All About Eve hits a number of landmarks. It’s the first Best Picture winner to be primarily about women, it received an unprecedented 14 Oscar nominations, and well, watch my review to find out the rest. It stars Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, and George Sanders. It’s directed and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It’s the Best Picture winner of 1950. It’s a tale of the theater like no other. It’s All About Eve.
It took a while, but we finally reached the end of the 1940s. I’m thankful to say the decade is ending on a good, I might even say fantastic, note. It’s a political drama directed and written by Robert Rossen and starring Broderick Crawford in a role that won him an Oscar for Best Actor. Supposedly based on the life of Louisiana politician Huey Long, All the King’s Men (1949) tells the story of Willie Stark, an idealistic man turned corrupt when he becomes Governor of an unnamed U.S. state. It’s a harsh, hard hitting story that still hits all the right notes, remaining just as relevant as ever. Also nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for John Ireland, Best Supporting Actress for radio veteran but film newcomer Mercedes McCambridge (who ended up taking home the award), and Best Editing for Robert Parrish and Al Clark, this is the Best Picture of 1949.
The first and so far only Shakespeare film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Hamlet (1948) was Sir Laurence Olivier’s second Shakespeare film as director. It landed him a Best Director nomination and won him his only acting Oscar. Also nominated for Best Score and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Jean Simmons, Hamlet took home four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Costume Design for a Black and White film, and Best Art Direction for a Black and White film. Beating out Johnny Belinda, The Red Shoes, The Snake Pit, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, this is the Best Picture of 1948.
