Movie Review/Discussion: All About Eve (1950)

(WARNING: there will be spoilers, so if you haven’t seen this movie and don’t want it spoiled, don’t read any further.)

I just watched All About Eve last week or so – I had seen it before, but it was a while ago and I didn’t remember much beyond the very basic plot and a few particular lines. So I was seeing it with nearly fresh eyes when I re-watched it. 

This is a very realistic story, I think, in how it portrays people and human nature. It does a good job of very realistically portraying how someone with no morals can easily prey on everyone around her, yet still come out less happy at the end than everyone she’s used and preyed on.

One of the things I found interesting (and think is true-to-life) is that both Margo and Bill, who start off looking rather annoying, end up as some of the best characters, while Eve, of course, who starts out looking so innocent, turns out to be the worst character. It’s not that they change that much, it’s just that we get a better look at their real personalities. We come to see that the first appearances are just surface stuff, and it takes a little while to see who the characters really are.

Something that especially struck me was how Margo’s issues (temper, jealousy, etc.), which were really just surface problems, were always noticed and censured, while Eve’s issues, which were deep-seated and serious, managed to go completely unnoticed by the majority of people. This also can be true to life, and just makes sense; if you have serious character defects, you have no problem with hiding who you really are and pretending to be someone else, while someone with less serious flaws won’t necessarily be trying to hide their faults in the same way.

(Also, can we talk about how perfectly Eve handled things to make it look like Margo was the problem, not her? Knowing Margo’s personality, she knew just how much to tip her hand to Margo, making Margo jealous and resentful of her, while keeping everyone else in the dark so that they all thought Margo was being ridiculous in blaming Eve.)

Speaking of which, Anne Baxter did such a good job with Eve’s sneakiness – I love how even when she’s pretending to be this humble little stage-struck Margo Channing fan she always seems ever so slightly like she’s acting out a part. It makes perfect sense for the story (since that’s exactly what Eve’s doing), and it just fits really well with her character.

Karen and Lloyd were all right. I liked Karen. I did like Lloyd, although he got rather frustrating as the movie went on. Giving Margo’s part to Eve, indeed. Acting like Eve was just an innocent victim! Give me a break. And poor Karen, forced to stand by watching while Eve stole her husband. At least Bill had some spine, and had the sense to stop acting like Eve was this poor misunderstood fragile flower when she started showing her true colors.

Of course, the only one who understood Eve’s real character from nearly the beginning was Addison, another rather unlikable character. Not as bad as Eve, though. I found it rather interesting that he recognized how disgusting Eve’s behavior was, even while acknowledging how similar he and she were and admiring her in a way.

Eve, on the other hand, is so very focused on herself that I’m not sure she could feel disgust at another’s behavior. Anger or annoyance, certainly, if someone got in her way in some fashion, but disgust at someone’s moral failings? I don’t think so.

What’s interesting, though, is that while she is so intensely focused on herself in the aspect of furthering her career as an actress, she isn’t focused on herself at all as a person – just as an actress. In fact, she essentially gives away her personhood for her career.

This quip here about Eve’s award says a lot. And it’s Eve’s own choice for it to be that way. The contrast between her and Margo in this respect is rather striking – remember the bit where Margo was talking about how she was afraid of Bill not wanting her as her but as Margo Channing? Eve completely buried who she really was, of her own accord, solely for the sake of furthering her career. Before the movie has even ended, I think we can already see her beginning to regret the things she chose to give up and the things she chose to put first.

So. To sum up, I think it’s quite a good movie, and as you can see from my rambling, it sparked a goodish bit of thought.

Did you like All About Eve? What are your thoughts on it?