The Criterion Collection releases its 2-disc special edition of All About Eve on DVD and Blu-Ray today, in a 4K digital restoration with extras including documentaries, interviews and audio commentary (more details here.)
“[Joe] Mankiewicz had been working in Hollywood—as a writer, a producer, and finally a director—since the dying days of the silent era … By the time he made All About Eve, he knew how to assemble a cast that could bring his showy scenes off … And for the small comic role of the sexy aspiring actor who accompanies Addison [DeWitt] to the bumpy party, he chose a virtual unknown named Marilyn Monroe; she nails every one of her handful of lines. With the exception of [Thelma] Ritter—who would rack up six Oscar nominations in the next thirteen years—and of course Marilyn, everyone involved was at his or her peak in All About Eve, including Mankiewicz.”
Terence Rafferty