Saturday, February 12, 2011

Radio review – TGA#127 – “All About Eve” (1951) ***

Fans of the film will want to check out this adaptation since Tallulah Bankhead plays the role for Margot Channing. After an awkward start she becomes more comfortable in the part (or maybe it just took me a while to get used to not hearing Bette Davis). Kevin McCarthy steps in very well for the role of Bill Sampson and Mary Orr, writer of the original story which led to the script, is Karen Richards, and she’s good too. Unfortunately the casting of the other roles is minor, particularly jarring for Addison de Witt. As if to compensate, they’ve given some of Addison’s choicest likes to Bankhead – she refers to him being like a Trappist monk, and it’s she who tells Eve everyone knows about her dodgy past. The latter bit especially doesn’t feel right; still it’s fascinating to hear this take on the famous movie.

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