BEST MOVIE EVER

It was the late 90s and the music scene was all to hell. I was just creeping out of the closet and pretending to work hard at University. I became obsessed with buying cheap videos rather than go to Uni at HMV and Virgin who always had loads of sales on. I was reading Joan Collins autobiography and she raved about Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe and naturally, what Joan says, goes. So I traipsed round loads of stores buying all movies with Marilyn in them when something got my attention. I had heard of some of the names and thought it was highbrow and it had Marilyn Monroe but something else attracted me to it.

On the shelf was a video of my first Bette Davis movie and arguably one of the best movies ever made. All thoughts of Marilyn went out the door as I was entranced by the heavy eyelids and those Bette Davis eyes as Margo Channing in All About Eve.

The film dealt with 40 year old Margo Channing, the doyenne of the theatre world and a young pretender, Eve Harrington, who schemes her way into Margo's life and tries to take over Margo's career and life, embroiling her partner, her best friend and theatre stalwarts along the way. The movie is titled All About Eve but really it's all about Margo as it's only Davis who can and does dominate the screen. Margo's world weary and vulnerable about being 40 with her partner, Bill Sampson nearly 10 years younger. Eve works her way to the top of the theatre world but is alone after alienating everyone around her and at the end, poetic justice is served when Eve finds herself with her very own Eve, probably going to usurp her own star which is at it's peak.

The storyline is fantastic but add in the amazing script and acting and you have movie magic. The whole movie is blessed with the best on offer and is amazing to watch. Bette Davis is a complete star although Anne Baxter pulls off a cracking performance as little bitch Eve Harrington. George Sanders who married Zsa Zsa Gabor plays the theatre critic fishwife Addison DeWitt which won him an Oscar and Celeste Holm, an Oscar winner herself is Margo's best friend Karen Richards who is taken in by Eve and eventually betrayed by her.

No movie before or since has produced so many memorable lines all delivered with such venom and bitchery. In fact it's been called "the bitchiest film ever made" and is not just a camp classic but just a classic. Many people identify with Margo and Eve. Margo has it all she is the kind of woman who treats her mink coat like a poncho. She's lived a successful life and Eve is the sly one who worms her way to success, imitating Margio and ingratiating herself into Channing's life as new one on the block.

I've read so many articles and books on All About Eve and have some trivial facts about the best movie ever made (in my opinion!) followed by some cracking quotes and my favourite Bette moment.


- Hard as it is to believe, Bette Davis wasn't first choice to play Margo Channing. Claudette Colbert was signed to play Margo but put her back in traction and had to pull out, and Bette was hired.

- Bette's voice sounds raspy throughout the movie but this was a result of her fighting the night before starting filming with her husband and all the screaming caused her voice to have a bit of gravel added!!

- Bette met her future husband on the film, Gary Merrill. He played Bill Sampson, Margo Channing's boyfriend. They embarked on an affair during filming.

- Gary Merrill put his foot in it at a party with his wife at the time. He told guests, "I'd have Bette Davis if she'd have me" The next day, his wife started divorce proceedings.

- Bette got on with everyone on the movie except Celeste Holm who played her best friend. After a few days filming they had an argument and never spoke for the rest of the movie.

- Bette made a friend for life in Anne Baxter. They stayed in touch after the movie and Bette discovered she had cancer whilst staying at Baxter's house in the early 80s.

- Anne Baxter took over from Bette when she fell ill in the tv series Hotel. Bette's character Laura Trent went travelling so her cousin Victoria Cabot (Baxter) took over the reigns of the Hotel!

- Marilyn Monroe kept on fluffing her lines and nobody really paid much attention to her as the part could have been played by any old blonde.

- Bette and Anne were nominated for Best Actress Oscars and Thelma Ritter and Celeste Holm were nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars. None of them won. Years later, Baxter said that if she had backed down and accepted a Best Supporting Actress nod then she would have won and Bette would've won Best Actress. When Bette heard this she said "Yeah, she should've!"

- It is the most nominated movie of all time at the Oscars with 14 nominations.

- Mary Orr wrote the short story "The Wisdom of Eve" and sold it to be made into All About Eve.

- Eve actually existed, she was based on someone who worked alongside Broadway actress Elisabeth Bergner. In the book All About All About Eve, Mary Orr met up with "Eve"

- Edith Head dressed Bette Davis for All About Eve and the famous cocktail party dress was originally too big so Davis pulled it off the shoulders and they kept it that way

- Celeste Holm refused to have anything to do with the movie for years as all everyone wanted to talk about was Bette Davis or Marilyn Monroe.

- All About Eve was made into a musical "Applause" starring Lauren Bacall as Margo. When Bacall left, Anne Baxter took over the role as Margo and was visited backstage by none other than the real and original Margo Channing, Bette Davis herself.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

ADDISON - What do you take me for?
EVE - I don't know that I'd take you for anything

ADDISON - I'm Addison DeWitt, I'm nobody's fool - least of all yours.

MARGO - I admit I may have seen better days, but i'm still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut.

MARGO - I detest cheap sentiment

EVE - I won't play tonight. I couldn't, not possibly. I couldn't go on.
ADDISON - Couldn't go on? You'll give the performance of your life.

MARGO - You're in a beehive, pal. Didn't you know? We're all busy little bees, full of stings, making honey day and night. Aren't we honey?!

BILL - I start shooting a week from Monday. Zanuck is impatient. He wants me, he needs me.
MARGO - Zanuck, Zanuck, Zanuck. What are you two? Lovers?!

MARGO - Lovely speech, Eve. But I wouldn't worry so much about your heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be!

MARGO - Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!

It always sounds better with Bette doing it!