(Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1950, 138 min.)
“Fasten your seatbelts—it’s going to be a bumpy night.” In honor of Bette Davis’ centennial, we present her as legendary stage actress Margo Channing in this tour de force drama of jealousy, manipulation, and betrayal in the world of the theater. Anne Baxter plays Margo’s rival, ambitious wannabe Eve, and the supporting cast includes George Sanders, Celeste Holm, and Marilyn Monroe. Presented through the support of the Cornell/Weinstein Family Foundation, in loving memory of Regina Cornell.
Program Notes
“…And no brighter light has ever dazzled the eye than Eve Harrington. Eve. But more of Eve, later. All about Eve, in fact…” expresses critic, Addison DeWitt in the film All About Eve. Adapting from a short story, “The Wisdom of Eve” written by Mary Orr, Oscar winning writer and director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz developed a sharp-witted script that most critics considered his finest. Douglas Pratt of the Hollywood Reporter stated, “Mankiewicz’s flair for dialog is so perfected that the actresses shoot fireworks whenever they open their mouths.”
With the help of his brother, writer Herman Mankiewicz, Joe Mankiewicz began working in Hollywood in 1929 eventually becoming a successful producer with such hits as Woman of the Year and The Philadelphia Story for MGM Studios. By the late 1940s Joe was working at 20th Century Fox for film mogul Darryl F. Zanuck and was given the chance to write and direct. In 1950 he won two Oscars for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives. With All About Eve Mankiewicz wanted to delve into the “trauma and terror” of reaching the “single most critical milestone in the life of an actress. Four O. Fortyish. For the actress, a kind of professional menopause…”(Carey p.21).
For the lead role of Margo Channing, the aging actress, both Mankiewicz and Zanuck wanted Claudette Colbert. However, Colbert had injured her back during a shoot. They considered Susan Hayward, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, Gertrude Lawrence, and Tallulah Bankhead before even asking Bette Davis. Ms. Davis had just left Warner Brothers Studios after 19 years. When Zanuck called to offer her the role she thought it was a joke. Zanuck had argued with her years ago and they had not spoken since. Zanuck relented and offered her the role.
Mankiewicz had never worked with Davis and was warned by colleagues, to beware as she would “grind” him up “to a fine powder.” As Mankiewicz later recalled in an interview, he found Ms. Davis to be professional and they worked well together. Davis, later recalled in her autobiography that Mankiewicz “resurrected me from the dead.” The key role of the ambitious Eve Harrington went to Ann Baxter as she had that “bitch virtuosity” that Mankiewicz was looking for. .
All About Eve earned a record 14 Oscar nominations and won Best Picture of 1951. Mankiewicz once again received two Oscars for writing and directing. No other film maker has ever won for both categories consecutively. All About Eve was one of the last films at 20th Century Fox to be shot on nitrate film stock. The original camera negative has since been lost, but not before being preserved on to inflammable acetate safety stock. In 2000, the film’s 50th Anniversary, the Museum of Modern Art and the Academy Film Archive successfully collaborated to restore All About Eve to reflect the film maker’s original realization. As Addison DeWitt utters to Eve at one point in the film, “there never was and there never will be another like you.” And so, there will never be another like All About Eve and its creator, Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
~Monica Nicola, Student, L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation
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