1. All About Eve (1950), Director - Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Our first film has set the bar high - All about Eve, a classic about the world of theatre’s allure and potential for destruction - which suits us both as lovers of the theatre.

The film opens with an awards ceremony for rising star Eve Harrington. While the award is being presented, we are met by the wonderfully smooth voice of Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) narrating and introducing us to the characters sat around a table in the audience - Margo, Karen, Bill, Lloyd and Max - before we meet Eve. When she receives her award, she is greeted with applause, except by two of our company.

The characters take turns to narrate the story of Eve’s rise to prominence from the first meeting between Eve and Margo Channing, an idol of the stage who takes Eve under her wing, through to the awards ceremony.

All about Eve is a film that is still relevant today, with a script of high quality (with epic lines such as "Fasten your seat belts - it's going to be a bumpy night"), superb acting performances and a plot twist - that did not come as such a surprise to this cynical audience in the 2010s, but was still very entertaining to watch. Bette Davis, playing actress Margo Channing, is just amazing through her voice, physicality, vulnerability and strength; George Sanders’ (who you may know as the voice of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book) Addison DeWitt, is a superb Machiavellian theatre critic weaving evil plans; and obviously, Anne Baxter, as the title role of Eve, plays out a wide register with a honey sweet voice. In general, all the roles are well acted, yet above all, it is the relationships that make the film. It was funny to hear, when Paula read the trivia on imdb.com, that Margo and Karen in the film are best friends, when in reality, Bette Davis and Celeste Holm did not get along, at all.

For a film from the ‘50s they manage even to keep the roles free from overly obnoxious gender patterns - they also pass the Bechdel Test with flying colours, especially since everyone is talking about Eve more or less all of the time. But with three women in the lead roles, it is perhaps not surprising that they manage to show women as individuals that behave in different ways, who are strong, weak, angry, seductive, sad, mad and funny.

It is a slick movie with distinctive costumes and scenography. A strong film, which has stood the test of time for 65 years, and should certainly continue to do so.

Does it make it into the cupboard? Yes!

Our next post will be up on Sunday 3rd of January around 3 pm Swedish time.