The Odd or Even Blogathon- “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962)

With this blogathon, we had to provide the option of two films, one film produced in a year ending in an even number and another ending in an odd number. The blogathon host would then flip a coin and decide which option to assign to the author. My two films were: Walk on the Wild Side (1962) and Once a Thief (1965). I was told to write about my “even” choice. Stay tuned for my eventual entry about Once a Thief, with the beautiful Alain Delon whom I just discovered last year, thanks to guest programmer, Dana Delany on TCM!

Everyone’s favorite critic, Bosley Crowther, described Walk on the Wild Side as a “lurid, tawdry, and sleazy melodrama.” With this ringing endorsement, I knew I had to see this film! Plus, it also featured two of my faves, Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Fonda! With these two powerhouse actresses in the cast, I figured that Walk on the Wild Side, if anything, would be entertaining. I first tried to watch this film in February 2019 when my husband was in the hospital. I discovered that it was streaming on Amazon Prime. But between being tired due to trying to sleep in the uncomfortable hospital chair and then being constantly bothered by the hospital staff, and then falling asleep while trying to watch the movie, I had to give up trying to watch it. Sadly, the film dropped off Prime and I didn’t get to see it.

I finally got to see Walk on the Wild Side last year when Criterion Channel featured the film during a series they had on Jane Fonda. I was so excited to see it.

It was worth the wait.

The awesome Saul Bass-produced opening credits

Walk on the Wild Side opens with some awesome Saul Bass-produced opening and closing credit sequences. As the opening credits are displayed, a black cat slinks its way through an urban landscape as an exciting jazz-inspired score plays. The black cat walks through the grimy neighborhood, passing broken fences, old cement pipes, rusted out plumbing and chain link. Eventually the black cat spots a white cat and picks a fight. This opening sequence is the perfect metaphor for the events that unfold in Walk on the Wild Side. The closing credits are just as fun with the black cat seen walking over a newspaper headline providing an update to the characters’ fate whom we just saw at the conclusion of the film.

Jane Fonda as “Kitty Twist” and a wet mop–err Laurence Harvey as “Dove Linkhorn.”

Walk on the Wild Side takes place during the Great Depression. It opens with Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) sleeping inside of a large, cement tube somewhere in rural Texas. Dove Linkhorn (Laurence Harvey), a cowboy, spots her and wakes her up. Kitty is a young woman who has spent many years as a bit of a vagabond, doing what she needs to get by. The filmmakers try to make Jane Fonda look a little rough around the edges, but despite some messy hair and baggy clothes, she still looks great. Fonda also affects a Southern drawl, much better than the one she uses in Period of Adjustment. Dove tells Kitty that he’s on his way to New Orleans. His father has died and Dove decides that this is the time to find and reunite with his lost love Hallie. He gets wind that she’s in New Orleans.

(DOVE has this completely absurd and ridiculous reminiscence about his time with Hallie. Seriously nobody would ever say this)

DOVE: “I’ll never forget the first time I met her. We went swimming together. It was at night. The way she moved in the water, like a kind of white flash. It was then I kissed her for the very first time. She gave me something I’d never known before. Something I a’int experienced since. Afterwards in the moonlight, we danced like we were celebrating a miracle. Crazy kind of dancing. We sang and shouted like it wasn’t real, as if we were in another world. Sometimes I think it never really happened to us.”

Laurence Harvey as “Dove Linkhorn” in “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962)

Kitty, not really having anywhere else to go or having anything else to do, decides to travel with Dove to New Orleans. Along the way, she shows him the ropes on hitchhiking and hopping freighters. Kitty also shows Dove the tools that women have at their disposal to get by in the world when she trades her baggy clothes in for a tight, form-hugging dress that shows off her assets to their highest potential. The ruse works and Kitty is able to get them a ride in the back of a box truck to complete the final leg of their trip. It’s obvious by this point that Kitty wants to get into Dove’s pants, but he rebuffs her every advance.

(KITTY is trying to seduce DOVE)

DOVE: “Sure I like you Kitty, but I don’t feel like foolin’.”

KITTY: “I’ll make you feel like foolin’.”

DOVE: “When I want something, I’ll ask for it!”

KITTY: “Who are you savin’ it for Dove? What’s her name?”

DOVE: “Hallie. Her name is Hallie.”

KITTY: “She’s in New Orleans?”

DOVE: “Hope so. I a’int seen her in three years.”

Jane Fonda as “Kitty Twist” and Laurence Harvey as “Dove Linkhorn” in “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962)

The miscast Anne Baxter as “Teresina.”

Upon arriving in New Orleans, Kitty and Dove stop at a small diner run by a kind Latina woman, Teresina (Anne Baxter. Yes, really. We’ll look past this for now). Kitty senses an opportunity to take advantage of Teresina’s hospitality and feigns illness after eating her meal. Teresina takes Kitty into the small bedroom behind her cafe to rest. As soon as Teresina is out of sight, Kitty loots her drawers, looking for something of value to steal. She eventually settles on Teresina’s beautiful rosary. Kitty emerges from the bedroom and she is very rude to Teresina, threatening to sue her for “poisoning” her.

(After TERESINA implies that KITTY was feigning illness while KITTY pitches a fit about being “poisoned” by TERESINA’S cooking)

KITTY: “Imagine, an innocent person walkin–“

TERESINA: “And of course, you make your living by walking.”

Jane Fonda as “Kitty Twist” and Anne Baxter as “Teresina” in “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962)

Me-ow! Kitty’s behavior at Teresina’s restaurant leads to a fight between her and Dove. As they’re leaving, Dove discovers the rosary in Kitty’s pocket and forces her to return it. They return to Teresina’s cafe and return the rosary. Kitty storms off and disappears for about half the film. As the action of the film progresses, it becomes obvious where Kitty will re-emerge. Dove’s honesty appeals to Teresina and she gives him a job at her cafe. With a place to stay and some income, Dove continues to search for Hallie. He ends up discovering that she works works at “The Doll House,” a brothel in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Queen Barbara Stanwyck as “Jo,” the madam of The Doll House brothel

Now for the best part of the film–Barbara Stanwyck. My queen, Barbara Stanwyck, plays Jo, the proprietor of The Doll House. It seems that Jo discovered Hallie in New York City and brought her back to New Orleans. When Dove finds Hallie, she tells him how she came to live at The Doll House. Hallie’s story implies that she and Jo became lovers, which Hallie was receptive to because she was so lonely. Jo is very protective of Hallie, both out of a personal interest and a business interest, because Hallie is the #1 girl at The Doll House. Dove and Hallie reunite and resume their relationship, much to Jo’s chagrin.

Eventually, Kitty re-joins the film (looking amazing I might add) when she’s picked up on vagrancy charges. Jo apparently bailed her out and perhaps in repayment, Kitty becomes an employee at The Doll House. Jo then figures out that Kitty and Dove are acquainted with one another which is where Jo finds her ace in the hole. Kitty is apparently underage (which we wouldn’t know looking at her). Dove and Kitty traveled together from Texas to Louisiana. Jo sees this as an opportunity to threaten Dove, stating that she will tell authorities that he transported a minor over state lines for the purposes of immoral activity and statutory rape. However, she’ll keep quiet if Dove leaves, without Hallie. However, Jo isn’t the type to just let things go.

JO to HALLIE: “I want to know what’s going on between you and that boy. Are you in love with that Texas dirt farmer?

(After further arguing between JO and HALLIE)

JO: You may be weak, but I’m not. I’ll find your dirt farmer and that will be the end of that.”

Barbara Stanwyck as “Jo” in “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962)

Jane Fonda as “Kitty Twist” looking amazing when she rejoins the film as one of Jo’s new girls.

This film is kind of trashy, but in all the right ways. It is not quite as trashy as one of my other faves, Valley of the Dolls, but it’s up there. Laurence Harvey has the personality of a wet mop, so there isn’t much to say about him, except that he’s miscast. Harvey is British playing a cowboy. Capucine isn’t much better. She epitomizes ice queen, which does not seem like the ideal quality for a prostitute. She seems like she’d be the type of prostitute who’d come with a big laundry list of things that they “won’t do.” Anne Baxter’s casting as a Latina is baffling. Her affected “Mexican” accent is even worse. The filmmakers could have cast someone else, like Katy Jurado, if they wanted a Latina accent. If they really wanted Baxter, I don’t think changing the character’s nationality would have made much of a difference. While I love Baxter, she has such a deliberate way of speaking, with. each. and. ev-ery. syl-a-ble. so. clear-ly. em-pha-sized. Regardless, Baxter’s miscasting just lends to the fun. That’s how I look at it.

The real stars of this film, in my opinion, are Fonda and Stanwyck–the two actresses for whom I watched this film. Fonda is excellent as the conniving young woman who does whatever she wants, takes whatever (or whomever) she wants. She doesn’t care who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants. Fonda brings a spark to her scenes with Harvey, which is desperately needed since he’s so boring. I love that she’s allowed to be a little more loose in this film as she was a bit too stiff in her earlier films like Period of Adjustment. Stanwyck is amazing and she did an excellent job as the villain of the story. She is so cruel and ruthless. Jo is a woman who is so clearly in love with her star girl, that no man, and especially not a drip like Laurence Harvey, are going to come between her and the woman she loves. Poor Barbara Stanwyck’s legless husband. He doesn’t stand a chance.

Ice Queen Capucine looking glamorous in 1960s couture in a film that takes place during the Great Depression. Oops.

This film also features gorgeous 1960s gowns, except, oops. This movie takes place during The Great Depression. But hey, if Anne Baxter can be Mexican, then Capucine can wear 1960s Pierre Cardin couture. Sartorial anachronisms aside, Walk on the Wild Side is a great film if you enjoy a slightly trashy film. The early 1960s black and white, gritty aesthetic really makes the film. It’s a fun film to watch if you don’t take it too seriously and just go with whatever is presented on screen. I was so happy when Sony saved this film from out of print oblivion by releasing a new blu ray of the movie this past September. You better believe that I bought it.

Kayla’s Top 15 “New” Films of 2021

2021 is (finally) coming to a close. While the year wasn’t so hot as a whole, except for my fabulous trip to Southern California in October, it was another year of discovering new favorite films. One of the best thing about being a fan of film, especially classic film, is that you never run out of “new” movies to see. As Lauren Bacall says in an episode of Private Screenings with Robert Osborne, “It’s not an old movie, if you haven’t seen it,” and I couldn’t agree more. There is an entire world of movies to discover, a world of films just waiting to become someone’s favorite.

Without further adieu, in no particular order, here are some of my new favorites that I watched for the first time in 2021:

#1 Road House (1948) This was a fabulous film noir that I watched right at the start of the new year. It is the final volume in the Fox Film Noir DVD series (I own the entire collection). I decided to take a look at it, because I’m a big fan of Ida Lupino. In addition to Lupino, it also starred Cornel Wilde, Richard Widmark, and Celeste Holm. At first, it seems like Ida is going to be the femme fatale, but it is soon revealed that she is a woman who will not be made a pawn in the games of the men, Wilde and Widmark. Even though she was originally brought into the Road House by Widmark to be another of his fly by night floozies, she refuses to be used and becomes a big star and later saves the day. In a time when every woman who wasn’t Judy Garland or Doris Day was dubbed, Ida uses her own voice to warble out “One for my Baby (And One More For the Road)” and it was fabulous.

#2 Mrs. Miniver (1942). I know. This is a big Oscar winner. A major classic of the studio era, but I hadn’t seen it yet. I absolutely loved this movie and actually bought the blu-ray literally right after watching it. That’s how much I loved it. Greer Garson won an Oscar playing the titular Mrs. Miniver and infamously delivered the longest acceptance speech, a record which still stands today. Long-winded speech or not, Garson deserved her award. In Mrs. Miniver, Garson portrays a very stoic woman and mother who stays strong and protects her family even directly in the line of fire during the German invasion of Britain. She puts humanity above all else, even when directly threatened by an injured German pilot. The scene with Mrs. Miniver and her husband and children hiding in the shelter while bombs fall all around them is heartbreaking. This family does not know what they’ll find when they emerge, or whether their house will still be standing. Despite everything, Mrs. Miniver remains a calm influence even in the middle of a tumultuous event, like a World War. I cannot say enough good things about this film, it was fantastic.

#3 Girl Happy (1965). Like the esteemed Mrs. Miniver, this Elvis movie is another film that I purchased immediately after watching it. I loved it. For years, with the exception of Viva Las Vegas (my favorite Elvis movie), I wrote off Elvis’ movies as pure fluff, and not fluffy in a good way, and many of Elvis’ movies are ridiculous, like Girl Happy, but if you can suspend disbelief and just go along with whatever plot is presented, I’ve found that many of Elvis’ movies are enjoyable diversions. In Girl Happy, Elvis plays a musician (a premise setting up lots of opportunities for Elvis to sing) who, along with his band, is hired by his boss to indirectly chaperone his 18-year old daughter, Shelley Fabares. Shelley is traveling to Florida for Spring Break and her overprotective father is worried. Elvis happily agrees, because he gets an all expenses paid trip to Florida. Like how most movies with this plot go (see Too Many Girls), Elvis starts to fall in love with the girl whom he’s chaperoning, and the girl discovers that he was hired to watch her and gets upset. Regardless, this movie was charming, fun, and I loved it.

#4 History is Made at Night (1937) This was a movie that I’d never even heard of until I heard that Criterion was restoring it and releasing it as part of their esteemed (at least among the boutique label community) line of films. I first watched it on the Criterion Channel and must have seen a pre-restoration print, because it was pretty rough. After watching it, I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of it. It had one of my faves, Jean Arthur! And Charles “LUCY! RAWWWR” Boyer. How has this movie been hiding from me this entire time? In this movie, Jean Arthur plays Irene, a woman who leaves her husband, Bruce, (Colin Clive) after he falsely accuses her of having an affair. To prevent the divorce from being finalized, Bruce tries to manipulate a situation to frame Irene for infidelity. He hires his chauffeur to pretend to be Irene’s lover, so that a private detective walks in and catches them in a compromising position. While this is taking place, Paul (Charles Boyer) is walking by Irene’s window. He overhears the ruckus and comes to Irene’s rescue, pretending to be an armed burglar. It’s a weird set-up, but ultimately leads to a beautiful love story with an ending that I was not expecting.

#5 Naked Alibi (1954). This was another film noir that I’d never heard of until I was reading Sterling Hayden’s filmography and discovered that he’d made a film with one of my faves, Gloria Grahame. Fortunately, my library had this film available and I was able to borrow it. This was a great movie. Hayden plays a police chief who tails a suspect, Willis, to Mexico. Willis is suspected to be the mastermind behind a series of crimes in the small town from which he and Hayden hail. While in a border town on the Mexican border, Hayden meets Grahame, a singer with whom he becomes smitten. Unfortunately, Grahame is the girlfriend of Willis, despite the shoddy treatment she receives from him. Hayden and Grahame’s connection with one another continues to grow until the very end of the film. This was a wonderful film and I thought that Gloria Grahame looked absolutely gorgeous.

#6 Dead End (1937). Despite the appearance of the Dead End Kids, whom I cannot stand (I don’t get their appeal), I thought this was a great movie. This film is a story about social classes and the privileges that are afforded to those of a higher social standing. The neighborhood in the film is a “dead end” both figuratively and literally. The rich live in high rise apartments that overlook the slums and tenements. Those who are not privileged to live in the high rises literally have the rich looking down upon them. If you have the misfortune to be born into the slums, it is all you can do to get out. Some try to do so honorably, like Dave (Joel McCrea), who dreams of making a career as an architect. However, he can’t just seem to book the right gig, so he has to survive by doing odd jobs. Others, like Drina (Sylvia Sidney) have slightly less honorable means to get out of the tenement, she wants to marry a rich man. Then, there are those like Hugh “Baby Face” Martin (Humphrey Bogart), who did manage to get out of the slums, but he did so by becoming a big-time mobster. The Dead End Kids represent the next generation who most likely will remain in the slums, unless they can somehow be guided into making a better life for themselves. Marjorie Main has a heartbreaking role as Baby Face’s mother. Claire Trevor is fantastic as Baby Face’s old girlfriend, who was never able to get out of the slums.

#7 Klute (1971) This was the first film in Alan J. Pakula’s “Paranoia Trilogy,” which unfortunately I watched all out of order. I don’t think the films in the trilogy have anything to do with one another, so I think I’m okay. Anyway, there’s just something about the 1970s thrillers that I find fascinating. There’s a grittiness, a seediness, combined with the earth tones aesthetic that I just love watching. Anyway, in this film, Jane Fonda gives an Oscar-winning performance as Bree Daniels, a prostitute who aids police detective, John Klute, in investigating a murder. After finding an obscene letter addressed to Bree in the murder victim’s office, Klute rents an apartment in Bree’s building and begins tracing her. Concurrently, Bree is working as a freelance call girl to support herself while she tries to make it as a model/actress. Bree is also trying to find meaning in her life through sessions with a psychiatrist. This was such a fantastic movie and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who was responsible for the murder.

#8 Thunder on the Hill (1951) I am a big fan of Ann Blyth and this was a film of hers that I hadn’t heard of until I purchased Kino Lorber’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema box sets. Thunder on the Hill, by the way, is on the second collection in the series. In this film, Blyth plays Valerie, a young woman convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. However, on her way to the gallows, Valerie and the police officers accompanying her, are forced to spend the night in the hospital ward of a convent due to massive flooding. Running the hospital ward is Sister Mary (Claudette Colbert), a woman who is also battling with her own mental troubles involving her sister’s suicide. Valerie is understandably combative and angry, but confides to Sister Mary that she is innocent of the crime of which she was convicted. Sister Mary, who has been warned in the past about meddling in other people’s affairs, is convinced of Valerie’s innocence and sets to save her before she is executed. This was such a wonderful film. It was interesting to see Blyth in such a different role than that of Veda in Mildred Pierce or the mermaid in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. I loved the suspense of the story and the cinematography was gorgeous. I am also a big fan of Douglas Sirk, so this film fit the bill.

#9 King Creole (1958) A second Elvis film on the list? Yes! I watched a lot of Elvis movies this year according to LetterBoxd, so it was bound to happen. This was an excellent film. It was much higher brow fare than Elvis would be offered once he returned from his stint in the army. In this movie, Elvis plays super senior Danny, who has failed high school once and looks like he’ll fail it again due to his behavior. He is offered a chance to graduate if he agrees to take night classes, but Danny turns it down, much to the chagrin of his father, Dean Jagger. There is drama between Danny and his father, in that Jagger lost his job as a pharmacist after his wife died. The family is forced to leave their nice home outside of New Orleans for a much more modest flat in the French Quarter. To help make ends meet, Danny was working before and after school. Now with school out of the way, Danny starts working at a club. As how most Elvis movies go, he is coerced into singing and is offered a job performing at the club, much to the chagrin of the club’s main act. Danny is soon a sensation. Eventually his connection with the local gangs threaten to affect his family, his relationship with a young woman named Nellie (Dolores Hart), and his life. This was such a great movie with a stellar cast. Aside from Elvis, Dean Jagger and Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Vic Morrow, and Paul Stewart also star in this film… and it was directed by none other than Michael Curtiz!

#10 Private Lives (1931) This was a fabulous pre-code starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery. In this film, Shearer and Montgomery play Amanda and Elyot, two ex-spouses who end up staying at the same hotel while honeymooning with their new respective spouses. Both honeymoons are NOT going well. Amanda and her new husband Victor (Reginald Denny) are already fighting due to Victor’s incessant need to talk about Elyot. Because yes, let’s talk about your new bride’s ex-husband on your honeymoon. Great idea, Victor. Elyot is dealing with the same thing from his new wife, Sybil (Una Merkel) who won’t stop asking about Amanda. Eventually, Amanda and Elyot find each other and begin to reminisce about “the old times.” They end up leaving the hotel together and head to a new place in St. Moritz. This was a fabulous pre-code that had plenty of racy moments. I am not as big a fan of Shearer in her production code movies like The Women, but I love her in pre-code. She and Montgomery also make a great pairing. Poor Una Merkel is wasted in her role, but she is wonderful in her scenes.

#11 Hold Back the Dawn (1941) This was an amazing movie. One that I’d always wanted to see but it seemed like it was never on TCM–then finally it was and the movie was everything I’d hoped it would be. In this film, Charles Boyer stars as Georges Iscovescu, a Romanian immigrant who is stuck in a Mexican border town. Per immigration laws, he is looking at up to an eight year wait to obtain a quota number for entry in the United States. Georges then runs into an old flame, Anita Dixon (Paulette Goddard), an Australian who married a US citizen purely to obtain US citizenship. As soon as she could, she divorced the man and retained her citizenship status. Anita suggests that Georges do the same thing, then he and she could be free to start a new life together in New York. Georges immediately goes to work and spots Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland), a California school teacher whose bus has broken down. The bus is set to be repaired shortly, but Georges manipulates the situation (by “losing” a vital piece of the bus’s machinery) and forces Emmy and her class to stay overnight. This gives Georges enough time to woo Emmy and they are married after a whirlwind romance. However, Georges is required to wait in Mexico a few weeks before he can join Emmy in California. Emmy returns unexpectedly and Georges takes her on a trip (under the guise of a honeymoon, but in reality he is trying to hide from an immigration officer who is looking for con artists like Georges and Anita). Georges’ plans are complicated when he finds himself falling in love with Emmy. This was such an amazing film. Even though we’re supposed to dislike Georges, it’s hard to do because it’s Charles-freaking-Boyer. It’s easy to see why Emmy falls for him. I love true, legitimate romantic films (with no contrived plot points), and this is one of the best that I’ve seen.

#12 Gaslight (1944) Another Charles Boyer film! Third one on the list! Surprisingly Boyer was not on my top 10 actors watched in 2021, per Letterboxd. This was an amazing film. I don’t know how I went so long without seeing it. This is the film that gave the name to a form of psychological abuse, where one partner mentally manipulates another into thinking that they’re losing their mind. In this film, Boyer plays Gregory Anton, a pianist who marries Alice Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), a famous opera singer. Gregory works as Alice’s accompanist. At first, Gregory seems sweet, he convinces Alice that they move into her deceased aunt’s old home #9 Thornton Square in London, seemingly under the guise that Alice loved her aunt so much and that her aunt would want her home to be lived in. However, Gregory has ulterior motives which are revealed throughout the film. To keep Alice from catching onto Gregory’s motives, he gaslights her by manipulating situations and then making her think she caused them. Alice begins to think she’s going insane. And while she begins to question Gregory’s actions, he’s gotten her mind so messed up that she can’t convince herself that she’s right. A young, 17-year old Angela Lansbury makes her film debut as Nancy, a tart of a maid who takes pleasure in observing Gregory’s manipulation of Alice. Nancy even plays along to exacerbate the situation. Ingrid Bergman’s performance was a tour-de-force and she deserved every piece of the Oscar that she received.

#13 I Want to Live! (1958) If there are two things I love, it’s classic film and true crime. I Want to Live! has both. This film is a biopic of Barbara Graham, a prostitute who was executed in California in 1955 for her part in the murder of a wealthy widow. Susan Hayward gives an Oscar-winning performance as the doomed woman who at the beginning of the film, works as a prostitute who is arrested for soliciting sex across state lines. She then receives jail time after providing a false alibi to two friends who committed crimes. Despite her growing rap sheet, Barbara continues to “make a living” by committing petty crimes and turning tricks. Eventually, she hits the big time when she gets a job working with a big time thief, Emmett Perkins. Her job is to lure men into his illegal gambling parlor. Meanwhile, her husband has a drug addiction and is unemployed–leaving Barbara as the breadwinner. Eventually Perkins ends up becoming involved with criminals, John Santo and Bruce King. Barbara returns to Perkins’ establishment which is soon raided by the police. Barbara surrenders to the police for her involvement in the gambling ring, but soon learns that she is being accused in being complicit with Santo and King’s murder of a wealthy widow. Barbara tries to give her alibi, saying that she was home with her husband and son, but her husband has skipped town. Unless he can be found, Barbara is toast. This was such an amazing film. I know that there was controversy regarding how Barbara Graham was portrayed in the film, versus the real life events. I can’t comment on that; but what I can say is that real facts or not, this was a great movie.

#14 Suspense (1946) I went into this film noir not knowing entirely what to expect. It starred Barry Sullivan whom I like and Albert Dekker who always turns in a good performance. Sullivan and Dekker’s co-star was British figure skater, Belita. Often when athletes are put into films, especially athletes whose sport is exploited on screen, the results can vary drastically–especially if the athlete has limited acting talent. Sometimes this is good, such as the case with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan series. Other times, it can be limiting like is the case with Belita in another film of hers that I’ve seen. However, in this film, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not saying Belita was amazing; but she was asked to play a figure skater, and Belita delivers on that front. In this film, Sullivan plays schemer, Joe Morgan, a newcomer to New York City who ends up taking a job at a theater as a peanut vendor. Belita plays the star performer, figure skater, Roberta. Albert Dekker plays Leonard, the owner of the theater and Roberta’s husband. Joe ends up suggesting a new act for Roberta, which revitalizes the show–as a reward he is made a manager. When Leonard leaves for a business trip, he puts Joe in charge. Joe and Roberta end up striking up a romance which Leonard soon discovers. This was a fantastic film. I actually was in suspense and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

#15 The China Syndrome (1979) This was another 1970s thriller that I watched which I really enjoyed. In this film, Jane Fonda plays television reporter, Kimberly Wells, who keeps getting stuck with the fluff stories during the local news segments. There is chauvinism present at the station, as it is thought that she couldn’t possibly handle a serious story. Her cameraman is the hot-tempered Richard Adams (Michael Douglas). One day, Kimberly and Richard end up getting a plum gig: doing a report from the Ventana, CA nuclear power plant. While visiting, they witness a malfunction in the nuclear power plant turbine operation and emergency shutdown protocol. Richard, despite being asked not to film, covertly records the entire incident. The incident is played off as not a big deal, but it becomes clear that the plant was thisclose to a meltdown. Jack Lemmon gives a fantastic performance as Jack Godell, the supervisor of the plant. Wilford Brimley was also excellent as the long-time employee, Ted Spindler, who battles with knowing what is right and his resentment over being passed up for promotion opportunities. I loved this movie. This isn’t normally my type of thing, but as a fan of 1970s thrillers and Fonda and Lemmon, I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. I was captivated from beginning to end and I especially loved Lemmon’s performance in the second half of this movie.

Honorable Mentions:

1. A Cry in the Night (1956). Raymond Burr, Natalie Wood, Edmond O’Brien.
2. Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018). A fabulous documentary on HBO Max.
3. The Caine Mutiny (1954). Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, Jose Ferrer.
4. Once a Thief (1965). Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin.
5. Walk on the Wild Side (1962). Laurence Harvey, Jane Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Anne Baxter, Capucine.
6. Moonrise (1948). Dane Clark, Lloyd Bridges, Gail Patrick.
7. The Glass Wall (1953). Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame.
8. The Big Combo (1955). Richard Conte, Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace.
9. Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021) The Great Gonzo, Pepe, Will Arnett.
10. Die Hard (1988) Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson.
11. Confession (1937) Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter.
12. Three Days of the Condor (1975) Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Cliff Robertson.
13. I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955) Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert.
14. Possessed (1947) Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey
15. The Circus (1928) Charlie Chaplin.

Agnes Moorehead Blogathon- “The Magnificent Aunt Fanny”

Agnes Moorehead isn’t considered a “great beauty.” I’ve always thought she was pretty. She had a unique beauty and I mean that in the best possible way.

Today, Agnes Moorehead is best known as Endora, Elizabeth Montgomery’s mother on the 1960s television sitcom, Bewitched. However, while Agnes is amazing as Endora, especially when terrorizing “Durwood,” she is so much more than Endora (even though she’s amazing and one of the best characters in the show). Agnes had already completed dozens of films prior to her turn on the small screen. She was also nominated for four Academy Awards. Unfortunately, she did not win any of her nominations. In my opinion, Agnes should have won for her turn as “Aunt Fanny” in Orson Welles’ 1942 film, The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), or as I prefer to call it: The Magnificent Aunt Fanny.

In the late 1930s, Agnes Moorehead joined Orson Welles’ stock company, The Mercury Theater. One of her fellow players was Joseph Cotten. Both Moorehead and Cotten would appear in Welles’ first film, Citizen Kane (1941) and they both star in his second film, The Magnificent Ambersons. ‘Ambersons’ is notorious for the hack-job that RKO did on the film during editing. Welles was out of the country working on another project. RKO removed over 40 minutes of footage from Welles’ original cut and also re-shot the ending. The studio changed the ending to a happier ending, one that matches the original novel on which the film is based.

Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead

While the final cut of ‘Ambersons’ is not what Welles envisioned, there is no doubt that Agnes Moorehead was a brilliant and gifted actress. Her characterization of Aunt Fanny is fantastic. Aunt Fanny is a jealous, but tortured woman. She might be the most sympathetic character in the entire film. It is not an easy feat to play someone who is jealous and bitter, yet vulnerable and tragic. This is a woman who has loved and lost without ever having love reciprocated. Can you really lose what you never had? The tragedy of it all is that Aunt Fanny held onto a false dream that she’d be with Eugene (Joseph Cotten) someday. Now, she’s alone without seemingly any prospects. She’s let her entire life pass her by.

Throughout the entire film, Aunt Fanny and George (Tim Holt) are foes and allies. At the beginning of the film, George and Aunt Fanny quarrel over Mr. Minafer’s (George’s father, Fanny’s brother) reluctance to take a ride on Eugene’s new-fangled contraption, “the horseless carriage.” From their whisper argument, it becomes clear that Aunt Fanny is holding a torch for Eugene. Eugene, on the other hand, is holding a torch for Isabel (Dolores Costello), George’s mother and Fanny’s sister-in-law. It seems that Eugene and Isabel used to date in their youth until he embarasses her in public and she rejects him publicly. Isabel married Wilbur Amberson, a man whom she does not love. Together Wilbur and Isabel raise spoiled brat George.

After Wilbur’s death, George and Aunt Fanny remain allies throughout the film–especially when discussing Eugene and Isabel’s budding relationship. George doesn’t approve of Eugene and is embarrassed by Eugene’s affection towards his mother. At first, Aunt Fanny claims that nobody knows about Eugene and Isabel, but lets it slip that there is town gossip. Then, George discovers that Isabel and Eugene were involved prior to his birth. He is horrified. He makes a jackass out of himself to one of the neighbors and town gossips when he demands to know where these stories about his mother originated. Aunt Fanny continues to play both sides, at times supporting Eugene and Isabel and opposing George; but also struggling with her desire to be with Eugene.

George! You do not touch Aunt Fanny!

I just want to reiterate how much George sucks. George Amberson is one of the biggest spoiled brats in movies. He has no business trying to meddle in his mother’s affairs. He is such a whiner in this film.

At least he gets his comeuppance in the film. He deserved it.

Aunt Fanny, this poor woman, has such bleak prospects in her life. She’s a lonely spinster, having lost (but never having had him in the first place) the only man she’s ever loved. Her only family, Wilbur, has died. He didn’t leave much of an estate, but did leave Fanny his insurance payout. The only blood family she has is stupid George, who belittles and mocks her endlessly. She is still acquainted with Isabel and Jack, but without Wilbur, she’s not really connected to them any more. Then, the only man she’s ever loved, Eugene, wants to be with another woman. Eugene is friendly with Aunt Fanny, but appears to only think of her as Isabel’s family, the kindly spinster Aunt.

“You wouldn’t treat anybody in the world like this, except Old Fanny! ‘Old Fanny’ you say, ‘It’s nobody but old Fanny, so I’ll kick her. Nobody’ll resent it. I’ll kick her all I want to!’ And you’re right. I haven’t got anything in the world since my brother died. Nobody. Nothing!”

Aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead), “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942)

Aunt Fanny, at the end of her rope

Finally, all the stress, anxieties, depression, the whole gamut of Aunt Fanny’s emotions comes to head when she has to reveal to George that her bad investments have left her and by proxy, George, penniless. George’s prospective $8/week lawyer job suddenly doesn’t look so great when he figures that they’ll need approximately $100/month to live on. Aunt Fanny’s bank ledger shows a balance of $28. Of course, being George, instead of giving Fanny some sympathy, continues to press and needle until she’s a hysterical, blubbering mess on the floor, leaning against the radiator. One gets the sense that George is more embarrassed by Aunt Fanny’s behavior than he is that she’s broke and by proxy, so is he. Aunt Fanny has reached absolute rock bottom. Not only is she alone and without Eugene. Now she doesn’t even have any money. She’s lost her only means of support. She’s lost the storied Amberson home. She’s lost everything due to her bad investments.

(George warns Aunt Fanny about leaning against the supposed hot radiator) “It’s not hot. It’s cold! The plumbers’ disconnected it. I wouldn’t mind if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t mind if it burned me George!”

Aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead), “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942)

At the end of the film, when things seem the bleakest for Aunt Fanny, George finally does something admirable. Probably the only nice thing he has ever done in his entire life. After Aunt Fanny finds a boarding house that she’d like to live in, mostly due to the sense of community and friendship amongst the other boarders, he decides to find a higher paying job so that he can help Aunt Fanny. Things are looking up for Aunt Fanny when the twice-widowed Eugene shows up at George’s bedside (where Fanny is sitting after George’s accident) and promises to look out for both her and George, as a tribute to his late wife Isabel.

While Eugene and Aunt Fanny may not end up a romantic couple, one cannot help but feel happy for Aunt Fanny after all that she’s gone through. She may have seemed jealous and bitter, but in the end, she was just a lonely woman who desperately wanted to be with somebody and take care of them.

Aunt Fanny 20 years from now if things don’t work out with Eugene?

Happy National Classic Movie Day!

Once again I’ve fallen off the posting train.  I need to make it more of a habit, but I struggle to find time.  Then, I had trouble with my WordPress account and I couldn’t post.  I finally got that fixed.  I didn’t want to miss posting on National Classic Movie Day.  I also plan to post about the late, great Doris Day soon.

For this year’s National Classic Movie Day, the Classic Film and TV Cafe are asking participants to post his or her top 5 favorite films from the 1950s.

Without further adieu, here are mine:

The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

This is my absolute favorite movie of all time.  I have probably seen it a hundred times (no exaggeration). I’m a big fan of I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball.  The Long, Long Trailer is basically a 90-minute I Love Lucy episode.  Ball and Desi Arnaz’ (aka Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy) character’s first names in ‘Trailer’ are very similar to those of their Ricardo counterparts– Tacy and Nicky, respectively.  This MGM comedy is hilarious and I never tire of it, even though I’m at the point where I can recite the dialogue.  Quotes from this film regularly make it into everyday conversations I have with friends and family (only those who have seen this film of course).  My favorite quote to use, while driving, is “Turn right here, left.”

The Long, Long Trailer tells the story of Tacy and Nicky Collini, newlyweds who are embarking on a road-trip for their honeymoon: Los Angeles to Colorado.  The Collinis decide to purchase a 40′ New Moon trailer for their journey.  The film depicts the Collinis trying to handle trailer life and all the trials and tribulations that come with it: noisy trailer parks, parking on uneven surfaces, getting stuck in the mud, spending the night on a noisy highway, weight limits, cooking, parking, backing in, and more.  Will the newlyweds’ marriage survive the trip?

My favorite part of the movie is when Tacy and Nicky decide to go off-roading and end up stuck in the mud.  The trailer is all whopperjawed. Tacy and Nicky get through dinner and go to bed.  Nicky is on the downhill side.  He has no issues getting into bed.  Tacy on the other hand, is on the uphill side and can’t stay in bed.  One may ask why she doesn’t make her husband move over and she can share his bed.  Well that would be the logical solution, but since this is Lucy, that isn’t going to happen.  After a couple of feeble attempts to get into bed, the jack holding the trailer up (kind of) collapses in the mud and Tacy goes flying out the door.  Nicky, awoken by his wife’s blood-curdling scream, comes to the door and says: “What’s the matter honey? Can’t you sleep?”  While sitting in a 5′ deep mud puddle, Tacy gives him a look that could only convey “[expletive] you.”

Gidget (1959)

I’ve mentioned Gidget many times on this blog, but it’s worth mentioning again.  I love this movie.  I’ve seen it dozens of times and I never tire of it.  Sandra Dee is adorable.  James Darren is hunky.  The story is relatable. Gidget was the start of the 1950s-1960s teen surf movie craze and I’m all in for teen surf movies.  Of all the teen surf movies (the ‘Beach Party’ films, For Those Who Think Young, Gidget Goes Hawaiian, etc.) the original Gidget film is the best.

In this coming of age story, Sandra Dee plays the titular character, Frances “Gidget” Lawrence, a seventeen year old tomboy who is uneasy about her girlfriends’ new hobby: manhunting.  Frances is more interested in snorkeling than finding a boyfriend.  Her friends on the other hand, act like they’ll be old maids if they aren’t “pinned” by the end of the summer aka the beginning of their senior year of high school.  The girls (except Frances) try posturing and flaunting themselves in front of a group of male surfers, but fail to catch their attention.  Frances clumsily tries to play along, but gets frustrated and goes snorkeling instead.  Her friends ditch her.  Frances, swimming in the ocean, gets stuck in kelp.

In the first of a couple kelp episodes, Frances is saved by one of the surfer boys, “Moondoggie,” played by James Darren.  Frances is infatuated with him from the get-go.  And frankly, who wouldn’t be? Frances is nicknamed “Gidget” by the boys (a portmanteau of “girl” and “midget”).  She also takes an interest in surfing and is soon hanging out with the boys everyday.  Her surfing skills steadily improve and pretty soon, she’s good enough to really “hang” with the boys.  Throughout all the surfing scenes, Gidget and Moondoggie grow closer, culminating with a kiss at the luau.  However, Gidget’s awkwardness threatens to keep them apart.

My favorite part of this film is probably Moondoggie serenading Gidget at the luau and planting the kiss on her.  I also love the scene with the fight at Kahuna’s beach shack and the elderly neighbor’s witness statement to the police: “When I saw that other one (Moondoggie) run in there (the beach shack). I knew there’d be trouble. I can spot trouble through a crack in the blinds.”

All About Eve (1950)

One of the best known classics in Hollywood, I never tire of this film.  The cast.  The dialogue.  The story.  Everything about this film is perfect–except Thelma Ritter’s abrupt exit during the first half of the film.  What happened to Birdie? She went to get the guest’s coat and never came back! This story is timeless, even in real life.  No matter how great and indispensable you think you may be, there’s always someone waiting in the wings who is better than you are.

All About Eve begins at the Sarah Siddons Award ceremony.  Rising star Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is slated to receive the prestigious Sarah Siddons award, the highest honor given to persons in the theater community.  As acerbic critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) introduces the cast of characters, us as the audience knows that there is a story behind Eve’s rise to stardom.  Huge star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) looks like she wants to shoot Eve.  The playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and director Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill) of Eve’s award-winning play do not look proud or happy in the slightest.  Lloyd’s wife, Karen (Celeste Holm) takes over the narration and lets the audience in on the true story about Eve Harrington.

On a rainy night, after another performance of Margo’s hit play, “Aged in Wood,” Karen comes across Eve, a young woman she’s repeatedly spotted waiting outside the backstage exit.  Thinking she’s doing the young woman a favor, Karen invites the young woman inside to meet her idol, Margo Channing.  Little does Karen know what lurks ahead.  As the story progresses, we see Eve slowly insinuate herself into Margo’s personal and professional life.  Perhaps this is why Birdie disappears! Eve’s goal is to star in Lloyd’s next play, Footsteps on the Ceiling.

What I love about this film is how slowly Eve’s scheme unfolds.  It is not obvious that Eve is taking over Margo’s life.  It’s only through the music, Birdie’s “I told you so” face, and Margo’s growing frustration that we figure out what Eve is doing.  As Eve gets away with more and more, the more brazen she becomes–such as calling Lloyd to her apartment in the middle of the night.  My favorite part of the film is Addison’s take-down of Eve and Eve’s comeuppance at the end when she meets #1 fan, Phoebe (Barbara Bates).

Pillow Talk (1959)

Starring the recently departed Doris Day, this film is her first of three films with co-star Rock Hudson.  Of their three films together, the others being Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964), Pillow Talk is my favorite.  I love the catchy theme song, Doris and Rock’s undeniable chemistry, Tony Randall, and Doris’ gorgeous wardrobe.  The film is funny, romantic and a little sexy.

In Pillow Talk, Doris stars as Jan Morrow, an interior decorator.  She’s a successful career woman who’s driven up the wall by the romantic escapades of her party line partner Brad Allen, played by Rock Hudson.  Tony Randall portrays Jonathan Forbes, a mutual friend of Jan and Brad’s.  Jan and Brad bicker constantly on the party line.  Jan tries to offer a compromise over the use of the line, but Brad is unwilling to participate.  Jan ends up (unsuccessfully) filing a complaint against Brad with the phone company.

One night, Brad and Jan just happen to be at the same nightclub.  Brad sees her and learns her name, figuring out that she’s the one who he bickers with on the party line.  He concocts the fake persona of “Rex Stetson” a Texas cattle rancher.  Using a Texas drawl, Rex successfully picks up Jan and takes her home.  Soon they are seeing each other regularly.  Jan finds herself falling for “Rex.”  Brad/Rex finds himself falling for Jan.

My favorite part of this film is watching 6’5 Rock Hudson try to squeeze himself into a tiny sports car, Jan’s maid Alma (Thelma Ritter) drinking Hudson under the table, and every scene with Tony Randall.  He is hilarious.  Pillow Talk set the pace for the sexy 1960s sex comedies.  Watch 2003’s Down With Love (with Renee Zelwegger and Ewan McGregor) for a fun send-up of Pillow Talk and the other sex comedy tropes.

Rear Window (1954)

This is my favorite Hitchock film.  Everything about this film is fantastic: the story, the dialogue, the cast, the sets, everything.  I absolutely love the set of this film.  Hitchcock’s courtyard set is amazing.  The attention to detail is fantastic.  I love how the other neighbors all have storylines, even though they never set foot in James Stewart’s apartment.  Miss Torso, Miss Lonelyhearts, The Songwriter, all the neighbors are fantastic.  The only fault in this film is the cheesy way the ending looks, but I’ll chalk that up to 1950s technology.

In Rear Window, James Stewart plays photographer LB “Jeff” Jeffries, who is homebound after breaking his leg.  He is bored and spends most of his days watching the goings on of his neighbors in the courtyard.  He devises names for the neighbors and keeps up on their lives.  One neighbor in particular, Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), catches his attention.  It seems that Thorwald had an invalid wife, until all of a sudden, he didn’t. Curious about what happened to Mrs. Thorwald, Jeff begins watching him more intently with a large telephoto lens.

Jeff sees Thorwald engaged in all kinds of suspicious activity and is determined that he was behind his wife’s disappearance.  Using his binoculars and camera lenses, Jeff basically engages in a stakeout.  Throughout all his investigation work, Jeff’s girlfriend, Lisa Fremont, played by Grace Kelly, and his nurse Stella, played by Thelma Ritter come and go.  At first the ladies are dismissive of Jeff’s interest in Thorwald and his determination to prove him a murderer.  However, after seeing Thorwald’s behavior first-hand, the ladies are hooked and soon join Jeff in his stakeout.  Lisa and Stella become further involved in Jeff’s independent investigation when they leave the apartment to gather evidence from Thorwald’s garden and home.

My favorite part of this film is the scene with Jeff, Lisa and Stella watching Thorwald scrub his walls.  “Must’ve splattered a lot,” Stella says matter of factly.  Lisa and Jeff look at her disgusted.  She then defends her position, saying “Come on. That’s what we’re all thinkin’. He killed her in there, now he has to clean up those stains before he leaves.” I also love Grace Kelly’s wardrobe.  If there was ever an actress who epitomized Hollywood glamor, it’s Grace Kelly.

 

Villain Blogathon–Eve Harrington, “All About Eve” (1950)

All About Eve, the showbiz drama to end all showbiz dramas, starts in the present time at an annual theater award banquet.  Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), the evening’s recipient of the most prestigious award–The Sarah Siddons Award (for distinguished achievement), is set to take the stage.   The evening seems like a pleasant affair, but the narrator Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), quickly informs us that all is not what it seems.  As Eve ascends the steps and is about to take the award from the presenter, the picture freezes.  In a knowing and almost sarcastic tone, we are advised that we will “learn all about Eve” shortly.  The film quickly segues into a flashback, where we, as the viewer, assume that we will be taken on a journey to find out how Eve earned herself the prized Sarah Siddons Award trophy.  When I first saw this film, I knew that Eve had to have done something scandalous or nefarious to get there–and if you’re like me, this premonition will only hook you into wanting to take the ride to learn ALL ABOUT EVE.

Eve accepts the Sarah Siddons Award

Trust me.  It’s worth it.  That Eve is a real piece of work.

We first meet Eve outside of a theater on a dreary evening in New York City.  It is pouring outside and Eve, wearing a raincoat and bucket hat is huddled next to one of the side doors.  She has just come from seeing her idol, Margo Channing (Bette Davis), perform in her latest play, “Aged in Wood.”  Karen Richards (Celeste Holm), a friend of Margo’s and wife of the play’s author, Lloyd (Hugh Marlowe), spots Eve outside.  Karen remarks to Eve that she’s seen her outside of the theater every evening after a performance.  Eve (who at this point seems like a genuine, starstruck young woman), comments that she loves Margo Channing and has seen every performance of this play.  She even remarks that she’d first seen Margo perform in San Francisco, where she became an instant fan.  Karen invites Eve inside to meet her idol.

The wheels are in motion…

Inside the theater, we meet Margo and all of her other theater friends and colleagues.  Aside from Karen and husband Lloyd, there’s Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill) (Margo’s boyfriend and director of the play) and Margo’s assistant Birdie (Thelma Ritter) (also a former vaudevillian).  They’re laughing about an interview Margo gave and Karen introduces Eve to Margo and appeases to her ego by gushing over her.  After prompting her to tell the group how she found Margo and ended up in New York City, Eve gives her first of many excellent performances.  Eve tells a sob story about how she came from Milwaukee, WI and worked in a dead end career as a secretary in a brewery.

Eve the starstruck fan, meets her idol, Margo Channing.

EVE: “When you’re a secretary in a brewery, it’s pretty hard to make believe you’re anything else.”

She then discusses how she dabbled in theater in her town, but of course, Eve with her fake humility, says she was awful.  It was at this theater where she met “Eddie” who was a radio technician, but was also in the Air Force.  Then Eddie was sent into combat when “The War” came.  Eve went back to work at the brewery and lived for Eddie’s once a week letters.  She saved her vacation time and money to be able to meet Eddie in San Francisco for a vacation.  Eddie never showed up.  He was killed in combat.  Now in San Francisco, Eve decided to look stay in town and look for work.  One night, Margo Channing came to town to perform “Remembrance” at the Shubert Theater, which Eve attended, and ultimately led to her following Margo back to New York and brings us to the current events.  The group is sympathetic to Eve’s story and instantly feel compassionate toward her plight.  The only person who is not convinced is Birdie.

BIRDIE: “What a story! Everything but the bloodhounds snappin’ at her rear end”

After accompanying Margo and Bill to the airport so he can catch his flight to Hollywood, Eve ends up being invited to live in Margo’s home and work as her assistant.  For awhile, Eve dotes on Margo and Margo is in bliss.  However, Eve has an ulterior motive.  By taking care of Margo and all her affairs for a few weeks, she can learn all there is to learn about Margo Channing and her friends and colleagues.   At the theater, Margo catches Eve on the theater stage, modeling Margo’s costume and pretending to bow and accept applause from an invisible audience.  When Eve realizes that she’s been caught, she has a look of terror on her face, but Margo chalks up Eve’s reaction to embarrassment and assumes that Eve’s actions are those of a wannabe theater actress.

Later that evening, Margo receives a phone call at 3:00AM.  Apparently, she had placed a call from New York to California at 12AM (Pacific Time) to wish Bill a Happy Birthday.   Margo assumes that Eve placed the call on her behalf.  It is apparent that Margo is confused and not sure if Eve’s intentions were pure or if there was some underlying motive. The next morning, Margo and Birdie discuss Eve and Birdie’s instinctive dislike of her.

Birdie is suspicious of Eve’s true intentions

MARGO: She (Eve) thinks only of me, doesn’t she?

BIRDIE: Well let’s say she thinks only about you, anyway.

MARGO: How do you mean that?

BIRDIE: I’ll tell you how: like…like she’s studying you, like you was a play or a book or a set of blueprints–how you walk, talk, eat, think, sleep…

MARGO: I’m sure that’s flattering.  There’s nothing wrong with it.

Margo asks Eve about the phone call.  Eve admits that she forgot to tell Margo about the phone call.  She then nonchalantly mentions that she also sent a telegram to Bill for his birthday and smirks as she leaves and closes the door. The musical score then pops in with its wonderful shrieking violins and loud crescendos.  This music is a continual theme and is heard throughout the film each time Eve does something else nefarious.

From this point on, Eve’s behavior just gets more brazen as she works to take over Margo’s career.  Some of the things she does:

• Eve finds out Margo’s understudy is pregnant and under the guise of humility, manages to manipulate Karen into asking Max into giving the role of Margo’s understudy to her.
• Margo arrives late for an audition with another Addison DeWitt protegee, Miss Caswell (Marilyn Monroe).  Eve, Margo’s understudy, auditions with Miss Caswell instead.  She gives a brilliant performance (according to Addison).  Later, after Margo feuds with Lloyd about Eve (and Lloyd vents to Karen), Karen decides to play a joke on Margo to teach her a lesson and cause her to miss a performance (and help out Eve at the same time).  This will later backfire on Karen big time.
• Eve goes on stage in Margo’s place and wins rave reviews. Just by “sheer coincidence,” Addison and all the other top theater critics in town just happened to be in the audience when Eve made her stage debut. Hmm.  Isn’t that curious?
• Having taken over Margo’s role, Eve tries to take over Margo’s boyfriend Bill,  the director of “Footsteps on the Ceiling.”  It doesn’t work.  “Just score it as an incomplete forward pass,” he tells her.  From here on, Bill is suspicious of Eve.  Addison also witnesses Eve’s attempt to seduce Bill.
• Eve then has a friend call Lloyd in the middle of the night to tell him that Eve is having some sort of emotional breakdown and that he needs to come over right away.  He comes to her hotel.  Eve then presents this as Lloyd leaving Karen in the middle of the night and coming to her.  She is convinced that she will marry Lloyd and he will write plays and she’ll star in them.
• Addison, under the pretense to find out more about Eve’s background, states that he is going to write a column about her.  Actually performing a fact-checking mission, Addison asks Eve about her backstory.  He also does end up writing a column about his interview with Eve where he (and Eve) tear Margo apart.
• Eve blackmails Karen into convincing Lloyd to give her the coveted role of Cora (the role written for Margo) in “Footsteps on the Ceiling.” Eve threatens to expose Karen’s scheme and how it caused Margo to miss the performance that allowed Eve to be “discovered.”

Addison and Eve–“champion to champion.”

Margo however, has the last laugh.  During Bill’s welcome home party, already feeling irritated and upset with Eve, Margo introduces Eve to Addison, the acerbic theater critic who writes very blunt and sometimes scathing newspaper columns about the theater world.  Margo knows that if there is anything to find out about Eve’s true intentions, Addison will find out.

At first Addison appears to have been taken in by Eve.  He takes her under his wing (along with Miss Caswell) as a protegee.  He’s present for her audition with Miss Caswell and he is present when Eve goes on in Margo’s place.  It is assumed that he probably helped to arrange for all the local critics to be present.  However, Addison catches on to Eve and works to expose her for the fraud and sociopath she really is (takes one to know one, right?).

Then comes one of the best, most delicious scenes in the film.  Eve, after all her backstabbing, lying, selfishness, etc.  is finally exposed for the fraud she is and Addison uses her manipulation tactics against her.  He exposes the fact that Eve didn’t leave Milwaukee willingly.  She was having an affair with the boss and the boss’ wife had her husband followed by detectives.  Eve and the boss’ affair wasn’t proven–but she was given $500 to get out of town.  She never went to San Francisco.  She used the $500 to go to New York.  There was no Eddie.  No Shubert Theater (it doesn’t even exist in San Francisco!).  He exposes her real name.  It’s not Eve.  It’s Gertrude.  She has parents whom she hasn’t seen or talked to for three years.

Then Addison delivers the gut punch:

ADDISON: “That I should want you at all suddenly strikes me as the height of improbability.  But that, in itself, is probably the reason.  You’re an improbable person Eve and so am I.  We have that in common. Also a contempt for humanity, an inability to love or be loved, insatiable ambition–and talent.  We deserve each other.”

Addison blackmails Eve and states that she now belongs to him.  She has no choice but to acquiesce, otherwise, she’ll lose the theater career she worked so hard for (worked hard in a different way, but it was probably hard work nonetheless).

Bette Davis, in that inimitable Bette Davis way, rips Anne Baxter a new one.

Back in the present day, the screen unfreezes, and Eve accepts her award.  She gives some fake praise to her “friends” and colleagues thanking them for helping her get the Sarah Siddons Award.  After the ceremony, Margo gives Eve a pretty good burn and pretty much tells her exactly what she thinks of her.  This is also one of my favorite parts of the movie.

MARGO: “Nice speech, Eve.  But I wouldn’t worry too much about your heart.  You can always put that award where your heart ought to be.”

Yikes.  You go, Margo.

Finally, it’s karma’s turn.

Eve returns home from the ceremony to discover a young girl asleep in her room.  The girl wakes, introduces herself as “Phoebe,” and informs Eve that she’s president of the “Eve Harrington Fan Club” at her high school.  She idolizes Eve and wants to be a theater actress.  Hmm… sound familiar? Phoebe continues to appeal to Eve’s ego and soon finds herself working as Eve’s assistant in the hotel room.  Hmm… Addison quickly stops by to bring Eve back her award that she left in the back of the limo.  Eve has Phoebe answer the door.

ADDISON (to Phoebe): “Hello there. Who are you?”

PHOEBE: “Miss Harrington’s resting, Mr. DeWitt. She asked me to see who it was.”

ADDISON: “We won’t disturb her rest. It seems she left her award in the taxicab. Will you give it to her?”

(Phoebe holds the award and looks at it with the awe of a stage struck fan girl.  Addison knows this look)

ADDISON: “How do you know my name?”

PHOEBE: “It’s a very famous name, Mr. DeWitt.”

ADDISON: “And what is your name?”

PHOEBE: “Phoebe.”

ADDISON: “Phoebe?”

PHOEBE: “I call myself Phoebe.”

ADDISON: “Why not? Tell me Phoebe, do you want some day to have an award like that of your own?”

PHOEBE: “More than anything else in the world”

ADDISON: “Then you must ask Mrs. Harrington how to get one.  Miss Harrington knows all about it.”

(Addison closes the door with a smirk on his face, knowing the fate that awaits Eve).

Game. Set. Match.

Phoebe takes Eve’s award to the bedroom to pack it in Eve’s trunk (per Eve’s request) and spots Eve’s rhinestone studded cape draped across the trunk.  She puts it on, grabs the award and practices accepting the award in Eve’s three-way mirror.  In the closing scene, the mirror’s reflection shows a bunch of Phoebes.  This is a very effective scene and provides the film’s motif: “There is always someone smarter, more attractive, funnier, etc. waiting in the wings.”

There’s always someone waiting in the wings–entering Phoebe!

Unrelated to Eve:

What happens to Birdie? She goes to deliver the sable coat to the owner and never returns.  One can assume that perhaps Eve was so efficient that Birdie wasn’t needed and lost her position.  However, she appears to have been a good friend of Margo’s, so that seems unlikely.  Thelma Ritter, where did you go?

The last time we ever see Birdie