6) All About Eve
All About Eve is part comedy, part thriller, and all woman: literally. The film is filled with women, with the men playing secondary roles to the complex, loving, hilarious, and back-stabbing relationships between women.
Margo (Bette Davis) is a star of the stage with a dashing (if occasionally boring) boyfriend Bob, a best friend Karen (Celeste Holm), and a new assistant named Eve (Anne Baxter). As Eve becomes more and more essential to Margo’s life, it soon becomes apparent that the younger woman is out to replace Margo in every way, using the older actress’s name as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.
While the central conflict in All About Eve is between Eve and Margo, the number of awesome women in this film is truly boggling. All different types too, from the avaricious Eve to the smartass Karen and Margo, down to pretty (but dumb) Miss Casswell (Marilyn Monroe) and Margo’s caustic dresser Birdie (Thelma Ritter).
The ladies own this film from the word go, with the only male competition coming in the form of Addison Dewitt (George Sanders), who vies with Margo for cattiest character.
Seriously, it’s a delight to watch.
