Fantastic: Bette at her best, smart writing, great performances.
On the brink of a midlife crisis, big-name Broadway player Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is introduced to a starstruck fan (Anne Baxter), admires the kid’s enthusiasm and hires her as a live-in assistant. Margo can be a handful, a drama queen in every sense, but she’s a loyal, compassionate friend and immediately shares those virtues with the new girl. And the new girl, for her part, spins the star’s influence to her own benefit, proving she’s not half as clueless as she seems. Though Margo catches on quickly, her friends and associates remain enchanted with the youngster and chalk their growing divide up to mere jealousy. Which isn’t untrue - now on the wrong side of forty, Margo knows she’s got to start losing those glamorous leading roles to someone - but the aging star’s famously erratic behavior and deep-seated insecurities are the real issue. Those self-destructive tendencies do more to reverse her fortunes than any amount of conniving from the ambitious younger model. She’s fighting the same uphill battle that defeated her predecessors, she knows it, and the desperation only makes things worse.
Well acted and well directed, All About Eve makes good observations about the industry and delivers big twists, but it’s incredibly, distractingly wordy. While I could believe an actress or playwright might speak in this way, an onslaught of witty metaphors and rare adjectives, it’s exhausting to hear it from the entire cast. Every line’s a mouthful. And while that does result in some great material (Davis’s famous “fasten your seatbelts,” for example), it also slows the plot to a crawl. Smart and amusing but overwrought, this film uses sheer hot air to stretch ninety minutes’ worth of material across two hours and change.
This movie comes at you like a benign theatrical drama. Ho-hum, seen that before. But very quickly it becomes clear that you're watching a horror movie, one that creates its fear and tension through a superb screenplay that emphasizes the tenuous grasp we have on ourselves and our narratives. Anne Baxter's creepy, quiet, unassuming performance is like a violation of the uncanny valley--something's wrong there, but she takes her time to reveal it. Meanwhile, the relationships between the other 5 main characters are a delight to watch and are full of camp and viciousness.
All About Eve didn’t bore me, but it didn’t blew me away either. I think it’s well written, has good performances, but it just didn’t click with me in a way that’s worth a higher rating.
What a wonderful movie. This holds up great and should be seen by everyone. Great performances and an excellent script.
I love old movies but this was terribly boring. Goes on for too long and don't know why this has such high ratings.
This movie addresses the drama that often goes on behind scenes in the theatre and mostly its about one woman who is willing to do whatever it takes to make it. I had read so many rave reviews about this movie that I found myself quite disappointed in the end. First of all, I really didn't find the movie that funny. Most of it was full of drama of some kind. There is almost always someone crying or yelling or throwing a tantrum. And the movie is 3 hours long! I wish I had paid attention to that before starting it because after a while the movie seemed to just drag on. There are definitely some great performances and iconic lines, but I came in expecting a comedy and it didn't feel like a comedy at all to me. On a side note, this movie also includes one of Marilyn Monroes first appearances on the big screen, even though it was very brief.
I don't know why I avoided this film for so long, it's charming, smart, the chemistry between the actors -mostly between women- is amazing, and when you think it can't get any better, it does!
Shout by VictoriaBlockedParent2013-11-10T04:05:03Z
B E T T E D A V I S (♥‿♥)