“Mary Orr’s ‘The Wisdom of Eve’ was the appropriately titled source material for Joe Mankiewicz’s classic ode to ‘the thea-tuh,’ All About Eve. Orr’s title begs the question: What wisdom did its cinematic adaptation impart over the 70 years it has been in existence? That bumpy nights require seatbelts? That ‘everyone has a heart except some people?’ That pianos are particularly adept at writing their own material? Or that a good story should have ‘everything but the bloodhounds’ nipping at its rear end? That last lesson is most definitely taught by All About Eve; its Oscar-winning screenplay is a master class in telling a story through delectable dialogue and ripe situations, both of which are brought to life by a murderer’s row of legendary actors. The cast includes Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Thelma Ritter, Celeste Holm, a pre-stardom Marilyn Monroe (as poor Miss Caswell) and, as that venomous fishwife, Addison DeWitt, George Sanders. That DeWitt is the cattiest character in a film filled with women is just one of the many surprises in store for viewers.
“Eve sets us down in the backstage world of the theater, where Eve Harrington (Baxter) is about to accept the Sarah Siddons Award for her latest role. In the audience is everyone she’s railroaded on her way to the top, including famed performer Margo Channing (Davis), whom Eve idolizes so much that she ingratiates herself into Margo’s life. Margo is about to turn 40, the apparent kiss of death for actresses. And while she still wants to act, there are younger, hungrier and yes, more conniving actresses hovering about, waiting for their moment to strike. Nobody recognizes that Eve is the enemy except former performer and current Margo caretaker, Birdie (Ritter) who, like some of this film’s detractors, sees Eve as a shoddily manufactured characterization. That Eve’s persona is nothing but a performance is a feature, not a bug, however, making her partnership with Addison all the more credible.
“Like the macho director Bill Sampson (Gary Merill) and the henpecked writer Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), Addison DeWitt is a Mankiewicz addition to Orr’s story, and each of the men serve as one-third of the director’s stand-in. But the writer-director is wise enough to know the women are far more interesting and unpredictable, especially Davis’ Margo, whose iconic characterization was strong enough to survive the camp-flavored trainwreck of Lauren Bacall’s Tony-winning recreation in Applause. Margo’s fears of aging out of her discipline are dealt with humanely, and she’s given further complexity when contrasting herself with her friend, the ‘happy little housewife’ Karen Richards (Holm). All About Eve is strong enough to support a happy or a tragic reading of Margo’s voluntary retirement and entry into Karen’s profession, as well as to support the additional irony of a new Eve mysteriously appearing to replace the old one.
“Though DeWitt is a critic and not an actress, he fits right in as a fellow shade-thrower, perhaps a symbolic representation of the woman his creator envisions he would be if nature had blessed him as such. He’s as quick as Margo is with a comeback, and just as deliciously catty, so much so that the Academy thought awarding the deserving Sanders would make up for shunning the equally deserving Davis. Of course, Miss Davis had a much more contentious category to deal with, but that’s another story. Since this piece is all about All About Eve, it should answer the question it originally posed. What does All About Eve teach its audience? The Wisdom of Eve may very well be that in life, everyone sees themselves as Addison DeWitt, but they are really all just poor Miss Caswells trying to eke out an existence by making the unhappy rabbits who rule the world happy. Whatever the lesson, All About Eve is magnificent despite not being, as the line goes, maudlin and full of self-pity.” ~ Odie Henderson
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