All About Eve (1950)

Last updated:
August 3, 2025

All About Eve (1950), written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is one of Hollywood’s most iconic and razor-sharp dramas. With its biting dialogue, complex female characters, and themes of ambition, identity, and betrayal in the theater world, the film has become a landmark in cinematic history.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

Opening Scene: The Awards Banquet

The film begins at an elegant theater awards ceremony. The guest of honor is Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), a young actress being awarded the Sarah Siddons Trophy. The narration switches between various characters in the audience, each of whom tells a part of Eve’s backstory. This setup uses a nonlinear narrative style, building suspense around how Eve came to be so celebrated.

Meeting Eve

We flash back to a time when Eve is still a humble fan, waiting every night at the stage door to catch a glimpse of Margo Channing (Bette Davis), a legendary but aging Broadway star. Karen Richards (Celeste Holm), Margo’s close friend and the wife of playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), introduces Eve to Margo, who is charmed by her humility and backstory about growing up poor in Wisconsin.

Margo takes Eve under her wing, making her a personal assistant. Eve quickly becomes a fixture in Margo’s life and circle, ingratiating herself with everyone—but gradually, her true intentions become more apparent.

Eve’s Ambition Unfolds

Eve’s innocent façade begins to crack. She manipulates her way into becoming Margo’s understudy without her knowledge, and when Margo misses a performance, Eve goes on stage—and dazzles the audience. She then uses the press, particularly columnist Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), to build her public image while subtly undermining Margo.

It becomes clear that Eve is not a wide-eyed fan but a calculating, cold-blooded opportunist who will stop at nothing to rise to the top.

Confrontations and Betrayals

Margo begins to suspect Eve’s ambitions and grows more paranoid and insecure about aging and being replaced. Eve tries to seduce Margo’s boyfriend, Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill), and later blackmails Karen into convincing her husband to cast Eve in his new play.

However, Eve’s manipulation eventually backfires when Addison DeWitt confronts her. He reveals he knows everything about her lies, including her fake backstory. He owns her now, he says, and makes it clear she’s not as invincible as she thought.

Movie Ending

The film returns to the present-day awards banquet. Eve has won the Sarah Siddons Award and is now at the top of her career. But even in her moment of triumph, she seems exhausted, isolated, and emotionally hollow. No one truly loves her; they admire her talent but know her manipulative nature.

After the ceremony, Eve goes home, only to find a young fan named Phoebe waiting in her apartment. Phoebe claims to be Eve’s biggest admirer, mimicking the very behavior Eve once showed toward Margo. When Eve falls asleep, Phoebe puts on Eve’s robe and stands in front of the mirror, holding the award and curtsying to her reflection—hinting that the cycle of ambition, deception, and betrayal will repeat itself.

It’s a haunting and ironic ending: Eve has become the very thing she once displaced.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, All About Eve does not include a post-credits scene. The final shot of Phoebe before the credits serves as the film’s symbolic conclusion and haunting epilogue. Given the era it was made in, post-credits scenes were not a cinematic trend at the time.

Type of Movie

All About Eve is a drama with strong elements of psychological thriller, satire, and character study. It’s an intimate look at the personal and professional struggles of women in the theater industry, loaded with clever dialogue and psychological complexity.

Cast

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
Thelma Ritter as Birdie Coonan
Marilyn Monroe as Miss Caswell (small early-career role)

Film Music and Composer

The musical score was composed by Alfred Newman, one of the most celebrated composers in Hollywood history. His lush, dramatic score subtly enhances the emotional undercurrents of the film, without ever overpowering the biting dialogue or performances.

Filming Locations

Most of the film was shot on sets at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Though it’s set in New York’s theater district, actual on-location shooting was limited. The use of stage interiors and refined costume design creates the illusion of being immersed in the world of Broadway.

Awards and Nominations

All About Eve made Oscar history.

Won:

Best Picture
Best Director (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
Best Supporting Actor (George Sanders)
Best Screenplay
Best Costume Design
Best Sound Recording

Nominated for 14 Academy Awards, a record at the time (tied with Titanic and La La Land years later), including two Best Actress nominations (Bette Davis and Anne Baxter) and two Best Supporting Actress nominations (Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter).

Behind the Scenes Insights

Bette Davis was cast after Claudette Colbert dropped out due to a back injury.
The animosity between Davis and Baxter was mirrored in their on-screen tension.
Davis fell in love with her co-star Gary Merrill during filming—they later married.
Marilyn Monroe’s small role was one of her first big breaks, although she was terrified of Bette Davis on set.
George Sanders’ Addison DeWitt was loosely based on real-life Broadway critics.

Inspirations and References

The screenplay was inspired by “The Wisdom of Eve,” a short story by Mary Orr. The story was loosely based on an actual aspiring actress who infiltrated the life of a prominent Broadway star, though Orr never revealed her identity. Joseph L. Mankiewicz expanded the tale into a full-blown character study with original dialogue and added layers of psychological depth.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

There are no known alternate endings or deleted scenes officially released. The film’s structure and pacing are tightly controlled, and the ending with Phoebe is widely regarded as essential to the story’s message about ambition and cyclical fame.

Book Adaptations and Differences

While the film was based on Mary Orr’s short story, the adaptation significantly deepened the characters. In particular, Margo Channing was expanded into a far more complex and sympathetic character. Orr’s original story was more focused on the betrayal, while Mankiewicz’s script explores the personal costs of ambition and aging in showbiz.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

Eve’s first introduction backstage, wide-eyed and seemingly innocent.
Margo’s explosive dressing room monologue confronting Eve.
The party scene where Margo delivers the iconic “Fasten your seatbelts” line.
The final shot of Phoebe mirroring Eve’s earlier ambitions.

Iconic Quotes

“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” – Margo Channing
“You’re maudlin and full of self-pity. You’re magnificent.” – Addison DeWitt
“I detest cheap sentiment.” – Margo Channing
“You’re too short for that gesture.” – Birdie Coonan to Eve

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

The Sarah Siddons Award was fictional in the film but later became a real-life award for excellence in theater acting.
Marilyn Monroe’s character, Miss Caswell, is referred to as a student of “The Copacabana School of Dramatic Art”—a jab at showbiz starlets.
Margo’s age insecurity reflects Bette Davis’s real-life concerns about aging in Hollywood.

Trivia

The title All About Eve was inspired by a feature in Life Magazine.
The film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Davis reportedly based her performance on actress Tallulah Bankhead.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz won back-to-back Oscars for Best Director (Letter to Three Wives, then All About Eve).

Why Watch?

Watch All About Eve for its brilliantly layered script, legendary performances, and timeless themes of jealousy, ambition, and the complexities of female relationships. It remains one of the smartest, sharpest films about show business ever made, with Bette Davis delivering one of the most iconic performances in film history.

Director’s Other Movies

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Cleopatra (1963)
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
People Will Talk (1951)

All About Eve (1950)