The movie has some really great lines from both Bette Davis ("Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!") and Celeste Holm ("The cynicism you refer to, I acquired the day I discovered I was different from little boys!"). The machinations were delicious and the 1950s clothes so much more chic than anyone wears today. The film revolves around the women, although the men clearly control the theatre world and the downfall of the villainess comes about largely because a man now "owns" her in a way that seems quite creepy to my modern sensibilities (there is also a rather depressing quote about how a woman isn't a woman unless she has a man - like smoking while pregnant, some ideas are best left in the 1950s). I recommend checking out All About Eve if your idea of action is backstabbing and witty repartee. And can I say, Bette Davis does withering disdain like no actress since. This film is definitely slower-paced than most modern films, but there is a lot more going on than it seems on the surface. Definitely a film that's good to knit through.
Despite lots of drinks (we opened a bottle of wine, but didn't even approach Margo Channing-drunk), there isn't much in the way of food in this movie, so I went with period-appropriate dinner party fare. We started with jumbo-sized canapes - creamed mushrooms on English muffins. Then, a deconstructed wedge salad (chopped romaine topped with blue cheese, tomatoes, and bacon) which is an old-school favorite of mine. And for desert, the most 1950s dish I can think of - pineapple upside down cake. I used pecans in lieu of the classic maraschino cherries and I sort of missed them. How cool would the fluorescent green ones look in the middle of the pineapple?
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