All About Eve that formed the basis for the film. Bette Davis played three roles on film that had been originated by Tallulah Bankhead — "Dark Victory", "Jezebel" and "The Little Foxes", much to Bankhead's chagrin. Bankhead and Davis were considered to be somewhat similar in style. Several decades later Davis called Channing "the essence of a Tallulah Bankhead kind of actress" in an interview with Barbara Walters. The production is notable in that Mary Orr, of "The Wisdom of Eve," played the role of Karen Richards. The cast also featured Alan Hewitt as Addison DeWitt (who narrated), Beatrice Pearson as Eve Harrington,
All About Eve film contrasts its predatory nature ("studying you like a blueprint") with the love and warmth of her later reliance upon Bill. The pressure to acquiesce agency and more highly value patriarchy, following the return of men from the war, after having been shown propaganda promoting agency such as Rosie the Riveter and after having occupied traditionally male roles such as bomb-building factory worker, was deemed "the problem that has no name" by well-known feminist Betty Friedan. Despite what critics such as Corber have described as the homophobia pervasive in the movie, "All About Eve" has long been a favored film