All About Eve (1950)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

15 January 1951 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It's all about women---and their men!

Plot:

An ingenue insinuates herself in to the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Critic | Theater | Director | Party

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Margo
Anne Baxter	...	Eve
George Sanders	...	Addison DeWitt
Celeste Holm	...	Karen
Gary Merrill	...	Bill Simpson
Hugh Marlowe	...	Lloyd Richards
Gregory Ratoff	...	Max Fabian
Barbara Bates	...	Phoebe
Marilyn Monroe	...	Miss Casswell
Thelma Ritter	...	Birdie
Walter Hampden	...	Aged Actor
Randy Stuart	...	Eve's Pal on Telephone
Craig Hill	...	Leading Man in 'Footsteps on the Ceiling'
Leland Harris	...	Doorman
Barbara White	...	Autograph Seeker
Eddie Fisher	...	Stage Manager of Theatre
William Pullen	...	Clerk
Claude Stroud	...	Pianist
Eugene Borden	...	Frenchman
Helen Mowery	...	Reporter
Steven Geray	...	Captain of Waiters (as Steve Geray)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gertrude Astor	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest on Dais (uncredited)
Stanley Orr	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Marion Pierce	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Robert Whitney	...	Actor in 'Hearts of Oak' (uncredited)

Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writing credits
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		(written by)
Erich Kästner		dialogue: German version (uncredited)
Mary Orr		story "The Wisdom of Eve" (uncredited)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)

Film Editing by
Barbara McLean

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little
Walter M. Scott

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Franz Prehoda	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Kay Reed	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Gladys Witten	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Robert R. Snody	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gaston Glass	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
Thomas T. Moulton	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Vaughn Ashen	....	gaffer (uncredited)
James E. Lavin	....	grip (uncredited)
Paul Lockwood	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ray Nolan	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	costume designer: Miss Bette Davis
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director (as Charles LeMaire)
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)
Alfred Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	presenter
Weslie Jones	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (produced by)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Park Circus (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Best Performance (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1987) | South Korea:15 | UK:U (2007) | USA:Approved (certificate #14544) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Contrary to popular belief, Margo Channing is not based on Tallulah Bankhead. The film was adapted from an original story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr (uncredited in this film), based on a real-life incident involving Austrian actress Elisabeth Bergner during her run in the hit stage thriller "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" in 1943-44. The story about it being based on Bankhead persisted, however, and when Bankhead heard it, she reportedly told a live radio audience that the next time she saw Bette Davis, she would "tear every hair out of her mustache".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the first scene just as the camera pulls away from the award plaque, the dolly tracks are visible on the floor.

Quotes:

Llyod Richards: You knew when you came in that the audition was over, that Eve was your understudy, playing that childish little game of cat and mouse.
Margo Channing: Not mouse, never mouse. If anything *rat*!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Thou Swell

A Miracle Of A Movie

What a genius Joseph L Manckiewicz was. A literary script that is totally accessible. A melodrama for the thinking man. A film that is as engrossing and entertaining every time you see it. Bette Davis touches all the raw nerves of her mythological career. Anne Baxter never went this far. Thelma Ritter became a sort of icon. Marilyn Monroe gives us a preview of forthcoming attractions as a graduated from the "Copacabana" academy of dramatic arts. Celeste Holm represents us, all of us and George Sanders creates a prototype for a cultured monster that is immediately recognizable. I don't recall another film in which the nature of selfishness is so wittily dissected. A total triumph.