All About “All About Eve” (54 page)

The scene between Gabor and Sanders is from Gabor,
My Story
; Gabor,
One Lifetime
; Sanders; VanDerBeets; and an anonymous source.

Bette Davis–Darryl F. Zanuck conversation is amalgamated from Davis,
Lonely Life
, pp. 276–277 and unsourced clippings, Davis Scrapbook #50, BU

“The film that ruined”—Mordden,
Movie Star
, p. 190

“Betty Lynn recalled”—Spada, p. 267

BOX: “might seem frivolous”—Spada, pp. 178–179

Nancy Davis Reagan didn’t know—NDR to SS, Mar. 19, 1998

BOX: names are from Fox casting director’s list, AMPAS

CHAPTER 2

One reviewer—John Rosenfield,
Dallas Morning News
, Jan. 3, 1946

“The way she”—ibid.

“My husband, Reginald Denham” et seq.—MO to SS, Apr. 16, 1996

“Based on Elisabeth Bergner”—Moseley, p. 167

CHAPTER 3

“Would make an excellent”—Carey, p. 17

BOX: “Margo Channing’s career”—Haskell, p. 245; “Bette Davis’s Margo”—Rosen, p. 266; “in the classic”—Hawkins, p. 28; “at one fell swoop”—Leaming, p. 225

“Films about Hollywood”—Mordden,
Movie Star
, p. 63

“The big problem”—TH to SS, May 1, 1999

By comparison—Donald Spoto,
The Dark Side of Genius
, p. 341

“In a memo”—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 211

Mankiewicz discussed—Stone,
Interview
, Aug. 1989, pp. 71–75

“And the author”—Bergner, pp. 218–219

Haun sounded amused et seq.—HH to SS, Apr. 18, 1996

Mary Orr remembers—MO to SS, Apr. 16, 1996

In his article—Haun,
Films in Review
, March/April 1991, p. 83

CHAPTER 4

“The memo recommended”—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, pp. 202–203; Behlmer,
Memo
, p. 165

“The picture was not”—Geist, p. 422

“Between completing”—Geist, p. 167; Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 203; Carey, pp. 18–19

“I was alone”—Ciment, p. 197

“Penned his scripts”—
Hollywood Reporter
, Oct. 21, 1975

Mankiewicz said later—Carey, p. 19

“Mutual trust”—Gussow p. 155

“Difficult to swallow”—Behlmer,
Memo
, p. 166

“Dull, obvious, dirty”—ibid.

Mankiewicz delivered—Carey, p. 19

Studio bookkeeping policy—ibid., p. 66

“I have tried”—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 204

“On page 32”—ibid.

BOX: “I remember that”—Ciment, p. 210 (my translation); “I’d have had”—Geist, p. 18

Pauline Kael says—Kael,
Kiss
, p. 393

“Screenwriters and directors”—Kael,
Kane
, p. 89

Colonel Joy was—Hunnings, p. 157

“Some producers played”—Macgowan, p. 356

He characterized the Jews—quoted in Black, p. 70

Correspondence from Production Code files, AMPAS

CHAPTER 5

“The hard-softness”—Affron, p. 7

“I cried for days”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 332; Quirk,
Colbert
, p. 160

“Fox couldn’t”—Quirk,
Colbert
, p. 160

“Joe’s idea”—Quirk,
Colbert
, p. 161

“Colbert would have”—
Films in Review
, Aug. 1991, p. 244

“Question of aging”—Mérigeau, p. 131 (my translation)

“Bette did”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 332

“It wasn’t my”—Quirk,
Colbert
, p. 3

“I envy you”—Stine,
Mother
, p. 236

“I say thank you”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 278

Later he explained—Carey, p. 69

Mankiewicz claimed—Carey, p. 71

“To this day”—ibid.

“All scripts were”—ibid.

“Approached her agent”—Aldrich, p. 333

“When she refused”—Aldrich, p. 335

“Who contracted”—ibid.

CHAPTER 6

“He said she was”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 277

“Darryl Zanuck had”—Merrill, p. 88

“I never tried”—Merrill, p. 162

“On Sundays”—Merrill, p. 87

“This was the first”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 277

“On that Sunday”—Merrill, p. 88

“I had seen”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 279

“The makeup people”—Merrill, p. 89

“Hollywood always”—Davis,
NY Times
, Mar. 10, 1968; quoted in McClelland,
Hollywood on Hollywood

“Bette had a few”—Merrill, p. 90

“People get the”—to Hedda Hopper, unsourced clipping, Davis scrapbook #50, BU

“Certainly wonderful” … “For this part”—This exchange from unsourced magazine article, Davis scrapbook, #50, BU

“Never in the”—Considine, p. 247

“Muscle-bound”—Leaming, p. 207

“Decided to marry”—ibid.

“In a suit”—Riese,
Bette
, p. 389

“Screen tragedienne”—Riese,
Bette
, p. 199

Surprise party—
LA Times
, Apr. 5, 1950

Winter Meeting
had been—Leaming, p. 212

“Bitch virtuosity”—Carey, p. 70

CHAPTER 7

“Bette Davis was”—Holm, SMU

“So am I”—ibid.

Easter sunrise service—
LA Times
, Apr. 10, 1950

“I know one thing”—Holm, SMU

“I was wearing”—Considine, p. 249

“Fitz Fitzgerald”—Moore,
Action
, Dec. 1950

“I had met”—Gabor,
One Lifetime
, p. 76

“I saw she was”—Monroe, p. 58

“There was just”—Crist, p. 46

“That first night”—Holm, SMU

“Later that evening”—Gabor,
One Lifetime
, p. 77

“People had a habit”—Monroe, p. 142

“Haven’t you heard”—Spada, p. 270

“Honey, we’re going”—Considine, p. 249

“Whiskey-throated voice”—Spada, p. 270

“Bourbon contralto”—Carey, p. 73

“Bette was letter-perfect”—Carey, p. 87

“Early on”—Allen,
American Cinematographer
, Jan. 1951, pp. 10–11

“Now an apprentice”—Moore,
Action
, Dec. 1950

“Bette’s professional attributes”—Carey, p. 88

“The rehearsal period”—Crist, p. 39

Shooting after midnight—Allen,
American Cinematographer
, Jan. 1951

“Exteriors of the Shubert”—Moore,
Action
, Dec. 1951

CHAPTER 8

“While other designers”—Head and Calistro, p. vii

“Sure I would”—Head and Calistro, p. 92

“Bette and I”—ibid.

“She was wearing”—Head and Ardmore, pp. 94–95

“Edith always took”—Head and Calistro, p. viii

“I steeped myself”—Head and Calistro, pp. 93–94

“She has a walk”—Head and Ardmore, pp. 94–95

“We thought we had”—
Dallas Times Herald
, Aug. 8, 1978

By seven o’clock—Moore,
Action
, Dec. 1950

Clift’s Redwood Room—
SF Chronicle
, Apr. 16, 1950

“Miss Holm seemed”—ibid.

“Miss Holm has developed”—ibid.

“I’m glad you’re”—
LA Herald Express
, May 20, 1950

CHAPTER 9

Holm-Davis exchange from Holm, SMU

“There is truth”—Merrill, p. 89

“My first day”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, pp. 279–280

“I don’t think”—Merrill, p. 280

“He’s right”—
Collier’s
, Dec. 9, 1955

“I looked at”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 280

“Margo Channing waits”—Carey, p. 55

“You’re quite right”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 280

“At first”—Merrill, p. 89

“The unholy mess”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 280

“Before long”—Merrill, p. 90

“The last place”—Davis,
This ’N That
, p. 179

“It was not”—Geist, p. 169

“There was one”—ibid.

“Would Miss Davis”—Considine, p. 251

“I sensed in Gary”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 281

“I walked around”—Merrill, p. 90

“I started falling”—Riese,
Bette
, p. 344

“There was one bed”—Gabor,
One Lifetime
, p. 78

“
That bed
”—Riese,
Bette
, p. 344

“We only played”—Merrill to Louella Parsons, Jan. 14, 1951; unsourced clipping, Davis scrapbook #52, BU

“I had fused”—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 280

CHAPTER 10

“Considered her unphotogenic”—Monroe, pp. 61–62

“Mr. Zanuck feels”—Monroe, p. 62

“For the most part”—Carey, p. 75

“There was a”—Carey, p. 77

“He haunted”—ibid.

“I wasn’t about”—ibid.

“On March 27”—Carey, pp. 77–78

“And that poor”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 336

“Even then”—Sanders, p. 70

BOX: “politely but firmly”—VanDerBeets, pp. 110–111

“That woman hates”—Collins, p. 79

“I saw nothing”—Geist, p. 170

“I always felt”—Holm, SMU

“That girl’s going”—McLean, AFI

“About a year”—Baxter, pp. 296–297

“Thees girl ees”—Geist, p. 170

“Marilyn Monroe was seated”—Merrill, p. 90

“Trivia fans remember”—Davis,
This ’N That
, p. 182

“There has been”—Riese and Hitchens,
Marilyn
, p. 569

“Mr. Zanuck has never”—Riese and Hitchens,
Marilyn
, p. 568

“I disagreed and fought”—Riese and Hitchens,
Marilyn
, pp. 569–570

“I thought of her”—Carey, p. 79

Marilyn shook her head—Carey, pp. 78–79

“A different sort of director”—Monroe, p. 95

“It was the first”—Monroe, p. 95

Lincoln Steffens trouble—Monroe, pp. 95–97

The German actress—Summers, p. 50

CHAPTER 11

On that Saturday night—Moore,
Action
, Dec. 1950

“Every day was”—Baxter, p. 264

“I was good”—Baxter, p. 263

“Bette was really”—Stine,
Kiss
, p. 255

Margo and Eve’s—Stine,
Kiss
, p. 227

“Nice to everybody”—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 212

BOX:
Phantom of the Opera
;
The Actor’s Nightmare
—Mordden,
Fireside
, p. 93

Anne Baxter called—Baxter, 264

“John Hodiak and I”—ibid.

“We went to see”—Considine, p. 250

“She was fine”—Holm, SMU

“Our assistant”—Baxter, pp. 265–266

“Mr. Mankiewicz insisted”—Holm, SMU

“This cubbyhole”—Fox Exhibitor’s Manual

“Bette upstaged Anne”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 335

Bette returned—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 334

“The nearest thing”—Sanders, p. 68

“Vain, aging, flamboyant”—ibid.

“Her lack of”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 335

“George Sanders never”—Geist, p. 170

BOX: “The kind of actor”—Sanders, p. 71

“George slept soundly” et seq.—Baxter, pp. 264–266.

CHAPTER 12

The telegram was from—Leaming, p. 223

“Beautiful, tender, sweet”—Spada, p. 275

“It was being said”—Leaming, p. 231

She played records—Considine, p. 252

According to de Havilland—Speck, p. 83

Another co-star—Speck, p. 87

Bette told Anne—Baxter, pp. 263–264

“Big martinis”—Baxter, p. 264

“Going up and down”—Leaming, p. 222

“There is a”—Davis,
This ’N That
, p. 180

“We’re all just glass”—Geist, p. 171

Cautionary phone calls—Davis,
Lonely Life
, p. 277

On the last film—Carey, p. 86

“Dear boy”—ibid.

“Always a good thing”—ibid.

“Barring grand opera”—Carey, p. 87

“Mankiewicz is a genius”—Considine, p. 248

“He resurrected me”—McBride, p. 108

Goulding had said—Carey, p. 88

“After those warnings”—ibid.

“That inimitable Davis”—ibid.

“Look, Joe”—Carey, pp. 88–90

“How she behaved”—Moseley, p. 128

“At home she had”—Moseley, p. 32

CHAPTER 13

“For the most part”—Davis,
This ’N That
, p. 182

“Dad had the quietest”—TM to SS, Aug. 21, 1997

Everyone had a laugh—Fox Exhibitor’s Manual

“Let’s have the rain”—ibid.

At the end—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 207

He watched the dailies—Dunne, pp. 65–66

“I got Bette’s permission”—Merrill, p. 91

“I’d marry Bette”—ibid.

Barbara Leeds Merrill—Leaming, p. 232

Tight-bodiced—Head and Calistro, pp. 92–93

“There was Bette”—Head and Calistro, p. 93

“I could have hugged”—ibid.

As Edith watched—Head and Ardmore, p. 96

“A very talented”—Ciment, p. 173

“Bette’s dress”—Holm, interviewed on AMC “Hollywood Fashion” documentary, March 1996

“I met Marilyn”—Head and Calistro, p. 106

CHAPTER 14

“A close friend”—Baxter, p. 335

“How could I”—Gussow, pp. 88–89

“One Sunday in 1946”—Baxter, p. 335

“Your throaty voice”—
LA Herald Express
, May 20, 1950

“She chose”—Spoto, p. 207

“I liked Bette”—Gabor,
One Lifetime
, p. 78

“Just a minute”—Geist, 170; Davis,
This ’N That
, p. 182

“Wretched during the shooting”—Gabor,
My Story
, p. 181

“
Poetry!
”—Gabor,
My Story
, p. 182

At that very moment—Gabor,
One Lifetime
, pp. 76–77

“I was sitting”—Monroe, pp. 97–98

“I know and you know”—Quirk,
Fasten
, p. 337

Now Mankiewicz concentrated—Behlmer,
America’s Favorite
, p. 207