A few weeks ago I reviewed a movie called Sunset Boulevard, which was a movie from 1950 about an aging actress who is in denial about audiences no longer loving her as much as they used to. However, there was also another movie from 1950 about an aging stage actress, and that is All About Eve. The two have often been compared because of their similar subject matters and being released in the same year, but they are pretty different from each other. All About Eve actually won Best Picture that year, and it seems as though it’s the preferred movie between the two. I personally prefer Sunset Boulevard, but both are really great movies in their own right.

All About Eve is a little hard to explain though. The plot description on IMDB reads “a seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.” If you’re like me, you read that and still felt like you have no idea what the movie is really about. It’s also hard to explain in a review, though, because it’s hard to really talk about what it’s about without spoiling the experience. I think the best description I can give of the movie without spoiling things is that an aging actress named Margo Channing meets a young superfan named Eve Harrington. Margo is taken in by Eve’s admiration, and invites her into her home to work for her as an assistant. However, Margo soon becomes suspicious of Eve that she’s trying to replace her. The story is really fascinating and goes in some interesting directions. Once it’s clear what’s going on, the movie becomes a hell of a ride.

My favorite thing about All About Eve is the writing, and the performances that deliver it. There is some really snappy, witty dialogue in this movie, and it all feels so off-the-cuff. The characters just constantly come off with these savage remarks towards each other, and it’s so clever. The actors take these lines and deliver them with absolute ferocity, especially Bette Davis in the role of Margo. This is probably some of the best dialogue I’ve heard in a movie in a long while.

My main problem with All About Eve, though, was its pacing. I thought the movie was really slow to start, and it took a while for it to become at all interesting. Early on in the movie, I thought to myself “THIS is one of the best movies ever made?” However, like I said earlier, once it gets going, it does become really interesting. There are a few other points in the middle of the movie where it starts to drag a bit, and I think ultimately the movie could have benefited from trimming a bit from its 134 minute runtime. However, when it’s at its best, it’s extremely compelling, and the end of the movie is fascinating.

That’s really the only thing that ultimately kept me from loving All About Eve, but I think its writing and performances are strong enough that I still really enjoyed it. It’s one of those classics that I don’t personally find to be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but I can definitely see the appeal. I really liked it, so much that I would consider rewatching it in the future, especially since it’s the kind of movie that seems like it could be fun watching it when you know where it’s going. So, is this a classic worth watching? Yes. It might be a little slow at times, but it’s got a really interesting story and some fantastic writing.

4/5