January 12, 2006
The best screenplay ever written for a motion picture (in our opinion) was the Joseph L. Mankiewicz masterpiece, "All About Eve." The film starred Bette Davis as theatrical diva, Margo Channing. Opposite Davis was Ann Baxter as Eve Harrington, the wolf-in-sheep's clothing who takes advantage of Margo's confidence in order to further her own selfish ambitions. Gary Merrill played Margo's love interest, Bill Sampson and Celeste Holm portrayed Karen Richards, wife of playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and Margo's best friend. George Sanders was Addison deWitt, a meddlesome gossip columnist whose venomous pen incites havoc among the central characters.

The film won the Best Picture Oscar for 1950. Mankiewicz also won for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and George Sanders got the prize as Best Supporting Actor. All in all, "All About Eve" won 6 Oscars out of a total of 14 nominations, the most nominations in history at that time.

A number of years ago, Barbra Streisand briefly mentioned a passing interest in playing the part of Margo Channing in a possible musical film adaptation of this classic story. Though we have yet to see this delicious project move beyond the Hollywood rumor mill, we thought we'd propose our own dream cast for a Streisand musical vehicle, just in case anybody's listening.

Dream Cast   Original Cast Barbra Streisand Margo Channing "We're all busy little bees, full of stings, making honey, day and night. Aren't we, honey?" Bette Davis Jennifer Lopez Eve Harrington "I'll give you some pleasant news. I've been told off in no uncertain terms all over town." Anne Baxter Ewan McGregor Bill Sampson "Outside of a beehive, Margo, your behavior would hardly be considered either queenly or motherly." Gary Merrill Bernadette Peters Karen Richards "...to speak to just a playwright's wife? I'm the lowest form of celebrity."   Celeste Holm Tom Hanks Lloyd Richards "It's about time the piano realized it has not written the concerto." Hugh Marlow Hank Azaria Addison deWitt "Dear Margo, you were an unforgettable 'Peter Pan.' You must play it again, soon." George Sanders Paris Hilton Miss Caswell "Why do they always look like unhappy rabbits?" Marilyn Monroe Wanda Sykes Birdie Coonan "We now got everything a dressing room needs, except a basketball hoop." Thelma Ritter Patrick Stewart Max Fabian "She loves me like a father. Also, she's loaded." Gregory Ratoff Anne Hathaway Phoebe "You know the Eve Harrington clubs...ours was one of the first. Erasmus Hall. I'm the president." Barbara Bates James Brolin Master of Ceremonies "Surely no actor is older than I. I've earned my place, out of the sun." Walter Hampden