Several years ago, I challenged myself to watch All About Eve, the Best Picture winner from 1950, and the film hailed as one of Hollywood’s greatest stories.
For the life of me, I can’t remember why I watched it. There’s no review on the blog, so if I viewed it for someone’s blog, there’s no paper trail for me to look back upon.
When you look at the impact All About Eve had on the film industry, you’d probably just be as shocked as I was. This is the only film in history to have four female nominations and currently holds a 99% rating on RottenTomatoes. In 1950, it set the record for nominations for the time, with 14. It would eventually win six, picture, director, supporting actor, screenplay, costume design, and sound.
All About Eve has one of the most shocking endings to a film I have ever seen. I won’t give it away or any clues, but I would have never expected. I assume people in that day and age didn’t experience moments like that. It all made perfect sense at the end, which made the twist all that more special.
A story such as this could not happen today, since it is nearly impossible to become famous and still hide your past.
Anne Baxter nails Eve’s performance, a down on her luck girl who becomes her idol’s personal assistant. Through the ups and downs of Margo’s (Bette Davis) career, Eve is there to help in any way she can. Little does she know the bright lights of Hollywood will come calling, and she’ll go on to be an even bigger deal than her idol Margo ever was.
It’s interesting to see that the story was told from four different perspectives, with none of them the wiser to the other. Even though the story focuses on the handful of characters who have a hand in both Margo and Eve’s careers, this is really just a tale of two women, one on the rise and one on the decline. The animosity between the two is the straw the stirs the drink and keeps the audience on edge thanks to their cutthroat mentality.
I barely remembered my first viewing of All About Eve, so thankfully, I was able to be surprised yet again. I have a feeling that upon this second viewing, I will never forget this story. The ending was more impactful on me a second time than it was the first time. I enjoyed this film and the story and will raise my original IMDb rating by a star since I would not be opposed to watching this again. 8/10
Ten Stars or Less 