Sarah Siddons painting. The film opens with a close-up of the statuette, and ends with a character holding it. Actress Bette Davis, who played Margo Channing in the film, posed as Siddons in a 1957 re-creation of the Reynolds portrait staged as part of the Pageant of the Masters. In April 2010, BBC Radio 4's "Woman's Hour Drama" presented "Sarah Siddons: Life in Five Sittings", a radio drama by David Pownall about the long relationship between Siddons and artist Thomas Lawrence, in five 15-minute parts. When the film "All About Eve" was released in 1950, the "Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement"
Bette Davis role, but Davis viewed it as an opportunity to show the range of her acting skills. Her co-star, Leslie Howard, was initially dismissive of her, but as filming progressed, his attitude changed, and he subsequently spoke highly of her abilities. The director John Cromwell allowed her relative freedom: "I let Bette have her head. I trusted her instincts." She insisted that she be portrayed realistically in her death scene, and said: "The last stages of consumption, poverty, and neglect are not pretty, and I intended to be convincing-looking." The film was a success, and Davis' characterization won praise from critics,