When it comes to this blog, I always enjoy the Best Picture winners that I know nothing about. Usually, out of the ten movies that won over the course of a given decade, there are at least 3 or 4, that I know little to nothing about. Looking back at the movies I’ve seen already, often times these movies are my favorite of that decade. Examples is It Happened One Night (1934), or All the King’s Men (1949).
Being that All About Eve came out in 1950, it’s too early to tell whether this will be my favorite from the 50s, but it is most certainly an example of a movie that took me by surprise.
The story of All About Eve, follows it’s title character, played by Anne Baxter as she rises to the top of the Broadway theater scene in New York City. She does this by riding on the coat tails of Margo, played by Bette Davis. Eve eventually works her way up as Margo’s understudy, and through betrayals and deception, Eve finds herself as the next big thing in Broadway. In the end, the film goes full circle, as another young actress moves in to ride Eve’s coattails.
This story is not uncommon, it’s a story we’ve seen time and time again throughout Hollywood history, who do you have to step on, to become famous? It’s the story of Hollywood itself (as well as Broadway I’m sure). The film Valley of the Dolls came to mind while watching this film (the original Valley of the Dolls, not the fun and campy Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), which follows another young starlet as she uses her mentor to get to the top, only to leave her in the dust.
The story of Eve however is much more humble, Even knows what she did, she knows who she hurt, but what she doesn’t realize, is that there is no turning back. Once she’s hurt those who got her where she is, their relationship will never be the same.
At a runtime of 2 hours and 15 minutes, this film does not drag one bit, you are kept interested until the very end. And more often then not, I found myself waiting for Bette Davis’ next line, or monologue, her performance in this film is unforgettable. She is pictured on the film’s poster, therefore I assumed she’d be playing the title role of Eve, in fact it is still hard to determine if this story was about Eve, or about Margo. It certainly was a story about Eve, told through the eyes of Margo, as we experience much of what she is going through as an actress.
All About Eve, is filled with more amazing performances then just Bette Davis, in fact the film held the record for the most number of nominations, which was eventually beaten by Titanic. However, it still holds the record for receiving four female acting nominations.
This film also has one of the earliest performances by Marilyn Monroe, who looking as stunning as ever, was still very unmistakable, she sounded much different from the Marilyn Monroe who came along a decade later.
Often times I will watch a Best Picture Winner and wonder if the film is deserving of the honor, especially when put up against other nominees, that far surpass the winning film. In this particular instance, All About Eve ran against Sunset Boulevard, Father of the Bride, and Born Yesterday (coincidentally, 3 out of the 5 nominees have all gotten a remake at some point) all fine films in their own right, but All About Eve being the clear winner.
Next up on our list of winners, An American in Paris, AND starting in 1951 I will also be writing about the Best Picture Winners from the Golden Globes, so look for an essay on A Place in the Sun as well.
