Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner star in The Bad and the Beautiful, while Bette Davis leads another all star cast in All About Eve. Both films are iconic examples of cinema at its best, and both are helmed by two of the most renown filmmakers in cinema history; Vincente Minnelli and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
The New Beverly on Beverly Blvd. in Hollywood has once again conjured up a terrific double feature for the avid classic movie fan. For two nights beginning on Friday, January 20 cinephiles can watch The Bad and the Beautiful at 7:30P with All About Eve at 9:50P. And if that’s too soon to make plans, fans can catch the inspired double feature again on Saturday the 21st, this time with All About Eve screening first at 4:20P with The Bad and the Beautiful at 7:00P, followed by All About Eve at 9:20P.
This is a definite not-to-be missed double feature for the classic film fan who loves to eavesdrop on the behind-the-scenes antics of those who live and play in the yesterday of Hollywood and Broadway. Both films are full of plenty of drama, iconic images, and scathing one-liners, presented by some of the greatest stars who have ever graced the silver screen.
Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner head the cast of the 1952 production of The Bad and the Beautiful.
Directed by the incomparable Vincente Minnelli (An American in Paris, Father of the Bride), the rest of the stellar cast includes Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gilbert Roland and Gloria Grahame in her Academy Award winning performance of a small town wife led astray by Hollywood’s loose ways. Nominated himself, Douglas gives one of his best performances as a Svengali-like producer who manipulates everything and everyone in order to fulfill his personal vision, regardless of the collateral damages. This is one of the films that gave Kirk the reputation of chewing up the scenery, so if you haven’t had the pleasure of that experience, then do yourself a favor and be sure to view that phenomena at its best and at the full height of its potency, here, in The Bad and the Beautiful.
Next up on the evening’s agenda is the 1950 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, All About Eve. Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, A Letter to Three Wives), the classic tale of an upstart mirroring her idol in order to replace her stars Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter. It’s an old and much used plot device today, but this is the one that started it all, and shows everyone involved (in front of and behind the lens) at the very best of their game. Which is particularly impressive on Davis’ part since she was considered well past her prime, and box office poison. It’s pure delight to watch as she proves all of her credits wrong.
Whether you’ve seen these two films before or not, it’s unlikely you’ve ever seen them on the big screen, nor likely to see them paired in a double feature again any time soon. So be sure to take advantage of this golden opportunity and enjoy everything the New Beverly has to offer in the way of a great movie going experience.