From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington (ANN BAXTER) is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing (BETTE DAVIS). Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend (GARY MERRILL), her playwright (HUGH MARLOWE) and his wife (CELESTE HOLM). Only the cynical drama critic (Oscar winner GEORGE SANDERS) sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. THELMA RITTER and MARILYN MONROE co-star in this acclaimed classic, which won six Academy Awards and received the most nominations (14) in film history.
Showered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater star (Bette Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
A Great Package The extras alone are worth the price of the set. First, the movie is 2-1/4 hrs. long, and never seems to drag. Second there are two feature-length commentaries (the 2nd is the superior). Then there's the 2nd disk with wonderful insights into the people involved in the movie, the personal interactions, the lives of the cast and crew. Heck, the 2nd disk alone is worth the price of admission.
I have over 400 DVD albums, and this is one in the top ten-percent.
Utimate in classic Hollywood backstabbing I bought this simply for the cast and a vague memory of hearing the title somewhere. When it came, I popped it into the player, and immediately became sucked into this darkly humorous piece of manipulation. We see from the movie's beginning how it will end. A beautiful young starlet appearing from practically nowhere to achieve great fame. The rest of the movie takes us back to this young woman's beginnings and her trail of lies that positioned herself just where she wanted to be. Even though Eve is... more info
everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her heels I have always been a fan of this film. I had a DVD copy already, but opted to buy this for its special features. There is not one wasted line of dialogue in this exercise in backstabbing. For those who are ardent admirers, I also suggest the book "All About 'All About Eve'." Two of the films supporting stars, the snide Thelma Ritter and the sarcastic George Sanders (who won an Oscar for his role) are superb. This is not to say that the others are not, Davis, Merrill, Marlowe, Holm all deliver their lines as... more info
All about Bette Davis... As my review title would suggest, this movie is all about the dynamic acting talents of Bette Davis; one of the greatest actresses the world has ever seen. If she had done no film other than `All About Eve' she would still go down in history as one of the most iconic film actresses of all time. This singular performance alone ranks as one of the greatest (I believe it falls in around number 5 according to Premiere Magazine) and rightfully so. As Margo Channing (no, Davis doesn't play Eve) Davis is... more info
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