"All In A Day's Work"

Entertainment Weekly is always up and about making lists, and I always end up having severe issues with them. Their most recent is one on the best films that occur within 24 hours. They've got some fine choices there (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, America Graffiti) but they really missed the ball on some rather obvious choices. So, I've done my duty to make my own list - my top 5 films that occur in a day. I'm not ranking them on merit, but on how well they incorporate the one day theme...

#5 - Picnic (my review)

I don't particularly grudge them for not including this on the list, it's not really a popular film. Still, it's a favourite of mine somewhat. In Picnic Hal (played by William Holden) - a good-looking good-for-nothing shows up on the day of their Labour Day Picnic and rocks the town. It's based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by William Inge and features an ensemble cast with Kim Novak and Rosalind Russell. I suppose Picnic can get a little sentimental at times, but that's part of its appeal I think.

         
#4 - The Philadelphia Story (musings on Kate)

I suppose this doesn't really happen in a day, which could explain why this classic piece is missing from the list. It begins with a prologue and then flashes forward to the morning before Tracy Lord's (Katharine Hepburn) wedding. As the day unfolds she's torn between her fiancee, her ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a newsreporter (James Stewart). After a night of craziness she comes to the right decision in the morning. The film doesn't happen in a day, but it happens in 24 hours - so I say it's eligible. And this one's based on a play too...

             
#3 - Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (my review)

Trust Entertainment Weekly to ignore Liz Taylor at her sexiest. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who's trying to convince her husband to sleep with her while her father-in-law may (or may not) be dying and the vultures are gathering around in anticipation the will. It's a depressing film, but Tenneessee Williams excellent writing makes it very accessible and Taylor and Newman give some scintillating performances. Classic...and based on a classic piece of literature too.

     
#2 - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (my review)

It almost topped the list, and with good reason. It has its haters, but this film really makes excellent use of the one day plot point. Mr and Mrs Drayton (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are a white couple who love all races, but they're still somewhat surprised when their daughter Joey (Katherine Houghton) brings home a black man 14 years her senior hoping to get their blessings. The conondrum is that Dr. Prenticehas to leave tonight, so time is of the essence. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner isn't exactly perfection, but it is enjoyable, smart and classic.

        
#1 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (my review)

 

What an egregious snub. This film doesn't utilise the full 24 hour, it doesn't even use twelve. This one's based on a play too, incidentally. Martha and George are two sadists (Richard Burton and Liz Taylor). He's a college professor, she's his wife and the daughter of the dean. They may, or may not, have a child. They invite the new young professor and his wife (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) for a night of fun and games. We get games, but not so much fun. After seeing this you'll probably want to stay away from marriage and from liquor, I know I did.

                     

What have we learnt? Entertainment Weekly needs to get better list makers, I like way too many classics, and plays are the best source material for film. All in day's work.

All About Eve...and the Women...

I always feel a little bad for Anne Baxter. Sure, she won her (deserved) Oscar playing a sympathetic prostitute in The Razor’s Edge. But, few recall that film or her performance in it. She’s remembered today for her duplicitous Nefertiti in The Ten Commandments, and the like minded Eve Harrington in All About Eve. It suggests that she has little range, but that’s not true. The thing is the film is supposed to be all about Eve – but it isn’t. It’s a giant irony actually, since the film is really all about Margo. But I like to remember Anne Baxter though, because she’s just as important (and excellent) as Bette Davis. The thing is, I’ve never been overly fond of Ms. Davis. I’ll always appreciate her talent, but I’ve never found myself particularly enamoured with her. I’ve often preferred her less popular work (Now Voyager, The Letter) to her more admired (What Happened to Baby Jane, Jezebel). But I can firmly champion Margo Channing as her more ardent fans do, even if it’s still not my favourite of hers. Still, if Tracy Lords represents the fullest representation of our Lady Kate on screen then Margo Channing is most certainly the embodiment of diva-Bette. But, as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself. I should retrace my steps.

All About Eve is a story that’s not original, but not clichéd either. Margo Channing – a celebrated actress of the stage is realising that her career is waning. She is simultaneously accosted by an overzealous fan who seems (despite the ostensible) intent on replacing the great diva. That is the story – in a nutshell, and yet it doesn’t do justice to the excellence that is All About Eve. It's a film with everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end. Of course, any classic worth its weight depends particularly on the dialogue, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s writing in All About Eve is exceptional, but I don’t think of the writing of the lines when I remember All About Eve so much I think about the line readings. It’s not a conceit on my part to pinpoint each actor in All About Eve – particularly the women – as being at the top of their game (case in point, four of them were nominated for Oscars). But by pinpointing the women I fail to identify one of the most fully nuanced characters of the piece – Addison Meredith, played beautifully by George Sanders. The tagline for All About Eve reads “It’s all about women and their men.” I’m never sure that that is an accurate tagline, but for some reason I rarely recall the men in this show, it’s not that they don’t achieve their task but being caught up in the delicious machinations of the casts we often only remember the ladies (and George).

All About Eve is mostly remembered for its climatic part scene where Davis’ Margo drifts deeper into cynicism. It’s a rare and beautiful moment to see all those excellent actors together in one room literally playing off each other. A young Marilyn Monroe makes as appearance here as Miss Casswell and she as excellent. I’ve never been overly fond of her work, but as I’ve said before, she does wonders with a bit role here. It’s as we watch the tug-of-war between Margo and Eve that I come to appreciate the talents of both ladies. It really does seem to be a perfect match of protagonist and antagonist and it’s all really handled well, but if I were forced to give a favourite performance of the film (more nepotism, than talent based) I’d probably single out Celeste Holme. Celeste plays a friend to Margo who realises Eve’s duplicity too late. The role is a bit contrived but I just find Ms. Holme so mesmerising in it. It is her face (and narration) that takes us back to our first meeting with Eve, and for such a silly role she handles it with a surprising amount of grace. But, honestly, I wouldn’t pick between them. From Davis, to Baxter, from Sanders to Holme, even Ritter in a bit role and all those other performances from actors who's names have become lost in history (George Merrill, Hugh Marlowe).

All About Eve is a rarity, it cruises dangerously close to perfection...who knows? It even achieves it at times. Quotable lines, classic performances, smart direction. It sits comfortably at #18 on my list of favourite films. Slow curtain, the end.