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 second radio version of "All About Eve" starring Tallulah Bankhead as Margo Channing was presented on NBC's "The Big Show" by the Theatre Guild of the Air on November 16, 1952. Bankhead and many contemporary critics felt that the characterization of Margo Channing was patterned on her, a long-rumored charge denied by both Mankiewicz and Davis, but attested by costume designer Edith Head. Additionally, Bankhead's rivalry with her understudy (Lizabeth Scott) during the production of "The Skin of Our Teeth" is cited as an alternative hypothesis for the origin of Mary Orr's "The Wisdom of Eve," the original short story