even if it is in Plan 9 From Outer Space and not done by David Lean.
I'm undecided. It's impossible I'm the first person to notice this, but am continuing my research.
There are movies that are great, and there are movies which maybe aren't especially so, but that you can watch over and over again. It's cool when you find a great movie that you can do that with.
I don't always comment, but I do always appreciate your perspective, Kathy. Thanks (again).
By the way, love Anne Baxter. I was hooked after seeing her play Sophie MacDonald in "The Razor's Edge."
Agreed. I watch "Con Air" to the end every time I find it while channel surfing. Is it a "good" movie? Nope. But it is so re-watchable. A lot of 1990s action movies share that quality. "Die Hard," of course. Even "Air Force One."
And then there are the "great" movies I never really want or need to watch again, like last week's "Make Way for Tomorrow." A towering achievement but... man...
As for "great," I'll still re-watch "Citizen Kane" (watching it during the last election was trippy), the Olivier "Wuthering Heights" (all the while wishing Kathy was played by Vivian Leigh instead), "Psycho"
I find it fun and revealing that re-watching some movies over the course of my life, my perspective on the story and characters can change. The last time I saw "The Breakfast Club" I found myself thinking, "You know, that principal has a point..."
She is very good. Almost makes up for her role in The Ten Commandments. Oh, Moses Moses Moses!
I can watch The Replacements with Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman over and over again. Seriously.
Vivien Leigh was offered the part of Isabella Linton - played, as you no doubt know, by Geraldine Fitzgerald - but turned it down. I would also have preferred Vivien Leigh to Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennett in the 1940 version of "Pride and Prejudice."
Hi Kathy--your columns are certainly something I look forward to, every week. Thanks for your insight, and the encouragement to watch the films I haven't yet seen! I'm chuckling about the changing perspective on some films due to age and circumstances in a person's life... one film I loved as a teenager and into my twenties was Dead Poets Society. I watched it again (I'm in my mid forties now) and all I could think of was "He killed himself because his dad wouldn't let him be in a play?!" And I too see the principal's point in The Breakfast Club, and surprisingly perhaps, I'm not unsympathetic to Col. Nathan Jessop in A Few Good Men. Not sure what that makes me, haha!
Thanks, Christina! Yeah, I can't stand Ferris Bueller now for instance -- what a jerk.
I can feel the tension in this wonderful piece of writing... And thank you for introducing me to a very fresh Norma Jean.
As Roger Ebert said, Marilyn steals all the light to herself, like the moon. It took many takes to get her scenes right, which became an unhappy pattern, but I'd feel the same way surrounded by this cast.
She was in another excellent but mostly forgotten film in 1950 - The Asphalt Jungle, directed and co-written by John Huston(Oscar nominated for both) - playing a sex-kitten role as Louis Calhern's young mistress. Well worth watching if you've never seen it(and re-watching if you have).
I think that the ultimate Norma Jean trivia sighting might be as an extra in the 1951 Sci Fi classic "When Worlds Collide". There's no documentary evidence to back this up, but it does appear that someone who looks strikingly like Marilyn is sitting in the front row of passengers of the spaceship as it is set to leave the doomed Earth.
A fine movie!
I'll have to watch for that!