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Actors: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about All About Eve |
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Margo Channing (Davis), a long established Broadway star, is not aging graciously. She's got a steady guy in director Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill) and steady work, but she worries about aging. One day her good friend Karen Richards (Holm), wife of playwright Lloyd (Hugh Marlowe), introduces Margo to a seemingly stage-struck fan named Eve Harrington (Baxter). The seemingly pliant and well-mannered Eve becomes Margo's secretary-assistant, and gradually takes over her entire life. This includes substituting for Margo on stage and winning raves and covert support from critic Addison DeWitt (Sanders), and wrestling away her next part in the play Lloyd is finishing. The story is told in retrospect by DeWitt after Eve has taken New York's theater community by storm. The crackling dialogue and strong acting of this 1950 classic, written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, hold up very well. Young Marilyn Monroe has a small role as an empty-headed starlet. The movie's record 15 Academy Award nominations (it ended up winning 6, including Best Director and Picture), was equaled only by "Titanic," nearly 50 years later.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Eve is an ambitious young actress that has no scruples, she uses Margo Channing, a star, as a stepping stone. Margo also has to deal with an age complex and her younger boyfriend. This is a very good commentary on society.
--Jenna Evans, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of All About Eve |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- rekindling lost love/marriage
Getting ahead in:
- entertainment world
How much story is philosophy rather than plot?
- 3 (some)
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- actor
Training/apprentice story
Yes
Strong "rags to riches" component?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- actor
Age:
- 40's-50's
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Events of movie makes character more...
- irritated
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
- hard edged
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (man) average build
- (woman) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 20%
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- actor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (woman) skinny
- (woman) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
- wealthy
Misc setting
- theater
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- in awe
- thoughtful
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Loftus
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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