All About Eve (1950)

It's all about women - and their men!

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Written by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Erich Kastner (German version), Mary Orr (novel)
Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring: Bette Davis as Margo Channing, Anne Baxter as Eve Harrington, George Sanders as Addison DeWitt, Celeste Holm as Karen Richards, Gary Merrill as Bill Sampson, Hugh Marlowe as Lloyd Richards, Gregory Ratoff as Max Fabian, Marilyn Monroe as Miss Caswell, and Thelma Ritter as Birdie Coonan
Music by: Alfred Newman

If ever there were an overlooked classic by today's generation, this is it. "All About Eve" has everything - great casting, great acting, great story, great ending. Bette Davis plays the renown but aging actress Margo Channing and Celeste Holm is her best friend, Karen. When Karen introduces the young Eve Harrington to Margo as a fan, Eve gains their trust and pity when she tells them of her hard life. She manages to weasel her way into Margo's life, eventually making a play for her career and her boyfriend. And she doesn't stop there. Armed with the biting columns of the acidic critic Addison DeWitt, Eve won't let anything or anyone get in her way as she shoots for the top.

With Bette Davis and Anne Baxter in this film's cast, you know the acting has to be superb. Davis is stunning as the elder actress trying to hold on to her career when she doesn't even know if she still wants it. And Baxter acting as an duplicitous innocent with motives upon motives is outstanding. Even though I knew from the get go what this film was about, Baxter's acting ability still caused me to have doubts as to whether or not Eve was really all that bad. In fact, all three of the leading ladies in this film were stellar. Davis as the firecracker, Baxter as the aspiring underminer, and Holm as the loyal and well-meaning friend. The male actors didn't play as large a role, with the exception of Sanders as the critic DeWitt. He also did well, and his character arc was one of the most enjoyable of the whole story.

When it comes to plot, the layers in this film are extraordinary. This isn't just the story of a mean-spirited aspiring actress. Nor is it the story of a fading star. There are themes of friendship and loyalty, love and commitment, blackmail, intrigue, suspense and suspicion. Throughout the entire film, I just kept getting more and more angry at Eve and everyone she sucked down with her - but the ending is wonderfully fitting.

And on top of all this - I can give you what the rest of the world has said about this film. It was nominated for 14 Oscars and won six - including Best Picture for 1950. The film won a Golden Globe for the screenplay, best picture at the NYFCC, and Best Film from Any Source at the BAFTAs. It has been preserved in the National Film Registry and is a part of AFI's 100 Best American Films of the 20th Century at number 16. And on Rotten Tomatoes . com, it has a 100% approval rating - something almost unheard of.

This film gets the highest recommendation. Five standing ovations out of a possible five (5/5).

The Odd Couple (1968)

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are the Odd Couple...say no more.


Directed by: Gene Saks
Written by: Neil Simon
Produced by: Howard W. Koch
Starring: Jack Lemmon as Felix Ungar, Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison
Music by: Neal Hefti

When the neat freak Felix Ungar finds out his wife wants a divorce, he has nowhere to go. His friend, Oscar Madison, invites him to move into Oscar's 8 bedroom apartment. This seems like a great idea at first, until Oscar the slob gets fed up with Felix's cleaning obsession.

This is another example of a movie that is great, but probably not quite as great as the play it's based on. Lemmon and Matthau are one of the all-time wonderful comedy pairings, and this film shows them at their best. They work together brilliantly to bring the most humor into the situation - whether it's a poker game or a double date gone horribly awry. And the couple bring it together at the end to show us that we can learn things from someone who is our complete opposite.

Another star on this movie's lapel is the supporting cast. The Pidgeon sisters are classically adorable and annoying simultaneously. And the Poker crew were made up of the play's original cast and so obviously were fantastic - the typical guys' night bumblers.

The plot of the story moves a little slowly for my tastes. Or possibly there just wasn't quite enough movement at all. It seemed that as well as the end was brought together, it just kind of happened. But I did enjoy all the throwing of food, breaking of plates, and physical comedy.

The Odd Couple gets four burned mealoafs out of a possible five (4/5).