Bette Davis theatrical actress Margo Channing in "All About Eve" (1950). Davis read the script, described it as the best she had ever read, and accepted the role. Within days, she joined the cast in San Francisco to begin filming. During production, she established what would become a life-long friendship with her co-star Anne Baxter and a romantic relationship with her leading man Gary Merrill, which led to marriage. The film's director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, later remarked: "Bette was letter perfect. She was syllable-perfect. The director's dream: the prepared actress." Critics responded positively to Davis' performance, and several of her lines became
Bette Davis award from the Cannes Film Festival, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. She also received the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award as Best Actress, having been named by them as the Worst Actress of 1949 for "Beyond the Forest". During this time, she was invited to leave her handprints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. On July 3, 1950, Davis' divorce from William Sherry was finalized, and on July 28, she married Gary Merrill, her fourth and final husband. With Sherry's consent, Merrill adopted B. D., Davis' daughter with Sherry. In January 1951, Davis and Merrill