rec.arts.movies.past-films

"David Oberman" wrote in message
news:idgks3ldj53qrvene0ncbmnhmknr5t4vvj@...
> "David Matthews" wrote:
>
>>"George Peatty" wrote in message
>>news:220ks35aae2jl15a50mpi1mpmaf4b758qs@...
>>> All About Eve (1950) - I am almost speechless. This movie is
>>> practically
>>> perfect. Nominated for 14 Oscars with six wins, and after watching,
>>> it's
>>> not hard to see why. George Sanders, who won, is brilliant as the
>>> sleazy,
>>> slimy, prissy, arrogant Addison DeWitt, (they're *all* sleazy, slimy,
>>> etc..) but I genuinely feel that Anne Baxter gives the best performance
>>> in this
>>> movie.
>>>
>>Watch it immediately!! Great performances.
>
> Now you guys I don't want to rain on parades here, but my estimation
> of "Eve" has dropped with repeated viewings. When I first saw it, I
> thought it was an excellent screenplay, filled with everything
> everybody says it has. On later viewings, much of the dialog began to
> bug me. It started sounding banal. Take, for example, Bill's speech to
> Eve in the dressing room about the nature of entertainment. Really
> trite, to my ears. A lot of it is still acerb (not acerbic) & or
> peppery, like Addison's dialog, & Bette Davis still makes Margo's
> dialog heartfelt & stylish, but much of the rest sounds Great White
> Way & school textbookish (under 'Theater'). Plus, remember how John H.
> used to say that Sarris characterized mise en scene as everything that
> wasn't in a Joseph Mankiewicz film? It's really true; his directing
> has no beauty or personality, except that it's stodgy.


The last part of George's post was snipped. He mentioned he was about to
see _A LETTER TO THREE WIVES_ which was the one I was talking about. Have
you seen it Steve? I actually don't remember too much about _ALL ABOUT
EVE_.

Dave in Toronto