All About Eve (1950) is probably the bitchiest film of all time. Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s witty screenplay is filled with scintillating dialogue, sharp observations, and it is rife with quotable lines.

All About Eve is directed by Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck.

The film stars a ballsy, brassy, bitchy Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a celebrated, but aging Broadway star. Anne Baxter plays Eve Harrington, an ambitious young fan who insinuates herself into Channing’s life, ultimately threatening Channing’s career and her personal relationships. All About Eve also features great performances by  George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill (the future Mrs. Davis), Thelma Ritter, and Marilyn Monroe.

All About Eve received 14 Academy Award nominations and won six, including Best Picture. All About Eve is the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations (Davis and Baxter as Best Actress, Holm and Ritter as Best Supporting Actress). It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, among the first 50 films to be registered.

All About Eve features four iconic queer characters: Margo Channing, diva of all divas; the effete Addison DeWitt (Oscar winner Sanders), inventor of the “beard”; Margo’s assistant Birdie (the terrific Ritter), queen of the wise cracks; and Eve Harrington (Baxter), a small-town girl with big city dreams. Eve’s is the quintessential gay story: escaping your stifling hometown to find love, money, fame, and acceptance in NYC. It’s a tale as old and as gay as time. Eve takes it even a step further by conniving and backstabbing her way to the top.

Margo Channing is an ultimate Gay Icon. We love crazy white women with drinking problems, and Channing stands a martini glass above all others.