Mary Orr's All About Eve

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All About Eve is based on a story written by Mary Orr. Mary Orr wrote “The Wisdom of Eve” in the International Cosmopolitan Magazine based on real life events. After Joseph L. Mankiewicz read the story, he immediately fell in love with it because it was his way of “settling a lot scores [with the theatre]” (Crowther). He bought the rights to the movie and began casting. According to Mankiewicz, casting for Margo Channing was the hardest; after a lot of thinking, Mankiewicz chose Claudette Colbert as Margo, but two weeks before shooting began Colbert was on bed rest due to an accident during the filming of another movie. Because she was the only available actress that could play the part well, Mankiewicz selected Bette Davis as the new Margo. Bette Davis was perfect for the role. Bette Davis, like Margo her onscreen character, was a 40 year old actress who was insecure about her role in filmography due to her age. It was a common perception that women over 40 could not survive in the industry, and Bette Davis felt the same. The parallel …show more content…

After Darryl F Zanuck received the script, he decided to make it his personal production. While reviewing the script, Zanuck came across a line in the Addison’s narration in the beginning of the movie that said “more of Eve later. All about Eve, in fact”; this spurred the idea of naming the movie All About Eve.
The movie exhibited the time in which it was made. The fifties were a time of glamour, prosperity, and entertainment; people coveted the highest standard of living. The movie presented these similarities in the grandeur of the wardrobe and jewelry that the characters wore. Smoking and drinking was a customary practice in the fifties and in the movie. Men were not the only ones drinking, for women indulged in these habits

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