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Storytelling Output Report

for

"All About Eve"

ANALYSIS INFORMATION:



General Storytelling:
Complete

Act Order Storytelling:
Complete

Character List:
Partial

Build Characters:
Partial


Author:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Analysis sources:

Source Material: Based on a short story by Mary Orr, "The Wisdom of Eve."

Film. 20th Century-Fox, 1950.

Mankiewicz, Joseph L. All About Eve. Random House. New York, NY. 1951.

Nash, Jay Robert and Ross, Stanley Ralph. The Motion Picture Guide. CineBooks, Inc. Evanston, Illinois. 1985.

Videohound's Golden Retriever 1995. Visible Ink Press. Detroit, MI.

Ringgold, Gene. The Films of Bette Davis. Citadel Press. Secaucus, New Jersey. 1979.

Thomas, Tony and Solomon, Aubrey. The Films of 20th Century-Fox. Citadel Press. Secausus, NJ. 1979.

Genre:
Drama

Setting:
New York City

Period:
1950

Analysis by:
Carol Compton

Comments:

This is an interesting example of a story that, despite the sharply defined main character, the objective characters zero in on "all about Eve"--the obstacle character.

Brief Synopsis:

(Thomas, p. 207)

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

MARGO, an aging stage star, is worried that she'll lose Bill to a younger woman, and end up alone with only her career to look back on.

EVE, an ambitious, aspiring actress, who'll do anything to hear the audience's applause coming over the footlights just for her.

BILL, a top theater director, who's in love with Margo and doesn't care that she's eight years his senior.

LLOYD, a successful playwright, whose plays Margo has made into smash hits, yearns to have a younger actress play his stage heroines.

KAREN, Lloyd's wife and Margo's best friend, who brings Eve into their lives and soon regrets her blind kindness.

BIRDIE, an ex-vaudevillian and Margo's maid, who has the smarts to see through Eve's disguise of innocence.

MAX, theater producer, who loves Margo and Lloyd because they create hit plays that make lots of money.

ADDISON, merciless theater critic, who's seen it all and uncovers Eve's killer game plan.

THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS:




Name: Margo Channing
Gender: Female
Description:

Margo Channing, a five-foot-two package of energy, is an acclaimed actress with the talent and timeless beauty that allows her to play twenty-year-olds at age forty.
"An attractive, strong face. She is childish, adult, reasonable, unreasonable -- usually one when she should be the other, but always positive. She pours a stiff drink."
(Mankiewicz, p. 9)
Role: Leading stage actress
Characteristics:

Motivation: Oppose; Reconsider; Avoidance; Uncontrolled; Feeling;
Methodology: Certainty; Reaction; Reevaluation;
Evaluation: Proven; Result; Test;
Purpose: Equity; Self Aware; Ability; Projection;



Name: Eve Harrington
Gender: Female
Description:

"She wears a cheap trench coat, low-heeled shoes, a rain hat stuck on the back of her head. . . her large, luminous eyes seem to glow up at Karen in the strange half-light."
(Mankiewicz, p. 18)
Role: Conniving Aspiring Actress
Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Pursuit; Control; Temptation; Logic;
Methodology: Potentiality; Proaction; Evaluation;
Evaluation: Process; Unproven; Unending;
Purpose: Thought; Perception; Aware; Inequity; Speculation; Desire;



Name: Addison De Witt
Gender: Male
Description:

A tall, handsome man with an air of sophistication about him. His cultured appearance hides a cold heart and a cutting wit that would be out of place anywhere but the larger-than-life world of the theater.
Role: Powerful theater critic
Characteristics:

Motivation: Hinder;
Evaluation: Ending;
Purpose: Knowledge; Actuality;



Name: Bill Sampson
Gender: Male
Description:

"He's youngish, vital, undisciplined."
(Mankiewicz, p. 39) Tall with boyish good looks, he's passionate about his work and Margo Channing.
Role: Director, Margo's boyfriend
Characteristics:

Motivation: Conscience;
Evaluation: Trust;



Name: Birdie Coonan
Gender: Female
Description:

A saucy, ex-vaudevillian with a quick wit who's loyal to Margo. She looks like a kindly grandmother until she opens her mouth to set someone straight about the facts of life.
Role: Margo's maid
Characteristics:

Motivation: Disbelief;



Name: Karen Richards
Gender: Female
Description:

A lovely woman in her early thirties, always stylishly dressed in pearls and furs.
Role: Margo's best friend
Characteristics:

Motivation: Support; Faith; Help;
Methodology: Protection;



Name: Lloyd Richards
Gender: Male
Description:

"He's in his late thirties, sensitive, literate."
(Mankiewicz, p. 23) Good looking, but not enough to be a leading man. His talent with words has made him a leading playwright.
Role: Playwright, Karen's husband
Characteristics:

Methodology: Inaction;



Name: Max Fabian
Gender: Male
Description:

A grumpy teddy bear of a man in his early sixties. Although he's the nervous type, he risks his money on theater productions and would be miserable doing anything else.
Role: Theater Producer
Characteristics:


Name: Miss Caswell
Gender: Female
Description:

"Miss Caswell is a blonde young lady, Addison's protégé-of-the-moment."

(Mankiewicz, p. 90)
Role: Chorus girl, aspiring actress
Characteristics:

AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

Nature as it relates to Actual Dilemma:

Margo Channing faces an actual dilemma once she realizes that her obsessive behavior toward Eve and the dedication to her career might cost what she wants most, the love of Bill Sampson.

Essence as it relates to Positive Feel:

The characters put their efforts into finding solutions and achieving their goals: Margo loves Bill, wants him to share her life with him, and they set a date to be married; Bill, who has proposed to Margo several times, finally gets her to say yes; Max Fabian's theater productions are hits, especially because of his leading ladies, Margo and Eve; Karen is happy that Margo and Bill are going to be married, and that her trick on Margo won't be exposed; Eve's dream of becoming a successful actress is realized.

Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:

For the better part of the story, Margo is an unwilling participant in the effort to achieve the goal. She is unwilling to listen to anything nice anyone has to say about Eve; she's unwilling to have Eve continue as her secretary and asks Max to find work for her in his office; she's unwilling to do anything or support any action that benefits Eve's acting career, and throws a tantrum when she discovers that Eve is her understudy; she doesn't want to accept Bill's declaration of love, still suspicious that Bill really wants a younger woman like Eve. Finally after being forced to miss a performance, Margo changes her attitude about Eve, Bill, and her career.

Reach as it relates to Female:

Women will empathize with Margo because she's a career woman reaching the age where it's almost too late to have it all. Every woman who's ever had to make hard choices will understand Margo's fears and insecurities, hopes and dreams.

Resolve as it relates to Change:

Margo changes from a jealous, age-obsessed actress to a woman who has accepted herself at age forty, and is getting married to the younger man she's refused until now. She wanted to play a woman of twenty in Lloyd's new play, but changes her mind:

MARGO
But not for me any more -- not a four-square,
upright, downright, forthright married lady. . .
It means I've finally got a life to live! I don't have
to play parts I'm too old for -- Just because I've
got nothing to do with my nights!

Approach as it relates to Do-er:

Margo is a woman of action: Initially she's protective of Eve, and takes her into her home the first night they meet; she becomes jealous of Bill's attention to Eve, chews Bill out about it, and gets drunk at his birthday party; suspicious of Eve's true motives, Margo asks Max to employ her in his office; upon learning that Eve has secretly become her understudy, Margo immediately accuses Lloyd, Bill, and Max of a conspiracy against her.

Direction as it relates to Start:

Margo has to start believing in herself. She must begin to be comfortable with her age, and accept that Bill loves her for who she is, on the stage and off.

Mental Sex as it relates to Female:

Margo uses holistic problem solving: When she first becomes suspicious of Eve's motives, Margo smokes a cigarette and thinks about all that's been happening; she asks Birdie's opinion of Eve; her intuition kicks in before Bill's party, and Margo predicts "a disaster in the air." After her blowup at the audition, Bill asks her what is wrong:

MARGO
I -- I don't know, Bill. Just a feeling, I don't know. . .

Outcome as it relates to Success:

Eve becomes a successful actress, awarded a prestigious theater prize and is about to make a Hollywood film; Margo is to become a married woman who will no longer be alone with only a career; Bill is to become a groom, having finally won the woman he loves; Lloyd becomes an even more popular playwright with the success of his new play; Karen becomes secure in her marriage to Lloyd and in her friendship with Margo.

Judgment as it relates to Good:

Margo resolves her personal problems: She comes to terms with her fear of aging, especially her fear of being too old for Bill; she's vindicated for attacking Eve after Eve's comments are published; she remains secure in her status as one of theater's most important actresses.

Work as it relates to Decision:

Karen decides to introduce Eve to Margo, and Eve's story gains Margo's sympathy; Margo decides to take Eve into her home as her secretary, and this allows Eve to begin her manipulations; Max Fabian's decision to make Eve Margo's new understudy, without clearing it first with Margo, causes Margo to blow-up at everyone--leading to Bill's decision to break up with her.

Limit as it relates to Optionlock:

Margo tries convince to Bill, Lloyd, and Karen that Eve isn't as innocent as she appears. Failing to do that she must bide her time until Eve's maliciousness is revealed to everyone. One by one, Eve's manipulations alienate everyone who has befriended her. She's finally caught in a web of her own deceptions by Addison DeWitt. Eve has no choice but to comply to his demands or be exposed as a liar and lose the acting career she desires above all.

THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Backstory:

Margo Channing is the queen of the Broadway stage, surrounded by her friends: playwright Lloyd Richards and his wife Karen, trusted maid Birdie, producer Max Fabian, and her theater director fiancé, Bill Sampson. They have formed a strong support group for her--they even forgive Margo when she behaves like a diva. But Margo's also an aging star who's just turned forty, and she's worried that Bill will eventually leave her for a younger woman. Then one night Karen decides to introduce Eve Harrington to Margo. Eve is an attractive, adoring young actress with the face of an angel and the heart of a cobra. The moment Eve enters Margo's dressing room everyone's attention shifts from Margo to Eve.

Domain as it relates to Psychology:

The objective characters have different ways of thinking: Margo, Karen, Lloyd, and Bill are snowed by their first impressions of Eve. They can't believe that she's anything but an innocent, stage-struck kid. Birdie knows a good storyteller when she hears one, and experience tells her that Eve's worship of Margo is nothing but a first rate act. Margo, influenced by maternal instincts, takes the stray Eve into her home. Later, feelings of unease cause Margo to become wary of Eve's perfect attentions. Eve thinks she can manipulate everyone with her innocent manner, especially with her subtle picking at weak spots: Margo's age obsession, Karen's fear of losing her husband and Margo's trust and friendship; Lloyd's desire to have a young actress play his stage heroines. LLoyd's manipulated by Eve's tearful apology for her remarks about Margo. He suggests to Karen that Eve plays the lead in his new play:

LLOYD
Eve did mention the play, you know. But just
in passing -- she'd never ask to play a part like
"Cora." She'd never have the nerve. . .

KAREN
Eve would ask Abbott to give her Costello.

LLOYD
No, I got the idea myself -- while she was
talking to me. . .

Concern as it relates to Becoming:

Everyone in the story is concerned with becoming something: Margo fears becoming old and ending up alone with only her press clippings to look back on; Bill wants to become Margo's husband; Lloyd wants to become a more successful playwright by having young actresses play his stage heroines; Karen fears becoming an ex-friend of Margo's, and thinks she might also become the ex-Mrs. Lloyd Richards when Lloyd pays too much attention to Eve; Max Fabian wants to become the richest Broadway producer ever; Miss Caswell wants to become an actress and uses her looks to get an audition; Eve wants to become a successful actress by simply sliding into Margo's life on stage and off; Addison wants to become Eve's lover and mentor for life; Phoebe wants to become the next Eve Harrington.

Range as it relates to Rationalization:

When Margo refuses to see Eve backstage, Karen tells Margo she can't turn her away because Eve worships her. Margo justifies Eve's working in Max's office when she really wants to get rid of her:

MARGO
You said yourself my inventory is in good shape. . .
To keep her here with nothing to do -- I'd be
standing in her way . . . and you need her, Max.
[. . .] She'd be a great help -- read scripts, interview
people you have to see, get rid of the ones you
don't. . . Think of your health, Max -- more time
for the fresh air of the race track.

Lloyd wants to put Eve in his new play right away. He justifies his idea to Karen by using their financial situation as an excuse:

LLOYD
You know, I've been going over our financial
condition. . . What with taxes coming up -- and
since I'm a playwright and not an oil-well
operator -- well, I've been thinking. . .

Counterpoint as it relates to Obligation:

Playwright Lloyd Richards has an obligation to cast Margo in his plays. Her acting abilities have made his past plays big hits, making him a leading Broadway playwright. His next play is also written for Margo, but impressed by Eve's acting abilities and her youth, Lloyd begins to yearn for a younger woman for its star. He feels that his plays as vehicles for the fortyish Miss Channing are being compromised. Karen reminds him of his obligation to Margo:

LLOYD
For once, to write something and have it realized
completely. For once, not to be compromised --

KAREN
Margo Channing has not been exactly a
compromise all these years. Half the playwrights
in the world would give their shirts for that
particular compromise!

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Rationalization vs. Obligation:

Rationalization is presented, yet it's obligation that carries the story to its conclusion. Margo is obligated to honor her contract to producer Max Fabian in spite of her anger at him for hiring Eve as her understudy; after Karen causes Margo to miss a performance, she feels obligated to make it up to Margo for the dirty trick and for misjudging Margo's motives.

Problem as it relates to Support:

The characters use of support causes problems: Karen's endorsement of Eve causes Margo to take her in as her secretary where Eve starts to pick at Margo's insecurities; Addison's praise of Eve's acting abilities leads Margo to believe she's been conspired against and she throws a tantrum directed at Bill, Lloyd, and Max; Bill's support of Eve after the audition launches Margo into a jealous rage; Bill thinks Margo's behavior is unwarranted and when she refuses listen to "reason," he breaks off their engagement.

Solution as it relates to Oppose:

The characters' use of oppose solves some of the story's problems: Once Bill has proof of Eve's malice, he shows his disapproval of Eve efforts to hurt Margo by running to Margo's side; Karen objects to Lloyd's plan to star Eve in his new play, thus blocking Eve efforts to push Margo aside; Addison disputes Eve's plan to run off with Lloyd, and stops her from destroying Karen's marriage and Lloyd's professional relationship with Margo.

Focus as it relates to Reconsider:

The objective characters focus on reconsider: Margo reconsiders her first impression of Eve after the midnight phone call to Bill in Hollywood; When Eve tries to seduce Bill, he has second thoughts about her; Karen has to reconsider her opinion of Eve when she's blackmailed by Eve; Eve has to reconsider running off with Lloyd when Addison tells her he knows everything about her.

Direction as it relates to Consider:

The objective character's efforts are directed toward considering: Birdie considers the fact that Eve is obsessed with Margo as a star, not as a woman, and warns Margo to beware of Eve; Margo ponders the apparent attraction between Bill and Eve, becomes outrageously jealous, and stops supporting Eve's efforts to become an actress; Karen rejects all notions that Eve is anything but an star-struck girl, and increases her support of Eve by teaching Margo a lesson in humility; Bill weighs Margo's arguments that Eve is a manipulator, and rejects the idea, continuing to support Eve; After witnessing Eve's acting talent, Lloyd considers casting her in the lead of his new play.

Stipulation as it relates to Conceiving:

As the story progresses, the characters come up with ideas of how to make things work for themselves: Eve comes up with the idea to approach Karen in the back stage alley which gives her an introduction to Margo; Birdie quickly conceives the notion that Eve is obsessively studying Margo which leads Margo to suspect Eve's motives; Margo comes up with the idea that Eve is trying to steal Bill away from her and she hatches the plan to palm her off onto Max Fabian; Eve promotes the idea that she'd be the perfect understudy for Margo; Addison comes up with the idea that he should write about Eve, and his hate-filled column results in stronger friendship between Margo, Bill, Karen, and Lloyd.

Catalyst as it relates to Obligation:

The characters use of obligation moves the story forward: After Margo takes her in, Eve, acting as Margo's secretary, works to make Margo's life easier; Karen feels obligated to support Margo, especially after she failed to believe Margo about Eve's true character; Margo frees Lloyd from his obligation to cast her as young Cora in his new play. Thus, Eve gets the part and tries to steal Lloyd from Karen, which leads to her being blackmailed by Addison.

Inhibitor as it relates to Approach:

As an example of how "approach" slows the story down, Margo's method of dealing with problems is to get drunk and rage at her friends, causing them to think Margo is merely paranoid, and to support Eve even more than before.

Goal as it relates to Becoming:

Everyone is concerned with transforming Eve from a pitiful, lonely waif into a young woman with purpose. First, it's Eve becoming Margo's secretary; next, it's becoming Margo's understudy; lastly it's Eve becoming a stage actress.

Consequence as it relates to Obtaining:

If Eve fails to become an actress there's only a dismal life as a nobody for her; if Eve doesn't get the part of "Cora" in Lloyd's new play, Karen could lose her best friend and possibly her husband.

Cost as it relates to The Subconscious:

On the way to the story goal, Margo's obsession with aging costs her major anxiety when she thinks that Bill is falling for the younger Eve; Bill's loves Margo deeply, but his disappointment at her rejection of him costs him their relationship, if just temporarily; Karen's fear of losing her oldest, dearest friend forces her to agree to blackmail; Eve's lies and manipulations almost costs her her deepest desire, becoming a great stage actress.

Dividend as it relates to The Future:

Margo gains a husband and a more fulfilling future of dining with Bill and waking up beside him in the mornings. Eve gains the life of an adored and successful stage actress. Bill gets the woman he loves and admires. It is assured that Max Fabian will produce hit plays with Eve as the star. The lead roles in Lloyd's future plays will be played by a talented, young actress.

Requirements as it relates to Conceiving:

In order to achieve the story goal the objective characters come up with ideas: Karen comes up with the idea to introduce Eve to Margo; Upon boarding the plane to Los Angeles, Bill suggests that Eve look after Margo and not let her get lonely; Margo conceives of the idea to take Eve into her home and make her her secretary. Eve invents reasons why she would make the perfect understudy for Margo.

EVE
[. . .] I know the part so well, and every bit of the
staging, there'd be no need to break in a new girl. . .

Prerequisites as it relates to Learning:

Eve has to learn which people will be most beneficial to her career; Addison must learn about the real Eve in order to blackmail her and get what he wants, the scheming young actress.

Preconditions as it relates to The Conscious:

Although with her calculating and ruthless ambition, Eve would have certainly become a star, Addison De Witt is a powerful man who makes sure it happens, especially on his own terms. He is the only one who knows all about Eve Harrington: He consciously sets a trap to catch Eve in a lie about her past; he befriends her and then watches her play out one scheme after another, all the time considering how he is going to get what he wants from her later.

ADDISON
Do you know, Eve -- sometimes I think you
keep things from me.

EVE
. . . I confide in you and rely on you more than
anyone I've ever known! To say a thing like that
now -- without any reason -- when I need you
more than ever . . .

ADDISON
I hope you mean what you say, Eve. I intend to
hold you to it. We have a great deal in common,
it seems to me.

Forewarnings as it relates to The Present:

Margo worries that Bill will leave her for a younger woman; her rages over Eve does causes him to leave her, although not for the reasons she thinks. Eve worms her way into Margo's life for the sole purpose of stealing Margo's career; on awards night she meets a deceitful young actress who will surely use her like she used Margo.

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Eve's a young actress taken in as personal secretary to Margo Channing, a middle-aged stage star. Eve insinuates herself in with Margo's theater friends, particularly Margo's fiancé, Bill. Once Margo realizes what Eve is doing, she ends her sponsorship of the young woman. But Eve has already charmed her way to a job as Margo's understudy. After discovering that Eve has been her understudy for a week, and no one has told her of this, Margo accuses Bill of lusting after Eve. This sets off a big fight between Bill and Margo which results in him breaking up with her. Margo is left feeling old, lonely, and unloved while Eve continues to use Margo's friends to jump-start her acting career. Eve finally goes too far, exposing her malice to everyone, most importantly to Bill, who runs back to Margo's side.

Backstory:

Margo started acting at age four. Now she's at the peak of her career; she's respected, wealthy, and surrounded by friendly supporters. But Margo feels past her prime at the age of forty. She's afraid that her lover, Bill Sampson, will be tempted by a younger woman. His reassurances can't stop her worries. Eve Harrington, a pretty young actress, leaves Milwaukee where she had an affair with her boss, and was given $500 by his wife to leave town. Eve has come to New York determined to become a great actress by way of deception. She has carefully constructed a sob-story to soften her intended victim, Margo Channing. Margo falls for the bait and takes Eve into her life. Eve does everything in her power to undermine Margo's personal life and stage career.

Domain as it relates to Physics:

Margo goes on a rampage against her friends and Eve during a party, increasing conflict between the young woman and herself. Eve wages a campaign to use Margo to advance her career as an actress: She goes behind Margo's back to get the understudy job; So that she'll have a theater director for a boyfriend, Eve tries to seduce Bill away from Margo; In Addison's column, Eve infers that Margo is too old for the parts she plays, potentially damaging Margo's career and her hurting her deeply.

Concern as it relates to Obtaining:

Margo Channing fights to keep what she's got: Her status as Broadway's leading actress, her professional relationship with the playwright who's supplied her with one hit play after another, her man, Bill Sampson.

MARGO
I don't want to be childish, I'd settle for just a
few years --

BILL
And cut that out right now.

MARGO
Am I going to lose you, Bill? Am I?

Eve wants an acting role in a Broadway play. During Bill's birthday party he muses about theater life and articulates the things Eve wants for herself:

BILL
[. . .] I'll agree to this -- that to be a good actor,
actress, or anything else in the theater, means
wanting to be that more than anything else in
the world. . .

EVE
Yes. Yes, it does. . .

Range as it relates to Approach:

Eve's method of problem solving is to be deceitful and underhanded. Margo uses the direct and honest approach to problem solving.

Counterpoint as it relates to Attitude:

Eve's attitude is to present herself in ways that will get her what she wants: she's shy and flattering when she first meets Karen Richards because Karen can introduce her to Margo--and does; Eve's gracious and polite when she meets Margo, earning Margo's sympathy and protection; Eve acts the seductress when she goes after Margo's lover, Bill, but this results in a temporary setback. Margo Channing's attitude is to be direct: she asks her maid point blank why she doesn't like Eve, and begins to draw her own conclusions; she bluntly chides Bill when she believes he's falling for young Eve; she loudly attacks Bill, Max, and Lloyd for not telling her that Eve has been her understudy for a week, pouncing for a moment on Lloyd:

LLOYD
You have a genius for making a barroom brawl
out of a perfectly innocent misunderstanding at
most!

MARGO
Perfectly innocent! Men have been hanged for less!
I'm lied to, attacked behind my back, accused of
reading your silly dialogue inaccurately -- as if it
were Holy Gospel!

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Approach vs. Attitude:

Margo and Eve have very different approaches; they are completely diverse. Eve's rapacious method of getting what she wants leads to personal heartbreak. It's Margo's up front attitude while fighting to keep what she has that ultimately leads to her happiness. She's getting married, has loyal friends, and achieves self-acceptance.

Problem as it relates to Logic:

It seems logical that Eve should place the midnight call to Bill for his birthday, acting in Margo's behalf. It even seems logical to Margo that Eve would emulate her in every way, because she's Eve's idol after all. It seems logical that Eve would make the perfect understudy for Margo. But even though all of the above seems logical, everything Eve does causes serious problems for Margo.

Solution as it relates to Feeling:

Once Margo can trust her feelings about Eve, she's on her way to deal with the situation. When Margo is feeling happy and content as a woman, she forgives Eve for making her life hell, because she was forced to realize what she needed most emotionally in her life. Margo's able to cope with Eve in her usual direct way as in after the awards ceremony:

MARGO
. . . You can always put that award where your
heart ought to be.

Focus as it relates to Reconsider:

Margo questions her conclusion that Eve is just a wholesome, stage-struck kid and begins to review Eve's actions of the past few weeks. She asks her maid's opinion of Eve:

MARGO
You don't like Eve, do you?

BIRDIE
[. . .] Let's say she thinks only about you, anyway. . .

MARGO
How do you mean that?

BIRDIE
. . . like she was studyin' you, like you were a play
or a book or a set of blueprints. How you walk, talk,
think, eat, sleep --

Although Margo doesn't agree with Birdie at first, she reviews Eve's demeanor and actions, and adjusts her conclusions about her young secretary.

Direction as it relates to Consider:

Margo weighs the pros and cons of keeping Eve around:

MARGO
She works hard.

BIRDIE
Night an' day.

MARGO
She's loyal and efficient --

BIRDIE
Like an agent with one client.

MARGO
She thinks only of me . . . doesn't she?

Margo's contemplation of Eve leads her to conclude:

MARGO
And I'll have you know I'm fed up with both the
young lady and her qualities! Studying me as --
as if I were a play or a set of blueprints! How I
walk, talk, think, eat, sleep!

Stipulation as it relates to Learning:

As time goes by Margo learns more and more about Eve's strategy to advance her career: From a phone call Margo learns that Eve is slyly ingratiating herself in with Bill in the guise of being helpful; charmed her way into the understudy's job without Margo knowing; achieved an amazingly impressive cold reading at Miss Caswell's audition; publicly trashed Margo in Addison's column.

Catalyst as it relates to Attitude:

Margo's and Eve's attitude moves the subjective story along: Eve lies to everyone who wants to help her, tries to steal Margo's boyfriend, and goes behind Margo's back to get the understudy job, all of which causes Margo to retaliate. Margo's injured diva way of behaving toward Eve, including publicly insulting Eve during the party, causes many repercussions that moves the story forward.

Inhibitor as it relates to Rationalization:

Just when conflict is about to escalate Eve uses rationalization to diffuse the situation. She justifies everything she does as being helpful, as when she "forgets" to tell Margo that she placed the coast-to-coast birthday call to Bill Sampson:

EVE
Oh, golly. And I forgot to tell you --

MARGO
Yes, dear. You forgot all about it.

EVE
Well, I was sure you'd want to, of course, being
his birthday, and you've been so busy these past
few days, and last night I meant to tell you before
you went out with the Richards -- and I guess I
was asleep when you got home . . .

MARGO
Yes, I guess you were. It -- it was very thoughtful
of you, Eve.

EVE
Mr. Sampson's birthday. I certainly wouldn't
forget that. You'd never forgive me. As a
matter of fact, I sent him a telegram myself. . .

Eve's smoke screen of rationalization makes it hard for Margo to discover Eve's true nature until it's almost too late for Margo to recover her professional status and her personal life.

Margo Channing's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Leading stage actress

Description:

Throughline Synopsis:

Margo Channing is a successful actress who's spent decades building her career. She has everything she wants except a man of her own, meaning marriage. She loves Bill Sampson, but he's eight years younger than her, and she's worried he really wants a young woman. Kind-hearted, Margo takes in her avid fan, Eve. After a month Margo suspects Eve isn't as innocent as she appears. Margo has to fight her friends when she drops her support of Eve. Margo loses Bill because of her jealous rages over Eve. Margo tries to put her situation in perspective, admitting that she regrets dropping her personal life for a career. Margo gets Bill back; decides to marry him right away and spend more time being a wife than being an actress.

Backstory:

ADDISON (VO)
Margo Channing is a Star of the Theatre. She
made her first stage appearance, at the age of four,
in Midsummer Night's Dream. She played a fairy
and entered -- quite unexpectedly -- stark naked.
She has been a Star ever since.

In spite of her less than auspicious debut, Margo achieved stardom but is still self-conscious about her humble beginnings:

MARGO
Please don't play governess, Karen. I haven't
your unyielding good taste; I wish I'd gone to
Radcliffe too but Father wouldn't hear of it -- he
needed help at the notions counter. . .

Domain as it relates to Universe:

Margo lives in a warm cocoon created by a successful acting career, supportive friends like Lloyd and Karen Richards, producer Max Fabian, faithful maid Birdie, and her adoring younger lover, Bill. Margo finds herself getting older, yet the women she plays on stage are as young as ever. As an aging star, Margo knows her days as Broadway's reigning star are numbered. She's scared to death that when she retires from the theater she'll be alone, without a career and without a man to love her.

Concern as it relates to The Future:

Margo is concern about her future: Will she have a man to call her own, namely Bill, or will she have only an album of clippings to share the rest of her life with?

MARGO
Bill's in love with Margo Channing. [. . .] but ten
years from now -- Margo Channing will have
ceased to exist. And what's left will be . . . what?

Range as it relates to Delay:

Margo represents delay. She puts off giving Bill an answer to his proposals of marriage. She is constantly late causing delays in everyone's schedules. She keeps waiting to be sure if it's Margo the woman, not Margo the star that Bill wants. Margo's a hour and a half late getting to Miss Caswell's audition which allows Eve to read in Margo's place. Even after Bill tells Margo he loves her and again offers marriage she puts him off:

BILL
Then what would be enough? If we got married?

MARGO
I wouldn't want you to marry me just to prove
something.

BILL
You've had so many reasons for not wanting to
marry. . . Margo, tell me what's behind all this.

Counterpoint as it relates to Choice:

Margo finally makes firm choices about her life: She decides to marry Bill right away; finally accepts the age difference between her and Bill; decides that she doesn't have to play girls twenty years younger than she is any more:

MARGO
[. . . ] I mean it, now. Grown-up women only,
I might even play a mother -- only one child,
of course, and not over eight. . .

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Delay vs. Choice:

At first Margo delays making a judgment about Eve's character until she's sure Eve is on the make for Bill; she delays marrying Bill until she's positive he truly loves her. However, once Margo makes a decision about something she sticks with her choice. Nothing or no one will convince her that Eve is anything but a conniving actress on the make. Once Margo chooses to marry Bill, she glows with bride-like enthusiasm, calling her fiancé "Groom" during their announcement dinner with Karen and Lloyd. Margo's use of choice solves her problems: the age difference between her and Bill doesn't matter anymore; she doesn't have to play young girls now that she's secure as an older woman; Bill's choice to marry her in three days destroys her concerns that Eve will steal him away.

Problem as it relates to Support:

Margo's efforts to support to Eve, then to get support from her friends causes problems: At first Margo's maternal instincts drive her to take Eve into her home, thus giving Eve opportunities to upset Margo's life. Later, when Margo suspects that Eve is just using her, she asks for Karen, Lloyd, and Bill to back her up. But they believe Margo is over-reacting:

BILL
[. . .] So when you start judging an idealistic
dreamy-eyed kid by the barroom, Benzedrine
standards of this megalomaniac society -- I won't
have it! [. . .] And to intimate anything else doesn't
spell jealousy to me -- it spells a paranoiac insecurity
that you should be ashamed of!

MARGO
Cut! Print it! What happens in the next reel?
Do I get dragged off screaming to the snake pit?

Solution as it relates to Oppose:

Ultimately, Margo's problems are resolved when she ceases her opposition to Bill's marriage proposals and stops fighting the aging process. In hindsight, Margo's opposition to Eve was right on the mark. When Karen, Lloyd, and Bill quit opposing Margo and acknowledge that she was right all along, her life becomes happier.

Focus as it relates to Avoidance:

Margo's use of avoidance creates problems: She dodges the age issue and refuses to commit to a permanent relationship with Bill. She gets drunk at Bill's welcome home party because she's terrified that he'll run off with young Eve. A drunk Margo admits to Lloyd that she's forty:

MARGO
That slipped out, I hadn't quite made up my mind
to admit it. Now I feel as if I'd suddenly taken
all my clothes off . . . And I'm not interested in
whether thousands of people think I'm six or six
hundred --

LLOYD
Just one person. Isn't that so? You know what
this is all about, don't you? It has very little to do
with whether you should play "Cora" -- it has
everything to do with the fact you've had another
fight with Bill.

MARGO
Bill's thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked
it five years ago, he'll look it twenty years from
now. I hate men.

Margo's primary evasive tactic is to throw tantrums. But she throws one too many and Bill finally breaks up with her.

Direction as it relates to Pursuit:

Margo attempts to solve her problems by using pursuit: Although Margo's reluctant to commit to Bill, she warns him not to fall for a glamour girl while he's in Hollywood:

MARGO
You're a setup for some gorgeous wide-eyed
young babe.

After Margo is convinced that Eve is too dangerous to have under her roof, Margo goes after her producer, Max Fabian, to hire Eve to work in his office.

Stipulation as it relates to The Present:

Margo judges how things are going in her life by her relationship with Bill. At first she's obviously love-struck, if yet a little uncertain about him, teasing him about falling for starlets during his trip to Hollywood; she's lonely and uneasy when he's been gone a month; she predicts disaster and goes into a panic when she sees Bill in intimate conversation with Eve. After Bill walks out on her, and she's stuck in the car on a country road with Karen, Margo assesses her situation:

MARGO
I haven't been very pleasant this week-end.

KAREN
[. . . ] You're Margo. Just -- Margo.

MARGO
And what is that? [. . .] Besides something called
a temperament. . . infants behave the way I do,
you know . . . When they feel unwanted or insecure
-- or unloved . . .

KAREN
What about Bill?

MARGO
More than anything in this world, I love Bill.
And I want Bill. I want him to want me. But me.
Not Margo Channing. And if I can't tell them
apart -- how can he?

Unique Ability as it relates to Preconception:

Margo's friends perceive her tantrums over Eve as just jealous rages, but Margo's instincts are right on target; she sticks with her gut feeling that something is wrong. Margo's unwillingness to re-evaluate Eve's motives saves her from more of Eve's sly comments and efforts to undermine her personal life and career. Margo ultimately achieves personal happiness, and it's that happiness that keeps Margo from being bitter and vindictive towards Eve. Margo could have remained intolerant of her rival, but she allows Eve to achieve her goal which leads to the story outcome of success.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Closure:

Margo's inability to bring closure to the age issue between her and Bill almost causes her to lose him. In fact, he does break up with her. Margo's unwilling to come to a resolution with Bill concerning his intentions toward Eve:

BILL
Margo, let's make peace.

MARGO
The terms are too high. Unconditional surrender.

BILL
Just being happy? Just stopping all this nonsense about
Eve -- and Eve and me?

MARGO
It's not nonsense.

BILL
But if I tell you it is -- as I just did. Were you
listening to me? Isn't that enough?

MARGO
I wish it were.

Eve Harrington's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Conniving Aspiring Actress

Description:

(Mankiewicz, p. 18)

Throughline Synopsis:

Eve Harrington is a poor girl who'll do anything to achieve success as a stage actress. She ingratiates herself to Margo Channing, a famous actress. Margo takes Eve in as her secretary. Once on the "inside" of Margo's life, Eve sets out to fuel Margo's insecurities and fears. When Margo realizes what Eve is up to, she very openly and loudly questions Eve's character and motives. But Eve has all of Margo's friends and her fiancé totally fooled. They side with Eve against Margo, who's feeling more alone and fragile than ever. Eve goes too far when she smears Margo in a newspaper column, exposing her true nature to everyone. Margo's friends, ashamed for not believing her, run to her support and unite against Eve.

Backstory:

Raised in Wisconsin as an only child, Eve developed an interest in acting and make-believe. She became a secretary in a brewery and joined a Milwaukee theater group where she met her husband, Eddie. During WWII Eddie was shipped to the South Pacific. Eve planned to meet him on leave in San Francisco, but upon arriving there she learned that Eddie was killed in action. She decided to stay in San Francisco where she saw Margo Channing in a play and became star-struck. When the play closed and Margo returned to New York, Eve went to New York, too. But this is all a fabrication; Eve has never been married and has never lived in San Francisco. In reality she's just poor and ruthlessly ambitious.

Domain as it relates to Mind:

Eve's total being is focused on becoming an stage actress, particularly playing a lead role in one of Lloyd Richard's plays, replacing Margo Channing as Broadway's reigning actress. Eve never wavers from her goal: She travels alone to New York to meet her idol; learns the names of Margo's friends; learns the background on Margo's favorite playwright; attends every performance and waits at the stage door night after night to catch a glimpse of Margo; charms Margo's best friend to get an introduction; becomes Margo's personal secretary; asks Karen Richards to sponsor her as a replacement for Margo's pregnant understudy. Everything that Eve does is aimed toward one end only, to become in actress in a Broadway play.

Concern as it relates to The Subconscious:

Eve strives to fulfill her desire to be a stage actress. She equates the basic need for love with audience applause for a performance.

EVE
[. . .] Why if there's nothing else -- there's
applause. I've listened, from backstage, to people
applaud. It's like -- like waves of love coming
over the footlights and wrapping you up.

Range as it relates to Hope:

Eve hopes to meet Margo by standing night after night at the stage door, until one night Karen Richards speaks to her and brings her into the theater; once inside Margo's household, Eve hopes to get on stage as an actress by ingratiating herself to Margo's theater friends; once in the position of Margo's understudy, she hopes to have an opportunity to show everyone her acting ability.

Counterpoint as it relates to Dream:

Although Eve is an amateur actress who works as a personal secretary, she dreams of one day standing on a theater stage accepting audience applause:

EVE
[. . .] Imagine. . . to know, every night, that
different hundreds of people love you. . . they smile,
their eyes shine -- you've pleased them, they
want you, you belong. Just that alone is worth
anything . . .

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Hope vs. Dream:

Eve's hopes that through her manipulation of Margo and Margo's friends she'll get a part in a Broadway play. Her dream of