One of the greatest showbiz dramas out there. it still applies to this day; like "Network". we have our diva, protege, critic and the new girl. a damn good recipie for disaster. the film has a fantastic screenpley but it's all about execution from there. it deliverd. the pot is brewing from the first scene where Anne Baxter, who plays Eve, is accepting the highest honor for stage acting. we hear a wonderful voiceover by Addison the critc played excellently by George Sanders who won the Oscar. he looks prodly at Eve whilest Bette Davis and Celest Holm give her a composed but devilish look. we are hooked. this is the genious of the film. it's deliverence. the order in which its presented, the acting and its approach are all so pristine. it's smart and keeps our attention- and its one of the few pictures in which we actually feel bad for Bette Davis.
So we have our diva, Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis. she's loved by everyone. people pay through the nose to see one of her performances. there is the famed director Bill Simpson played by Gary Merrill and his writer Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlow) and his wife Karen (Celeste Holm). and then the critic Addison but i've already introduced him. Anne Baxter plays Eve who is obsessd with Margo. she has been to every one of her performances and travels wherever the play goes. One day, she finds Karen while waiting in an alley after one of the shows and insists, but politely, on meeting Margo. She agrees and says that Margo would love to meet her. Eve is brought into Margo's dressing room and after being subtly joked at shares her incredibly sad story. everyone falls in love with her and her sweet personality. Eve eventually intigrates herself as Margo's personal assistent, doing her mail, shopping for her and becomes a close friend discusing men and fasion. Eve also begins hinting her aspiration to be an actress herself. she set's up a birthday party for Bill without Margo's knowledge. Margo is secretly inlove with Bill thus complicating the plot when Eve seems to be fliritng with him. Margo become fed up with Eve but everyone around loves her and her kindness. and that is the problem. what happens in showbiz then happens now. no matter what the time is it happens. i love when older films apply to todays world. it may not even be in showbiz but in our government it happens to much. even at our schools; the topic has been done time after time.
I remeber when i first saw the film, i thought Bette Davis played Eve because she was always on the cover with Anne Baxter in the background somewhere (curious, isnt it?). it is interesting how Margo is the one torn down but the real actress who plays Margo trumps Anne Baxter who's character is in the title. it takes skill to be an actor in the entertainment world. you have to be careful who you let in ("Låt den rätte komma in"). you never know, they may end up destroying you. i love how the film so expertly exploits that about our society. how we are the top one minute and a nobody the next. Bette Davis was phenominal. she was exactly who the character needed to be: snotty, uppity, and then in the end we feel bad for her. Baxter was alright. both women recieved an Oscar nomination for Best Actress but niether won. Baxter felt to nice to do the things she did. that's why i did not expect what happend. her face just reflects kindness and gentlness which was good for the first half of the film. all of the other actors were excellent too. Oh and yes, i forgot to mention Marylin Monroe was in the film. she had very small part but got a lot of recognition for it. i love this film in all respects. one of the greatest screenplays next to "Casablanca", "Citizen Kane" and so on. The film really makes us think about our leaders today: what did they do to get to the position they are in know?
| Academy Awards, USA | |||
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Won | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role George Sanders |
| Best Costume Design, Black-and-White Edith Head Charles Le Maire | |||
| Best Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz | |||
| Best Picture (20th Century Fox). | |||
| Best Sound, Recording (20th Century-Fox Sound Dept.). | |||
| Best Writing, Screenplay Joseph L. Mankiewicz | |||
| Nominated | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role Anne Baxter | |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role Bette Davis | |||
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role Celeste Holm | |||
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role Thelma Ritter | |||
| Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White Lyle R. Wheeler George W. Davis Thomas Little Walter M. Scott | |||
| Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Milton R. Krasner | |||
| Best Film Editing Barbara McLean | |||
| Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Alfred Newman | |||
No comments:
Post a Comment