All About Eve

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All About Eve

A brilliantly cynical backstage look at life in the theatre, All About Eve is a sophisticated movie gem that has become a cult classic since its debut in 1950. With a sparklingly witty script written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, All About Eve hinges on a consummate Bette Davis performance. Playing aging Broadway star Margo Channing, Davis is perfect as the vain, vulnerable, and vicious older actress, while delivering such oft-quoted epigrams as "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night." When aspiring young actress Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter, conspires to take over both Margo Channing's part and her man, an all-out battle ensues between the two women. Co-starring George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter, and featuring a very young Marilyn Monroe, All About Eve won six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. All About Eve is the cinematic epitome of Hollywood wit and sophistication.

—Victoria Price

Further Reading:

Kael, Pauline. 5001 Nights at the Movies. New York, Henry Holt, 1991

Microsoft Corporation, Cinemania 96: The Best-Selling Interactive Guide to Movies and the Moviemakers.

Monaco, James and the Editors of Baseline. Encyclopedia of Film. New York, Perigee, 1991.

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