This blog was begun the night of March 23, 2021:
Tonight, Grimsley brought over the dvd of "All About Eve"(1950), a film we previously watched and reviewed here at the blog (within the last two years I'd guess), but Grim had never seen it and it's such an incredible movie that I had no problem watching it again. I hope you don't mind if I run through a second review as well. I'll just give you the basics and a quick rundown.
Anne Baxter plays "Eve Harrington" a star-struck fan of Broadway actress "Margo Channing" (Bette Davis). Eve worships Margo to the extent of attending every performance of her latest show, and waiting by the stage door afterward. As the movie opens, "Karen", the playwright's wife (Celeste Holm) spots Eve lurking timidly in the shadows and - having seen her there night after night - strikes up a conversation, after which she's so impressed by Eve's devotion to Margo that she invites her backstage to meet her idol.
Margo is at first dismissive, polite but eager to be rid of just another zealous fan. But after witnessing Eve's genuine reverence for her, Margo invites her to talk about her background. "What brought you to New York, Eve? Where are you from? Do you have a family"? Eve tells the backstage gathering (which includes the playwright and his wife, the play's director, and Margo's personal assistant) an abbreviated version of her life story, which ends with the startling revelation that she had been married but her husband was killed in the war. Heartbroken, she turned to her love of the theater for solace, and in particular her admiration of Margo, her favorite actress. The meeting ends with Margo inviting Eve over for dinner, and after a montage lasting five minutes, a few days have gone by and Eve has been hired as Margo's new assistant.
As time passes, Eve has become the perfect attache, arranging every detail of Margo's life. She's even begun to dress like Margo, and one day Margo catches her holding up a stage costume in front of the mirror, as if imagining herself in a starring role. It's clear that Eve now has designs on becoming an actress herself. This worries Margo, as her boyfriend (Gary Merrill) is the play's director and has become attracted to Eve, who has blossomed into a beautiful and charismatic young woman. Also, in contrast to Margo, Eve is the Soul of Politeness and Courtesy. This is one of Bette Davis' most famous roles, in which she utters the classic line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"! This takes place during an elongated party scene at Margo's house, during which she gets drunk and increasingly hostile to everyone in attendance. Her anger is really at Eve, who she now thinks is trying to usurp her life entirely.
"All About Eve" was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won 6, including Best Picture and Best Director (our pal Joseph Mankiewicz). After we finished watching, I told Grimsley that Bette Davis also won for Best Actress, but I later found out I was wrong. Shockingly, neither she nor Anne Baxter won an Oscar for their portrayals, though both were nominated. Still, I would call Davis' performance one of the five greatest female leads in motion picture history, and Baxter's "Eve" was deserving of Best Supporting Actress.
The great George Sanders did win a Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as "Addison DeWitt", a cold-blooded theater critic whose reviews can make or break any play, and any actor or actress. And it turns out that DeWitt will have a hand in Eve's desire to become a star in her own right. There's just one hell of a twist that will occur before that happens - if it does - and of course I can't tell you what it is.
It goes without saying that "All About Eve" gets my highest rating, "Two Gigantic Thumbs Up", and AFI ranked it #16 on their list of Greatest American Movies, so you know it's a must-see. In particular, I think it's one of the greatest scripts ever written (also by Joe Mankiewicz), and the acting by the entire cast is in the stratosphere. Do yourself a favor and watch it a.s.a.p, even if you've seen it before. //////
Grim also came over the previous night with a fairly recent film :"Mud"(2012), starring Matthew McConaughey as a disheveled and desperate man hiding out on an island in a river in Arkansas. Have you seen "Mud"? I had, quite a while ago, but like "Eve" it was good enough to watch again. Two fourteen year old boys, looking for adventure, discover Mud's hideout while exploring the island one day. The boys live nearby with their families and Mud tells them he's from the area, too, a small community of fishermen who live in houseboats on the river's edge. He looks like a homeless man, and the kids call him a bum, but he's intelligent and his underdog nature gains their trust. In fact he's an outlaw, wanted for killing the abusive suitor of his would-be girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon). Now the police are after him - and worse, the suitor's family who are stone cold bounty hunters. Only the two boys know of his whereabouts, and Mud gets them to bring him food, take notes to his girl, and finally to help in his escape, all at great danger to themselves.
You've probably seen "Mud", so you know it's an excellent film with a standout performance by Mathew McConaughey. Even though he's down and out, he's still in Full Existential Mode as only McConaughey can do, and in fact you could think of his Lincoln commercials as "Mud" all cleaned up and free of trouble, having finally "made it" in life and pondering The Meaning of It All. There is an element of "Stand By Me" to the movie, as a coming-of-age adventure for the two boys, whose lives at home are harsh and depressing. Young Tye Sheridan stands out as "Ellis", an idealistic boy whose parents are divorcing. Ellis will do anything for Mud because Mud and his girlfriend share true love, or so it appears.
Two Big Thumbs Up for "Mud". See it if you haven't already done so. /////
I wanna cut in to mention an acting performance I saw over the weekend, not in a movie but a tv show. I think I mentioned that I recently began watching episodes of "The Virginian", having purchased the first season on dvd from Amazon. "The Virginian" was a classic Western series from the golden age of television in mid-50s to late 60s. The difference with "The Virginian" was that it ran 90 minutes (75 on dvd, when commercials are deducted), so each episode was like a movie. Accordingly, the scripts and characters were well developed, the main cast was stellar, and every week there was an accomplished actor as a guest star. On the episode I'm referring to it was George C. Scott, but in his role he was so unlike the George C. we know that I was astonished to watch him. He was young here, only 34, and thin and healthy looking, his facial features well defined. Later, he became the more bloated, raging actor we know so well, fuller in body and ready to explode at any moment. But in "The Virginian", he is playing a meek and refined schoolteacher from the east, who comes to Wyoming with his wife seeking work, and before long finds himself in a standoff with escaped convicts who are holding his students hostage.
It's rare that a TV performance would affect me so strongly, but it really was one of the greatest acting jobs I've ever seen. You can watch it for yourself if you can find it on Youtube. The episode is called "The Brazen Bell". ////
That's all for now. I'm still reading the McCartney book but closing in on the finish line, and I'm listening to early Opeth, the albums "Morningrise" and the ridiculously titled "My Arms, Your Hearse". Michael should've added a wink wink nudge nudge after that one. Good album though!
Have an awesome afternoon. We'll be back to our usual movie fare starting tonight, meaning spys, Brits, and British Spies, etc. etc.....
Tons of love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
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