Script To Screen: “All About Eve”

A scene from the 1950 movie All About Eve, written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and featuring one of the most famous lines of dialogue in movie history.

Plot Summary: An ingenue (Eve) insinuates herself in to the company of an established but aging stage actress (Margo) and her circle of theater friends.

Here is the scene in the script:

He hands Eve's drink to Karen. Max has wandered off. Other
guests are arriving. Margo gulps her drink, hands Bill the
empty glass. He puts it on a passing tray. Margo takes a
fresh one at the same time. LLOYD
The general atmosphere is very
Macbethish. What has or is about to
happen? MARGO
(to Bill)
What is he talking about? BILL
Macbeth. KAREN
(to Margo)
We know you, we've seen you before
like this. Is it over - or just
beginning? Margo surveys them all. MARGO
Fasten your seat belts. It's going
to be a bumpy night. She downs the drink, hands the empty glass to Bill, and
leaves them. She passes two women, gabbing by the piano. As
they see her: WOMAN #1
Margo, darling! WOMAN #2
Darling! MARGO
(passing)
Darlings...She arrives at the landing just as Addison comes up with Miss
Caswell. Margo takes a drink from a passing tray. MARGO
(to Addison)
I distinctly remember striking your
name from the guest list. What are
you doing here? ADDISON
Dear Margo. You were an
unforgettable Peter Pan - you must
play it again, soon. You remember
Miss Caswell? MARGO
I do not. How do you do? MISS CASWELL
We never met. That's why. ADDISON
Miss Caswell is an actress. A
graduate of Copacabana School of
Dramatic Arts.
(his glance is attracted
by Eve coming downstairs)
Ah... Eve. EVE
(deferentially)
Good evening, Mr. deWitt. MARGO
I had no idea you knew each other. ADDISON
This must be, at long last, our
formal introduction. Until now we
have met only in passing... MISS CASWELL
That's how you met me. In passing. MARGO
(smiles)
Eve, this is an old friend of Mr.
deWitt's mother - Miss Caswell,
Miss Harrington...
(the two girls say hello)
Addison, I've been wanting you to
meet Eve for the longest time- ADDISON
(murmurs)
It could only have been your
natural timidity that kept you from
mentioning it... MARGO
You've heard of her great interest
in the Theater- ADDISON
We have that in common. MARGO
Then you two must have a long talk- EVE
I'm afraid Mr. deWitt would find me
boring before too long. MISS CASWELL
You won't bore him, honey. You
won't even get to talk. ADDISON
(icily)
Claudia dear, come closer.
(she does, and he points)
This is Max Fabian. He is a
producer. Go do yourself some good. MISS CASWELL
(sighs)
Why do they always look like
unhappy rabbits? ADDISON
Because that is what they are. Go
make him happy. Miss Caswell drapes her coat over the rail, heads for Max.
Addison puts Eve's arm in his. ADDISON
(to Margo)
You mustn't worry about your little
charge. She is in safe hands. MARGO
Amen.Eve smiles uncertainly at Margo as he leads her away. Margo
looks after them. She downs her drink...

Here is the movie version of the scene:

First thing to note, the line “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night,” was named by the American Film Institute at the #9 most notable movie quote of all time. But it’s what happens after the line that ratchets up the plot, Eve connecting with Addison.

One thing interesting about scripts from this era is how close the actors stick to the dialogue as written. Few changes if any as is the case here. There’s a reason for that: During the first half-century during the evolution of movies, and especially during the 30s and 40s, many films were adaptations of stage play. Indeed, many screenwriters were playwrights. And in that world, the writer’s words were sacrosanct.

This attitude prevailed in Hollywood and it was only with the emergence of the director as auteur and the growth of method acting that we saw a screenplay coming to be perceived as a blueprint for production.

One of the best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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