All About “All About Eve”

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What to expect

To millions of fans, All About Eve represents all that’s witty and wonderful in classic Hollywood movies. Its old-fashioned, larger-than-life stars—including Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, and Celeste Holm—found their best roles in this movie, and its sophisticated dialogue has entered the lexicon.

But there’s much more to know about All About Eve. Sam Staggs has written the definitive account of the making of this fascinating movie and its enormous influence on both film and popular culture. Staggs reveals everything about the movie—from who the famous European actress Margo Channing was based on to the hot-blooded romance on-set between Bette Davis and costar Gary Merrill, from the jump-start the movie gave Marilyn Monroe’s career to the capstone it put on director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s.

All About “All About Eve” is not only full of rich detail about the movie, the director, and the stars but also about the audience who loved it when it came out and adore it to this day.

Critics Review

  • “Stagg’s gossipy goulash celebrates all of Eve’s incarnations, from the original tale…to the Broadway musical Applause…[He] provides thoughtful film analysis and a thrilling final coup: an interview with the real Eve.”

    People
  • “Good, gossipy fun. The book is exhaustively researched…The legendary on-set cattiness that is the focus of the book’s first half…but the overall tone of the book is one of affection and a deep fascination…All About All About Eve succeeds best in its main purpose—making you want to watch the movie one more time.”

    Amazon.com
  • “Stagg’s engaging study should be the last word on this enduring classic.”

    Publishers Weekly
  • “Traces the movie’s development from the short story that inspired it through a virtual production diary that he fleshes out with interviews of many surviving contributors to the film.”

    Booklist
  • “Staggs…colors his treatment of the origins, influences, and spin-offs of the Bette Davis vehicle with fact, rumor, and all shades in between. The result is a truly comprehensive filmography.”

    Library Journal

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