Addison Dewitt is the secondary antagonist of the 1950 film All About Eve. He's a cynical caustic New York drama critic who becomes interested in Eve Harrington's acting, and eventually blackmails her when he find out about Eve trying to come between Karen and Lloyd.
He was portrayed by the late George Sanders.
Why He Rocks[]
- George Saunders does an absolutely marvelous job playing the manipulative critic with what little screen time he has.
- He pretty much drives the film with his wit, cynic, and smarts to help the film's director represent his point of view and opinions about show business. This includes his opening narration.
- Being a Broadway critic, he knows quite a bit about the actors' offstage lives and knows when not to fall to any deceptions.
- When he shows up, he's usually subtle and soft-spoken as a gentleman-like portrayal, which cleverly hides his snark and trickster nature.
- He may be self-serving, arrogant and pretty untrusting, but he still deserves credit for being an incredible manipulator. After Margo introduces Eve and Addison to each other at a party, Eve decides to take advantage of him and his career, as Addison got interested in her and aided her in her rise to stardom. Eventually, Addison writes a column about Eve that insults Margo where Eve makes some painful statements about aging actresses and their young roles, and Eve tries to marry Lloyd Richards during her rise to fame. Ultimately, Addison saw through Eve's deceptions and proved to be an even stronger manipulator than Eve as he takes control of Eve, reveals the truth about Eve's beginnings, breaks her down, and threated to expose the truth. This makes him the only known person who's capable of outsmarting the queen of deception herself. Definitely no small feat, not bad for a character with a small role.
Trivia[]
- George Sanders won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1950.