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 then I'm not interested." Katharine Hepburn played the role, and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. Davis was offered a role in a film version of the Virginia Kellogg prison drama "Women Without Men". Originally intended to pair Davis with Joan Crawford, Davis made it clear that she would not appear in any "dyke movie". It was filmed as "Caged" (1950), and the lead roles were played by Eleanor Parker (who was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress) and Agnes Moorehead. In 1948, Davis was cast in the melodrama "Winter Meeting". Although she initially was