Best Picture Winners (pt. II)

All About Eve

The French Connection

When perusing the list of 93 Oscars Best Picture Winners, you’ll find countless pieces of incredible, history-making cinema, but there’s also a lot of war films and poignant dramas that just really are of no interest to me. To me, a Best Picture winner should include superb acting, directing, and most importantly, a good script. It’s rare for a film, even a Best Picture winner, to feature all three pillars of good moviemaking, as tonight’s viewings proved. Both of tonight’s films are, miraculously, based on true stories, but one was immensely more compelling. Quite similarly to my previous night of Best Picture Winners, (The Sting and Rocky) one film was phenomenally, unexpectedly wonderful, and the other was… you know, fine. Just as The Sting failed to sting due to the amount of heist films I’d already seen, I was unable to fully connect to The French Connection because of how many versions of this film I’ve seen before. The film follows New York detectives “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), based off of real-life narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, as they try to track down a French heroin smuggler. And that’s about it. The film is one long cat-and-mouse game of tough guys, one that started out fairly strong then began to fizzle out for this critic. First of all, ACAB, I’ve seen a bevy of films about the boys in blue and it’s rare to find one unique or charming enough to stand out — unless it’s strictly a comedy. I would gladly watch 21 Jump Street, Rush Hour, Fargo, or any buddy cop comedy, especially those that are directly making fun of cops (like the Oscar-snubbed Reno911! Miami), but I am otherwise so bored of this genre in general. And though The French Connection can’t take credit for creating the tired archetype of the hardened, alcoholic detective who’s way too into his job, it certainly brought about an abundance of this type of cop drama, and an abundance of chase scenes — my god, the chase scenes. This entire film was essentially just one long chase scene, one that started out impressive and fun enough, but became old by the time we reached the somewhat thrilling conclusion. William Friedkin directed this film with all of the ambition that I expected from a man who made such a controversial film as The Exorcist in all of its “your mother sucks cocks in hell” glory, and a film like Sorcerer, one of the most elaborate and expensive films of its time. It’s clear that the focus of this film, and apparently, the focus of the Academy in 1972, was not placed upon plot but on action and execution. From one shakedown, sting operation, and chase scene to another, The French Connection was boasting its budget and the large scope of its sprawling filming locations. It seemed as if all of New York would’ve had to have shut down in order to film each violent, extensive chase sequence. There was no message meant to be received from this film, but my take away was that the presence and practices of the police always have been excessive and largely, unsuccessful. But I digress, The French Connection does have its moments, including, but not limited to a dazzling performance by a girl group in sparkly outfits that commanded my attention far more than Gene Hackman in a tiny hat sprinting around New York. My disinterest in this film is simply the result of an overexposure to cop dramas, something that I cannot fault William Friedkin, Roy Scheider, Gene Hackman, or his tiny hat for. The French Connection is among the ranks of films from the twentieth century that are indeed significant, but unfortunately lack the oomf and the timelessness that I expect. This was not the case, however, with All About Eve: William Friedkin’s favorite film, one that walked so that every other bitchy showbiz comedic melodrama could run. With an exceedingly excellent script and some truly inspired acting from an ensemble of stars, All About Eve was pretty much everything I could’ve hoped for. Whether it be 1950 or 2021, tales of aging actresses and their youthful protégés are as timeless as Hollywood itself, though All About Eve may have established this genre best. Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and Celeste Holm make this film so iconic, with their precise and perspicacious readings of each brilliant character. By nature of this film’s story and casting, (and holding the record for the most female acting nominations for a film [4]) All About Eve is a feminist triumph, but I do believe this is the only film I’ve seen pre-1970s that passes the Bechdel Test, and features a love, or rather, obsession, that could be read as queer. Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is an over-the-top actress leading the broadway play written by the husband of Karen (Celeste Holm), when Margo’s biggest fan Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) shows up on the scene and shakes the entire theatre world to its core. Margo’s fears of fading into obscurity and being replaced by a younger, more talented version of herself are fully realized when unassuming Eve arrives backstage, full of humility and intrigue. She so easily charms Margo, her friend Karen, and both of their industry boyfriends, without ever giving away too much about herself. This isn’t so much a web of a story that you spend time unraveling, but one you watch form together, rather swiftly and elegantly, as the film plays out. Bette Davis’ presence was reliably wild and unwieldy for the screen, knowing with each metaphor-muddled line delivery that even though Tallulah Bankhead, Marion Davies, Joan Bennett, Joan Fontaine, Greer Garson, Paulette Goddard, Katharine Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Viven Leigh, Ginger Rogers, Rosalind Russell, Norma Shearer, Sylvia Sidney, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, and Loretta Young were all considered for the role, she was born to play this part. Anne Baxter, with her Gone Girl meets Single White Female energy, gave a chilling performance, never once seeming to flinch or even blink as she doted on Bette Davis and studied her every move. Many women were considered for the role of Eve, but Anne Baxter won the part because director Joseph Mankiewicz said Baxter displayed a “bitch virtuosity” that no other actress could provide. (Goals.) This is one of those films where the story of the making of it holds just as much drama and catastrophe as the film itself, so after you watch All About Eve make sure you pour yourself another martini and take a visit to the imdb fun facts page. In addition to introducing audiences to a very young Marilyn Monroe (in a mostly uncredited performance), All About Eve also introduced us to some of the greatest lines of dialogue known to the film world, almost all uttered through the trademark scowl of the imitable Bette Davis. Forgive me if I start integrating “tell it to Dr. Freud” or “fasten your seatbelts, it’s gonna be a bumpy night” into casual conversations from now on, there were just too many quotable moments not to share. Amid all the melodrama and mystery of this iconic film is a truly incredible female-driven narrative, one that gave way for even ballsier stories surrounding women. This, alone, makes All About Eve a history and genre-making success, with or without its 1950 Best Picture win. And just because I spent a good chunk of this paragraph shitting on The French Connection doesn’t mean it didn’t deserve critical acclaim, but the fact that it was up against Fiddler on the Roof and A Clockwork Orange and The Last Picture Show for Best Picture that year, does confuse me. What the Academy bases their criteria off of I have no clue, but it seems that in 1972, they were just horny for Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. Personally, I’m hornier for bold stories of backstabbing, cunning women, but hey, that’s just me.