tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post335135955997198838..comments2023-05-21T03:16:13.000-07:00Comments on Down These Mean Streets: All About Eve (1950)Margot Shelbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-55945185443327791392021-07-17T11:24:37.913-07:002021-07-17T11:24:37.913-07:00Margot Hi. Just came across your review and blog a...Margot Hi. Just came across your review and blog and thought your writing was top notch and your understanding of the narrative and characters first rate. (full disclosure: I'm a theater artist -actor/director/writer in NY and early on was admitted into the Playwright Directors Unit of The Actor's Studio as a young director. The Unit was moderated by Elia Kazan at that time. (I had been first rejected for admission (my experience was negligible) but after writing to him saying I wanted to learn more about his process - how he got the performances that we all loved - he let me in. Gave a young unknown neophyte a shot - one of the few times that's happened in my career). But I used to sit next to an elderly man with glasses who had some kind of emblem on his breast pocket with a gravelly voice. Little did I know the man who I would chat with occasionally and sit next to was Joe Mankewiecz Not only that but I hadn't yet seen All About Eve, or Letter to Three Wives. I look back at that wasted opportunity with much regret. I did know things like Waterfront, Streetcar and some European Cinema like 8 1/2 and Children of Paradise but only til TCM came around did I catch up with the Golden Age of Hollywood classics. BTW. speaking of Noir - I did have the good fortune to act in Mailer's Tough Guys Don't Dance an early resurrection of Noir in the late 80's and because Lawrence Tierney liked what I did in the film befriended me out in L.A. where we became best friends - saying that about Larry is saying a lot. RIP. Back in NY I've written, directed and acted in The Assassination of J.Kaisaar and the Rise of Augustus - the Sopranos meet Mad Max - a futuristic vision of J.Caesar and Antony and Cleo using lingo Tony Soprano would feel comfortable with. It's a video of a live performance and basically a power struggle mixed in with a tragic romance. Struggle for power can come in all shapes and sizes - just like in AAE. Here's the link:<br />https://youtu.be/tKk1tqyrDeU <br /><br />It'll give you an idea of the indpndt film we plan on shooting of it on the streets of NY which have a post apocalyptic feel to them. Would love to hear your thoughts. But keep up the good work. We need writers who can express things well and you're one of them. Stephan Morrow<br />Artistic Director<br />The Great American Play Series (for more info you can google that)<br />thegreatamericanplayseries@gmail.comStephan Morrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175816140548035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-17923491248249984452019-05-04T08:02:28.890-07:002019-05-04T08:02:28.890-07:00Thanks, Vienna. About Colbert, many people have th...Thanks, Vienna. About Colbert, many people have theorized how this would have turned out. It's an interesting exercise in guessing. She was five years older than Davis but looked five years younger. I once read a good article about it, if I could only remember where.<br /><br />Sanders is just fantastic in this movie.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-78094171219611815462019-05-03T13:56:23.585-07:002019-05-03T13:56:23.585-07:00Your review is terrific.Many thanks. I’m still try...Your review is terrific.Many thanks. I’m still trying to imagine how the role of Margo would have turned out if the original casting of Claudette Colbert had gone ahead. As much as I love Claudette, she could never have been the Margo that Bette Davis gave us.<br />I love Margo’s down to earth relationship with Birdie and it always annoys me how the wonderful Thelma Ritter disappears long before the end of the film. <br />Surely a George Sanders’s best role. You describe him so well. Addison is definitely on a par with Clifton Webb in Laura. Viennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06907591161822012949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-8331242121082562742019-04-29T07:02:47.726-07:002019-04-29T07:02:47.726-07:00Thank you, Paul. It's interesting that the que...Thank you, Paul. It's interesting that the question who is the better actress can be discussed endlessly. I'd definitively say this is Baxter's best role. She certainly manages to not get bulldozed by Bette, in itself quite a feat.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-23293502071460877592019-04-28T05:34:08.499-07:002019-04-28T05:34:08.499-07:00Finally got a chance to read your review and I sur...Finally got a chance to read your review and I sure wasn't disappointed (as I knew I wouldn't be). Fantastic depth and detail with strong insights into the film and your analysis, I think, is spot on. I agree that Eve is like a psychological predator who knows exactly how to play Margo and manipulate everyone else around her. Ironically, Eve's a far greater actress than Margo which I am sure is in the back of Margo's mind. But I think that Eve takes the audience for a ride as well until we realise what's going on. The whole cast is superb and Anne Baxter is perhaps the best role of her career. <br /><br />I also agree that the film does not deserve to be dismissed as a bitch-fest. It's far more than that and you're 100% correct in your assessment of how pop culture has diminished the film's impact. It deserves better.<br /><br />Again, thanks for a great review - your work is always inspiring and enjoyable! Many thanks!Silver Screen Classicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03028754308423562909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-32984548141104894802019-04-22T15:01:43.285-07:002019-04-22T15:01:43.285-07:00True. But I've seen many such complaints from ...True. But I've seen many such complaints from women.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-33172380605317438052019-04-20T14:01:54.653-07:002019-04-20T14:01:54.653-07:00Amazing article. Instead of "the bithciest fi...Amazing article. Instead of "the bithciest film", I love All About Eve for all the female characters it brings. And no, I don't think it's mysoginist. We can have less-than-perfect male characters and they are adored, while less-than-perfect female characters can't exist. Why? We're all flawed individuals. And let's face it: the complaints about those female characters say more about the person complaining than about the film. Women also have the right to be flawed.<br />Cheers!Lêhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02419693749682458647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-39155583767160732962019-04-06T10:59:58.781-07:002019-04-06T10:59:58.781-07:00Thank you, Walter. Yes I know about the source mat...Thank you, Walter. Yes I know about the source material for the movie. It is a fascinating story in itself. I didn't know that there was a sequel though. I have a hard time finding anything about it. Would be an interesting read.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-26238512344591086662019-04-05T19:29:35.783-07:002019-04-05T19:29:35.783-07:00Margot, you never fail to give me a sudden surge o...Margot, you never fail to give me a sudden surge of sensation when I read another one of your marvelous write-ups. Needless to say, I devoured your entertaining and thought provoking review of the ultimate in backstabbing backstage dramas. If you crave mental stimulation, ALL ABOUT EVE is a movie "Ace of Spades." <br /><br />As We know there seems to always be an Eve or a male counterpart out there. Margot, you probably came across the source for Eve in ALL ABOUT EVE. Apparently writer Mary Caswell Orr had heard about an "Eve like" incident from Viennese actress Elisabeth Bergner. In 1943, the play “The Two Mrs. Carrolls” opened on Broadway, starring Bergner. It was directed by Reginald Denham, whom Ms. Orr would later marry in 1947. Ms. Bergner later told Ms. Orr, that a waiflike young woman stood outside the stage door, night after night. Taking pity on her, Ms. Bergner invited the woman into her dressing room and later hired her as a secretary. The young woman tried to take over both Ms. Bergner's acting career and her husband, the director Paul Czinner. Ms. Orr wrote the story "The Wisdom of Eve" and it was published in COSMOPOLITAN(May, 1946). The story was nine pages long and later Ms. Orr wrote a radio dramatization of the story, which was aired January 24, 1949 on NBC. This caught 20th Century Fox's attention and the story was bought from Ms. Orr, but she didn't receive story credit for the movie.<br /><br />I'm a little surprised that 20th Century Fox didn't make a sequel, because Mary Orr did write one. "More About Eve," which was published in COSMOPOLITAN(July, 1951). This story makes her earlier evil deeds look like child’s play. With her husband, director-playwright Reginald Denham, Ms. Orr adapted "The Wisdom of Eve" into a play of the same name, which was produced off-Broadway in 1979. It is still being produced today.<br /><br />Look forward to your next write-up. Walter S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02507750468123235383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-90590713845050865352019-04-04T19:30:57.104-07:002019-04-04T19:30:57.104-07:00Just a thoughtful insight: a modern, real time var...Just a thoughtful insight: a modern, real time variation of this story, Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-18688775565649769302019-03-30T14:17:54.795-07:002019-03-30T14:17:54.795-07:00It's so nice that you and your children watch ...It's so nice that you and your children watch movies together. My parents were never really interested in them, though I do have some phantastic old records from them.<br /><br />I think it's good that you waited with showing your daughter the movie. It's not really for the younger crowd. (There are obviously exceptions.) I saw it as a teenager and it just bored me. Thankfully not anymore.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-6489604914562160572019-03-29T19:39:59.274-07:002019-03-29T19:39:59.274-07:00Excellent article and appreciation of the movie ar...Excellent article and appreciation of the movie arts coming together as they always should. The dialogue in All About Eve is perfection to my ears. If there comes a time when I don't want to hear it and watch this cast, put me out to pasture. I have lost my pleasure in motion pictures.<br /><br />Two years ago this spring I shared this with my daughter for the first time (I know! What was I waiting for?). Apparently, I was waiting for the right time. She was entranced and talks about the experience to this day. Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-582798589802661222019-03-29T14:56:03.718-07:002019-03-29T14:56:03.718-07:00Hi, I love that the movie is so ambiguous. I disco...Hi, I love that the movie is so ambiguous. I discover something new every time.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-91247454141250207182019-03-29T05:25:11.738-07:002019-03-29T05:25:11.738-07:00Fabulous review and insightful analysis (as always...Fabulous review and insightful analysis (as always). Eve is somewhat of an empty vessel, as you said, and sometimes I find it hard to believe this character could be a great stage actress. There's little charisma, especially when you compare her to Margot or Addison... However, like you pointed out, her greatest performance is being "Eve" and she's superb in that role, so there's that.<br /><br />I love how you described Bette Davis's acting as "broad and blousy". So true! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this film.Silver Screeningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955048716754142299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-45026105014815602892019-03-26T09:46:00.759-07:002019-03-26T09:46:00.759-07:00Thank you. There's so much to analyze in this ...Thank you. There's so much to analyze in this film.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-10085078108114840082019-03-26T04:56:48.595-07:002019-03-26T04:56:48.595-07:00Such a good review, Margot! You thoroughly analyse...Such a good review, Margot! You thoroughly analysed the dynamics, which is lovely. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-53418037354805669552019-03-25T20:48:27.413-07:002019-03-25T20:48:27.413-07:00Thanks Jay. I'm a big Sanders fan.Thanks Jay. I'm a big Sanders fan.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-85478120542496519182019-03-25T12:58:13.735-07:002019-03-25T12:58:13.735-07:00Great review. I love your descriptions of the char...Great review. I love your descriptions of the characters and their motivations.<br /><br />"Sanders was blessed with a mellifluous voice - like soft silk with a touch of unyielding steel underneath. Everything he said sounded like a sly and not unwelcome insinuation. "<br /><br />So true!<br />Cinema Essentialshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167367509339965033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-7424416234309101862019-03-25T08:31:50.524-07:002019-03-25T08:31:50.524-07:00Hi, what I meant is we never see them perform on s...Hi, what I meant is we never see them perform on stage. I'll change it to make it clear. Obviously they are performing offstage all the time.Margot Shelbyhttps://downthesemeanstreetsblog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-75930816926935326392019-03-25T06:42:23.985-07:002019-03-25T06:42:23.985-07:00About the only element in your review I disagree w...About the only element in your review I disagree with is your observation about how clever it is to not show them acting. That is all they show. These people are acting all over the place, and no one, no one, wants to see part of a photographed stage play that isn't.barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-34228278873113359712019-03-25T03:07:10.479-07:002019-03-25T03:07:10.479-07:00Great review, JR check PM on Sergio Leone. ;-)Great review, JR check PM on Sergio Leone. ;-)cigar joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10247683034889027958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-4123109542810624692019-03-24T21:09:50.198-07:002019-03-24T21:09:50.198-07:00I agree that the mark of great (screen) writing is...I agree that the mark of great (screen) writing is ambiguity. Things that are not drip fed to the viewer, so we can decide for ourselves.<br /><br />All in all I think the studio system had a lot going for it. Films were true collaborative efforts.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-21384477316391091132019-03-24T20:05:51.930-07:002019-03-24T20:05:51.930-07:00Meant to write "you CAN speculate endlessly&q...Meant to write "you CAN speculate endlessly" rcoceanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17102201338319611538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-56676771711901289062019-03-24T20:04:34.199-07:002019-03-24T20:04:34.199-07:00Great review. Love the movie and you speculate end...Great review. Love the movie and you speculate endlessly about the characters motivations and background. That's the mark of great screenwriting! BTW, one reason this was Mank's best movie is because Zanuck kept demanding he tighten up the sreenplay and make Addison De Witt more biting and funny. Later on, when Mank had more control over his material, it got more verbose and less entertaining. Sometimes, the studio execs actually improved things!rcoceanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17102201338319611538noreply@blogger.com