What can I say about All About Eve that admirers don’t already know and that those who haven’t seen it will want to rush out and join our inner circle? Could it be the fact that one of the most perfect scripts and starring an impeccably cast troupe of stars was only outshined by the juicy gossip that happened off camera? The irreplaceable Bette Davis as the uber star, stage actress Margo Channing, the cunning conniving Ann Baxter as the Machiavellian Eve Harrington, the rock solid convincing Celeste Holm as Margo’s best friend Karen Richards… but it’s more than just the cat-fighting on and off screen, even to call this an epic cat fight is to belittle the poetic script by Joe Mankiewitz and the human emotion so thoughtfully played by all.
You’ll just have to watch the film (seriously, go get it now and don’t miss a single scene!) to see how deliciously such hilarious lines like “That I should want you at all suddenly strikes me as the height of improbability…” uttered by Mr. Sophistication himself George Sanders as Addison DeWitt, an actor who mastered the art of delivering his lines with an air of condescension wrapped in a nonchalant style. It proved heart breakingly ironic that he was a) once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor (who desperately begged him to get her a bit part in the picture), and b) eventually committed suicide at the age of 65 by downing 5 bottles of Nembutal and leaving a suicide note which read: “Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.” Just imagine if a note like that was found with Heath Ledger – although whether it was suicide or an accidental drug overdose that cut short his talented life remains unclear, George made sure the world knew his intentions.
But both his line to Eve Harrington and his eventual suicide (after he divorced Zsa Zsa and later married her older sister Magda - DRAMA!) came much much later.
See how easy it is to get sidetracked with All About Eve? There are so many side stories, the mind races!
Let’s start with Bette herself, again to quote Addison DeWitt, “an improbable person” (although he was speaking to Eve in that scene) – Bette was an improbable movie star, but a star none-the-less. Although not a traditional beauty by any stretch of the imagination, she had an unquestionable stranglehold on the ability to deliver raw human emotion (just see her in Of Human Bondage, Jezebel, or The Little Foxes). Watching her in Eve, one can see how our generation’s Merrill Streep, Annette Benning, and Melissa Leo emulate her in so many ways. A strong woman unafraid to play strong women on screen, Bette was 42 when she was cast as the highly respected but aging stage actress, Margo Channing. It was a role that struck very close to home, and in fact, Bette and her younger love interest co-star, Gary Merrill, began dating on set almost immediately (both quickly divorced their then spouses and began playing their roles in reality, outside of the bright lights and Edith Head costumes).
As perfect as Bette was to play Margo, she was not the first choice in casting. Joe Mankiewitz (writer and director) had his heart set on Susan Hayward. And Darryl Zanuck, the producer, had already pretty much locked in Claudette Colbert, who had great comedic timing (see It Happened One Night). But Claudette ruptured a disc on another film just as Eve was set to shoot. When that happened, Zanuck also thought to cast Marlene Dietrich, but Mankiewitz adamantly opposed that choice (my guess is because of the accent – to this day, who could imagine Margo played by anyone other than Bette with her New England affected accent!).
Although they played best friends on camera very convincingly, Celeste and Bette did not get along: “There was one bitch in the cast: Celeste Holm”, Bette once said. And Celeste had choice words for Bette too, “Bette Davis was so rude, so constantly rude. I think it had to do with sex.” Perez Hilton would have a field day with that kind of great off screen fodder today!
It was undoubtedly sensitive for Bette to play an aging actress when in fact, she was an aging actress. How relatable is Bette when as Margo she confides to her producer Max Fabian, “Three months ago I turned 40. 4-0. Now all of a sudden I feel like I’ve taken all my clothes off.” Many had theorized that her best roles were behind her, so when she jumped at the chance to play Margo, she had good reason. To quote Eve later in the film, “I’d do much more for a part like that.” But all the acclaim and success had to be bittersweet, since after All About Eve, although it garnered Bette (and Ann) a Best Actress Oscar nomination, it was truly her final best role – although she made many movies after Eve, none compared. Plus, to put it literally in her own words, Bette once said, “People get the idea that actresses my age are dying to play younger women. The fact is, we die every time we play one.” Clearly she was keeping it real with the roles she chose; but she was very aware that she was in the autumn of her career.
But glorious she was as Margo, poetically delivering iconic lines like
Margo: “Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”
Eve: “I’d like to hear it.”
Margo: “Some snowy night in front of the fire…”
And even those who haven’t seen the classic, recognize: “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.” Her careful delivery of that line after downing a martini will live forever.
But she isn’t the only one with the juicy lines: Thelma Ritter, just as she did in Hitchock’s Rear Window, plays the no-nonsense, all knowing New Yorker/Brooklynite, Margo’s maid Birdie. Actually many of Birdie’s most hilarious lines are unspoken – Thelma could deliver a look that spoke a thousand words. Watch her eye Eve up and down, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
But it’s not just about the women, the men in this film play an important role. Although I personally think the most enjoyable to watch was the character Addison, as deliciously evil as Eve, there was a wry likeability in Gary Merrill’s Bill Sampson. Playing the younger lover (on and off screen), he’s not at all the Ashton Kutcher just as Bette is not seen as a Demi Moore-like “cougar”. Both respect each other for who they are, regardless of the age difference, the compatibility is clear; although Margo struggles with the age difference throughout the film primarily due to the presence and quiet threat of Eve. Bill is believable because those times Margo allows herself to be girly and vulnerable around him are also believable scenes, and probably due to the chemistry between the real life lovers. It helps that Gary truly was an affable guy – born in Hartford CT, All About Eve was his biggest role. He was also very politically active, and took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 to promote African American voter registration.
But although their romance ends in happy wedded bliss in the film, it was ill-fated in reality. Bette would say that Gary fell for Margo, and Gary would say that Bette fell for Bill – the marriage lasted 10 tumultuous years (an eternity in Hollywood).
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that two young ingénues make an appearance in All About Eve: Marilyn Monroe as the gorgeous, flirty, strategically ditzy aspiring actress Ms. Caswell, and Barbara Bates as the younger, equally as plotting Eve-like ambitious bobby-soxer Phoebe who appears at the end of the film to hint that Eve Harrington will get her come-uppance. As Phoebe, Barbara Bates has a young unspoiled air about her, but is clearly ready to cut her teeth on the unsuspecting Eve (although how Eve is oblivious to this, one has to wonder). It is Phoebe’s face we see reflected in so many mirrors as she holds Eve’s award and plans her next move – in fact, this was the role that Zsa Zsa begged George Sanders to convince Mankiewitz to give to her.
But Barbara’s life was far more difficult than Phoebe’s future seemed. She was best known for her role as Phoebe, despite a modest run in films. She battled chronic depression her entire life, and after the death of her first husband, she attempted suicide. She was hospitalized and seemed to recover and even eventually remarried. But depression haunted her and she eventually committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in her mother’s garage at the age of 43.
Marilyn, you’ll see, lights up the screen in her few cameos. Although she only has a few lines, her comedic timing and delivery belie the air-head demeanor she conveys. Her maneuvering to have Max Fabian, a producer she is trying to wow, fetch her a drink is a coy combination of dingbat meets Samantha Jones, and she pulls it off sexily and smartly. Again to quote Addison, “I see your career rising in the east like the sun.” and he was spot on! Virtually all the women on the set disliked Marilyn, and the rumor mill (driven by Zsa Zsa who often visited the set and stirred up trouble) as alive with gossip that Marilyn “was sleeping with everyone” including the crew. Haters haunted Marilyn her entire life…
Finally, about Eve herself, portrayed brilliantly by Anne Baxter. Surprisingly, both Anne and Bette got along on set, despite effectively conveying cool animosity between their characters on screen. That said, many have hypothesized that if Anne hadn’t lobbied for a leading actress Academy Award nomination alongside Bette (in lieu of a Best Supporting nom), Bette would have one her Oscar for playing Margo, hands down. In any case, both actresses remained friendly long after All About Eve, and Anne went on to play the role of Margo Channing in the later Broadway version, Applause. No doubt she acted as real-life understudy to Bette, observing the master on set during that filming.
All About Eve is the stuff that Hollywood film lovers could write dissertations on, and have. I’ll make a long story short (too late!): own it, watch it again and again, and revel in all its juicy snipes, including Margo’s final line to the back-stabbing bitch Eve after she has received her Sara Siddons Award, “You can always put that award where your heart ought to be.”
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