Has there ever been such a brutal takedown of Hollywood- and the agency and ageing process of actresses- as Joseph L Mankiewicz’ peerless 1950 classic All About Eve?
Margo Channing, portrayed by the immortal Bette Davis, is usurped in her signature theatre role by her most ardent fan, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) a passive-aggressive and manipulative younger woman- and she’s having none of it. Her paranoia and bitterness grows, bolstered by those around her, including her partner and best friends, who, far from providing support, only feed her fears.
This film was remarkably prescient. The three roles of women in Hollywood are still, in the words of The First Wives’ Club, confined to “girlfriend, mother and Driving Miss Daisy”. In society, women in middle age are often sidelined for the next generation, rendering them invisible or incidental. The only other film of this era to tackle overlooked female actors was another classic, Sunset Boulevard, but it felt somewhat cruel in its remit, with Norma Desmond portrayed by Gloria Swanson as a delusional also-ran, clinging to a past she could never hope to revive. Then of course, Davis teamed up later on with real-life rival Joan Crawford in the brilliant, demented What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? where she cut a monstrous but pitiful figure as the ageing Baby Jane Hudson.
Margo Channing is a far more realistic figure, with nuances, desirous of having a family as well as satisfying career. In that sense, she’s a more modern figure, flawed and yet human, aware of her shortcomings yet ambitious. Channing can see how the Hollywood system exploits women by building them up, only to spit them out in their forties as they are considered expendable.
Most recently, films like The Last Showgirl and The Substance put female agency and ageing under a harsh spotlight, with actors Pamela Anderson and Demi Moore meditating on the disposable nature of the showbusiness industry. It just seems Margo Channing got there first.
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