STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable
Excellent
Good
Poor
Tragic

FILM DETAILS

Certificate 12A

Cast Bette Davis Anne Baxter.

Directors Joseph L Mankiewicz.

Screenwriters

Running Time 138 minutes

LATEST FILM REVIEWS A Haunted House Iceman, The Behind The Candelabra Before Midnight Everybody Has A Plan 5 STAR REVIEWS My Neighbour Totoro Gatekeepers , The Stoker In The House Lincoln

All About Eve
Adam’s feeling quite neglected

Tweet

Plot
Trading on the vanity and insecurity of ageing actress Margo Channing, Eve Harrington becomes her indispensable confidante in an attempt to launch her own bid for Broadway immortality

Review

All four female stars in this 1950 adaptation of Mary Orr’s short story were cited for Academy Awards, but it was writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz who landed a brace of Oscars for the showbiz bitchfest, with a flashback format resembling the one his brother Herman had devised for Citizen Kane nine years earlier.

The stinging bon mots occasionally sound handcrafted rather than raspingly spontaneous, but aspiring actress Anne Baxter’s rise to the top over the corpse of her supposed idol, Bette Davis, remains rousing and endlessly amusing. And the merciless demythologising of the tawdry trappings of fame is acutely relevant in these days of transient celebrity.

Write Your Review
To write your review please login or register.

Your Reviews

Average user rating for All About Eve

you forgot to mention Marilyn

billy wilder style drama amazing script performances and music not to mention a sexy funny cameo from Monroe ... More

Posted by bill the butcher at 19:25, 14 October 2012 | Report This Post

Baxter vs. Davis? Awesome, dude.

There's no doubt about it, All About Eve equals perfection. An instant fucking classic. ... More

Posted by nc_jj at 01:26, 11 April 2008 | Report This Post

RE: All About Eve

One of the bitchiest films in the history of the movies. Bette Davis was at the hight of her powers - it's arguably her best performance. Both George Sanders and Celeste Holm richly deserved their Oscars. Sanders is one of the great movie villains in this. And how Davis could have been passed over as best actress in favour of Judy Holliday, I will never know. 6 out of 5. ... More

Posted by siegfried at 00:22, 04 February 2008 | Report This Post

RE: Acid leaks from the Screen

This was on Film4 the other day and I missed it! I'll have to catch it again soon. ... More

Posted by Larry of Arabia at 13:02, 31 January 2008 | Report This Post

Acid leaks from the Screen

One of the great behind the scenes film about Showbiz, oozing with acid, gin, and anger.  Phenomenal performances all around and so realistic even for today. Davis was never better than as Margo. It's a shame Anne Baxter never really was able to show the potential she showed her again--being cast for her looks and stereotyped as the sexy bitch who chews up and spits out men. Dialogue is still as crisp as it was six decades ago. FILM CLASSIC ... More

Posted by lynnshep at 22:07, 30 January 2008 | Report This Post

CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
		The Hangover Part III Cast & Crew Interviews Cooper, Galifianakis, Helms, Jeong, Bartha, Graham and Phillips!
		Edgar Wright's Essential Movie Music Playlist Listen to the seventeen tunes and cues of the World’s End director’s life
		Cannes Film Festival Videblogisode #4 With Alec Baldwin and James Toback plus longstanding videblog-guest Stephen Woolley
		Empire's Great Gatsby Video Interviews Leonardo DiCaprio! Carey Mulligan! Tobey Maguire! Joel Edgerton! Baz Luhrmann!
		The Biggest Doctor Who Jaw-Droppers The Time Lord's biggest surprises over 50 years of TV
		Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch: A Beginner's Guide To The Avengers 2 Newcomers Your primer on the brother and sister joining the A-team
		Clint Mansell On Making Requiem For A Dream 'Darren had to edit at night because he could get access to the studio for free then.'

Follow @empiremagazine