A new blog series is here, brought to you by Jessica! I have decided to take a look at all of the Best Picture winners from the past 83 Academy Awards. This may take awhile…
The first is the 1950 winner, All About Eve. The basic plot of the movie surrounds an extremely successful stage actress, Margo Channing, who takes in a huge fan, Eve Harrington, as her assistant. The movie takes a turn for the dramatic when Margo begins to question Eve’s every move and intention, and is further complicated by the friends in Margo’s life who think she is just being paranoid. Margo becomes increasingly fearful that her career and personal life are being threatened.
Written & Directed by:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast:
Bette Davis – Margo Channing
Anne Baxter – Eve Harrington
Gary Merrill – Bill Sampson
Celeste Holm – Karen Richards
Hugh Marlowe – Lloyd Richards
George Sanders – Addison DeWitt
My Thoughts: As a black and white movie lover, I thought All About Eve was simply fantastic! The acting is so tremendous and while the plot might be somewhat standard by today’s viewer, it is unveiled in such a dramatic and intense fashion that you become increasingly stunned. This is one of Bette Davis’s finest works and she steals the show from the second lead, Anne Baxter, who hardly stands a chance in comparison. Baxter plays her role smart and is definitely not to be underestimated. The supporting characters in this movie play important roles and are perfectly cast. It definitely feels to me like a strong Best Picture that is a good representation of the talent at the time.
Other Academy Award nominations and wins:
Won: Best Director—Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Won: Best Writing, Screenplay—Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Won: Best Supporting Actor—George Sanders
Won: Best Costume Design for a Black-and-White film—Edith Head and Charles Le Maire
Won: Best Sound Recording—Thomas T. Moulton
Nominated: Best Leading Actress—Anne Baxter
Nominated: Best Leading Actress—Bette Davis
Nominated: Best Supporting Actress—Celeste Holm
Nominated: Best Supporting Actress—Thelma Ritter
Nominated: Best Set Direction for a Black-and-White film—George W. Davis, Thomas Little, Walter M. Scott, and Lyle R. Wheeler
Nominated: Best Cinematography for a Black-and-White film—Milton R. Krassner
Nominated: Best Film Editing—Barbara McLean
Nominated: Best Music Score—Alfred Newman
A sample of the score
Fun Facts:- Held the title of film with the most Academy Award nominations (14) until it was matched by 1997’s Titanic
- Remains the only film to have 4 actresses nominated
- Bette Davis took the leading role shortly before filming began after Claudette Colbert was injured, and it ended up re-energizing her career which was on the downturn
- Features Davis saying the famous movie line “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
- George Sanders, who won Best Supporting Actor, might have a familiar voice. If you have trouble placing it, he is the voice of Shere Khan, the tiger from Disney’s The Jungle Book (which I found impossible to not picture every time he spoke!)
- Features a small role by Marilyn Monroe, which was one of the first roles that jump-started her career
- This script is based on a short story, “The Wisdom of Eve,” about the real life actress Elisabeth Bergner, based on her similar experience
- Bette Davis and Gary Merrill, who play a couple in this movie, actually formed a romance and were married the year it was released
- The huge Sandra Bullock flop, All About Steve has seemingly nothing to do with this movie other than the play on the title
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| Movie with the most nominations behind All About Eve |
The Other Guys:
- Born Yesterday – Comedy about a mistress who comes to realize her boyfriend, a rich tycoon, might have looser morals than herself
- Won Best Lead Actress Judy Holliday, Nominated for 4 other awards
- Father of the Bride – Comedy about a man dealing with his daughter’s approaching wedding which becomes rife with mishaps
- Nominated for 2 other awards
- King Solomon’s Mines – An adventure romance movie about a wilderness guide who leads a woman to try to find her husband who is missing in Africa
- Won Best Cinematography-Color and Best Film Editing
- Sunset Boulevard – Film noir about a man who becomes entranced with woman who is obsessed with returning to her career as a silent movie actress
- Won Best Writing, Story, and Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Black and White, and Best Music Score, Nominated for 8 other awards