Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Episode 3 October 10th, 2010

Welcome to the third episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow? where we look at the Academy Award winner for Best Picture and the top box office earner of the same year. The midway point of the 20th century, the year 1950, brings us our latest picks: Cinderella (the top box office earner) and All About Eve (the Academy Award Best Picture Winner).


All About Eve, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is the story of a young ingenue making her way through the world of theater by any means necessary. Starring Bette Davis as the aging actress Margo, and Anne Baxter as the ambitious starlet Eve, this film plumbs the depths of desire, fame and idolization. Utilizing a Rashomon-style storytelling method, several different characters provide the narration, from the conniving Addison Dewitt, played by George Sanders, to the honest Karen, played by Celeste Holm. This was a thoroughly riveting film we both enjoyed, a timeless classic unmarred by age.

Cinderella, directed by Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson, is the classic fairytale of one girl's dream to meet her handsome prince. With the voices of Ilene Wood (Cinderella), Eleanor Audley (Lady Tremaine) and James Macdonald, this animated story offers a mixture of enchanting songs and slapstick humor to keep the whole family entertained. Though this story maintained a sense of child-like wonder throughout, it can lack some sophistication.

So what won over our hearts more? The animated fantasy of Cinderella or the engaging drama of All About Eve? Check out this latest episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow? to see.

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