Release Year: 1950

Genre: Drama

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Stars: Bette Davis, George Sanders, Anne Baxter

Stop us if you've heard this one.

The five stages of an actress' career:

• Who's Ava Gardner?
• Get me Ava Gardner!
• Get me an Ava Gardner type.
• Get me a young Ava Gardner.
• Who's Ava Gardner?

Showbiz has always been in love with youth. In a cutthroat industry where actresses in their 40s have trouble finding work, careers can fade fast.

1950's All About Eve is a backstage drama about Margo Channing, an iconic and brassy Broadway diva, and the young protégé Eve Harrington aiming to dethrone her idol. Played by film legend Bette Davis, Margo is worried about her age and finds herself having to watch her back when Eve (Anne Baxter) proves to be a manipulative, conniving upstart who wants to steal her career and her man. 

Written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (who would later direct Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra), All About Eve wasn't just a Best Picture winner. It racked up a whopping 14 nominations, a record that wouldn't be matched until James Cameron's Titanic did it in 1997. It didn't win all the awards, though. Only the men did; the women were snubbed. Ironic for a movie about the challenges women face in the entertainment industry, eh?

The movie may not have swept the Oscars, but it swept silver screens. Everyone wanted to see Bette Davis smoldering and dishing on screen in a movie considered to be her big comeback (source). You may know Bette Davis from another faded-actress drama, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) or the Kim Carnes song "Bette Davis Eyes."

Or maybe you're just thinking, "Who's Bette Davis?"

Davis didn't have to carry All About Eve alone. She starred alongside other big names of the day, like Celeste Holm (Karen) and George Sanders (Addison). Oh, and there was also a little-known actress in a bit part—an actress who went by the name Marilyn Monroe. Heard of her? Almost a decade before people realized that some like it hot, they got to know something about Marilyn in All About Eve.

But what was the big deal? Well, if the E! network has taught us anything, it's that people love behind-the-scenes celebrity drama, no matter what decade you're in. All About Eve had it all: writer-on-actor verbal violence, seduction, smarmy theater critics, melodramatic leading ladies, and a scheming, lying ingénue who'll do anything for fame.

Fasten your seatbelts, Shmoopers; it's going to be a bumpy guide.

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" (Andy Warhol, 1968).

All About Eve tells a timeless tale: the insatiable hunger for fame. Andy Warhol didn't know how right he was. Today, people can be celebrities, or try to be, without leaving their house. Apps like Vine, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and any of the dozens of new ones that have been invented in the last twenty-four hours feed into our mania for celebrity. Everybody gets their 15 minutes of fame. Maybe even a half-hour.

Celebrity obsession has risen to new heights. Everyone wants Taylor Lautner's abs, Jessica Alba's makeup, Selena Gomez's hair, Pharrell's hat, and Kim Kardashian's…wardrobe. YouTube stars are now the most popular celebs, even more than TV or movie stars.

In Eve and Margo's time, though, you actually had to get off the couch to be famous.

Eve doesn't simply grab a webcam; she treks from Wisconsin to New York City, creates a new identity for herself, and works tirelessly for her goal of being a Broadway star. We almost want to root for her, but Eve is totally crazy-go-nuts, not caring who she steps on or how many lies she has to tell to become a famous actress. She almost succeeds in destroying the life of her Broadway idol, Margo Channing, just to hear those magical waves of applause.

The film pokes at our obsession with fame. Is it worth what you have to do to get it? (Don't get us started on plastic surgery and starvation diets.) Is it compensation for something missing in our lives? What happens when the public's attention moves on to the next best thing because you're too old or made some bad movies, and you fade into obscurity? Marilyn Monroe (allegedly) said, "Fame doesn't fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary" (source).

She should know. Fame destroyed Marilyn, and we don't think it'll save Eve.

What would you do for 15 minutes of fame?

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