BIG SCREEN TV: ALL ABOUT "ALL ABOUT EVE"

"You can cut the sweetness act, ballerina! 

I've seen that movie too." 

Maggie Tarrow

'Murder, She Wrote'

Maggie didn't have to tell Barbara the name of the movie; she knew what it was.  A lot of people in Toobworld know about "All About Eve".

From Wikipedia:

"All About Eve" is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It was based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although screen credit was not given for it.

The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star. Anne Baxter plays Eve Harrington, an ambitious young fan who insinuates herself into Channing's life, ultimately threatening Channing's career and her personal relationships. George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Bates, Gary Merrill, and Thelma Ritter also appear, and the film provided one of Marilyn Monroe's earliest important roles.

Praised by critics at the time of its release, "All About Eve" received 14 Academy Awards nominations (a feat unmatched until the 1997 film "Titanic") and won six, including Best Picture. "All About Eve" is the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations (Davis and Baxter as Best Actress, Holm and Ritter as Best Supporting Actress). "All About Eve" was selected in 1990 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and was among the first 50 films to be registered. "All About Eve" appeared at #16 on AFI's 1998 list of the 100 best American films.

Based on that, it would be unlikely that the citizens of Earth Prime-Time would not know about it.

Kate & Allie:
Allie's Graduation 

(1987)
Kate and Allie hear the week's line-up of classic movies at the 9th Street Cinema:

• "All About Eve"
• "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg"
• "The Misfits"
• "The 400 Blows"
• "Sunset Boulevard"
• "Godzilla"  (Once a week they show something for the bloodthirsty.)

The Golden Girls: 

Dorothy's Prized Pupil 

(1987)

Rose Nylund: 

The president's married to Nancy Davis now.

Sophia: 

From "All About Eve"?

Rose Nylund: 

That was Bette Davis.

Charmed: 

Run, Piper, Run 

(2005)

LEO: 

Hey, that was all about Eve. 

PIPER: 

Mm-hmm. 

PAIGE: 

Wasn't "All About Eve" some old movie? 

PIPER: 

One that I don't wanna see again anytime soon. 

LEO: 

Fine by me.

Beverly Hills, 90210:
U4EA 

(1991)
Jim and Cindy are watching the movie on TV.

Days of Our Lives: 

Episode #1.11621 

(2011)
Maggie says this is her favorite old movie.

Mr & Mrs Murder: 

Lost Soul 

(2013)
Charlie compares the case they are working on to the plot of "All About Eve"

Smash: 

The Dress Rehearsal 

(2013)

Derek Wills:

I've got an idea for the beginning as well...

I want to try and tell the story in flashback.

You know, like "Sunset Boulevard"

or "All About Eve". 

Smash: 

Pilot 

(2012)
Derek Wills tells Karen Cartwright that "by the time she was 24, Marilyn had already done 'The Asphalt Jungle' and 'All About Eve'."

Nip/Tuck: 

Trudy Nye 

(2004)
The clerk gave Christian advice to rent "All about Eve", Christian says not yet, he want to see it alone.

Queer as Folk: 

Escalating Violence 

(2004)
Deb suggests watching the film with Michael, Ben and Hunter.

Glee: 

The Spanish Teacher 

(2012)
Sue says she's seen "All About Eve".

Suits: 

Leveraged 

(2014)
In the final scene, Jessica shows two DVDs, the top one being "All About Eve".

TV scripts are riddled with pop culture references and "All About Eve" is the go-to movie when the plot deals with ambitious underlings conniving to get their mentors' positions in life.  And sometimes all that takes is a play on the movie's title to clue in the audience about what the plot entails.  Here are a few examples:

• "All About Adam"
• "All About Christmas Eve"
• "All About E.E.V."
• "All About Steve"
• "All About Nina"

And several "All About Eva"s.

Here are several examples in which TV characters realized their lives mirrored "All About Eve":

Caroline in the City:
Caroline and the Twenty-Eight-Pound Walleye 

(1996)

CHARLIE: 

She could be after your job.

It's just like that old movie, "All About Eve".

DEL: 

Oh yeah, Caroline dragged me to see that film. 

Slept like a baby.

That Girl:
Break a Leg 

(1966)
Ann's friend, Sandy, lands a role in a Broadway show, and asks Ann to be her understudy. While Sandy is staying with her, Ann is such a safety hazard, it is becoming even more likely that she'll have to take Sandy's place on stage.

Judy:

You ever see 'All About Eve'?

Ann:

Yeah....

Judy:

Now there was a girl who knew how to get what she really wanted.

The Carrie Diaries: 

Hungry Like the Wolf 

(2014)

Bennett:

All the times I've watched "All About Eve," 

and I didn't even realize you were "All About Eve-ing" me.

Will & Grace: 

My Fair Maid-y 

(1999)

KAREN: 

I've got your number, sister. 

I've seen "All about Eve."

APRIL: 

Who?

KAREN 

(Imitating Bette Davis): 

"Poor, Eve." 

Yeah, that's right, go ahead. 

Play the poor, naive little maid with a heart of gold. 

But I've got Grace's back! 

Trust me. You're not going to win the Tony in this version.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: 

Icarus 

(2011) 

Bryce Calder:

You're asking if I had anything to do with him getting killed? 

Detective Robert Goren:

Did you? 

You know, Marc out of the way, 

you put on the wings, and you're icarus.

Bryce Calder:

That's a little all about Eve-ish, don't you think? 

Sordid Lives: The Series: 

The Fall and Rise of Brother Boy 

(2008)
Henry and Ty talk about the film.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed the movie from his own script and it was full of blistering, memorable quotes.  But if there's one line that is most quoted.....

Modern Family

The Late Show

(2013)

Lily:

Fasten your seatbelts. 

It's going to be a crazy night. 

Cameron;

No, honey, it's gonna be a bumpy night. 

Mitchell:

Remember, you can't have two dads and make that mistake. 

Lily:

Bumpy night.

90210: 

All About a Boy 

(2011)

Ian:

Fasten your seat belts.

It's gonna be a bumpy night.

Teddy:

All About Eve.

Ian:

See? I am teaching you something.

Mork & Mindy: Mork Gets Mindy-itis 

(1979)
Mork spouts off the famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night! "

Lab Rats: 

Drone Alone 

(2012)
Eddy paraphrases Betty Davis' famous line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

Night Court: 

Educating Rhoda 

(1988)
"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"

Saved by the Bell: 

Cream for a Day 

(1989)
Screech says, "Fasten your seatbelt. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

NewsRadio: 

Led Zeppelin 

(1996)
Jimmy "it's going to be a bumpy..." line and "Jimmy James: all about me".

Frasier: 

You Can Go Home Again 

(1996)
Frasier says, "Fasten your seatbelt, Eddie, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

Chuck: 

Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff 

(2011)
Volkoff says, "Fasten your seat belt; it's gonna be a bumpy match."

Hope Island: 

The Whole Kettle of Fish 

(1999)
Callie and Alex say a version of the line from the movie, "hang onto your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride".

Robson Arms: 

All About Kitty 

(2007)
An older Toni - speaking to Bao - states the line from the movie, "fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride" in reference to how she's going to deal with her younger rival, Kitty.

Bette Davis was the star of "All About Eve", but it's the name of Anne Baxter's character in the title.  And Eve is the one who is most central to so many of the references found in Toobworld.

Law & Order: 

Maritime 

(2003)
One of Julie Eastman's co-workers used to refer to her as Eve Harrington.

Gilmore Girls: 

Teach Me Tonight 

(2002)
Lorelai makes up a fake conflict between the new bag boy and Dean, and calls the new bag boy "Eve Harrington."

Gossip Girl: 

The Serena Also Rises 

(2008)
Laurel threatens to expose Jenny's "Eve Harrington ways."

Political Animals: 

Pilot 

(2012)
Susan Berg says:"If Eve Harrington was an actual person today she would look like Georgia."

Scream Queens: 

Seven Minutes in Hell 

(2015)
Chanel Oberlin calls Hester "Evil Harrington".

Gilmore Girls: 

But Not as Cute as Pushkin 

(2004)

[Knock at door]

PARIS: 

Eve Harrington has arrived.

[Rory opens the door]

ANNA: 

Hi. I'm looking for Rory Gilmore.

And in another TV dimension....

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: 

Monday 

(2007)
Jordan says Hallie was "all about Eve."

Finally, there are some episodes in which the plot line of the movie is played out but is never referenced, except maybe in the title.  It's likely many of these were due to the characters having seen the movie and picked up pointers.

Gilligan's Island: 

All About Eva 

(1966)
In the episode title and the plot, in which soft spoken young woman tries to take a famous actress's place.

Popular: 

All About Adam 

(2000)
Adam is taking over Brooke's life, just like Eve in "All about Eve".

Mary Tyler Moore: 

A New Sue Ann 

(1974)
Sue Ann's wide-eyed assistant Gloria is revealed to be a conniving schemer

ER: 

All About Christmas Eve 

(2005)
The episode title, in part, alludes to the 1950 film "All About Eve" in which a young upstart actress conspires to bring down an older leading lady. In the episode, Eve accuses Sam of conspiring behind her back to get her job.

That Girl: 

All About Ann 

(1966)
The reference is both in terms of the title, but also the story line, where Ann is seen as the potentially backstabbing young actress to the more established actress.

(O'BSERVATION: Actually, it was more along the lines of Ann taking out her anger on the young actress whom she mistakenly believed was dating Donald behind her back.)

All of the summaries and many of the quotes were found in the IMDb.

Margo Channing and Eve Harrington did appear on TV back in 1973, but not in Earth Prime-Time.  They were to be found in the theatrical dimension of the greater Television Universe, the dimension of ToobStage, as seen in "Applause".  (That does not say "Applesauce".)

And that's all I have to say about that.

Margo Channing:

Slow curtain...

The end.