Mary Orr

William Conrad is Bill Sampson.

Adapted from the 1950 20th Century Fox film, with a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and based on Mary Orr's story, The Wisdom of Eve, the drama follows Eve's growing place in Margot's professional and personal circle, where rivalry and insecurity test the people around the star.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, the curtain rises.

Here is the original broadcast.

Tonight we present another of our 20 greats.

It's a recent motion picture which was immediately acclaimed as one of the screen's greatest comedies, when 20th Century Fox brought All About Eve to the screen.

Perhaps you had already read about Eve's unorthodox behavior in Mary Orr's original story, Wisdom of Eve.

And tonight I'm sure you'll be fascinated by our story again, as played by our stars, Anne Blythe and Claire Trevor.

Mank.

The film began as Mary Orr's 1946 Cosmopolitan short story, The Wisdom of Eve.

Fox optioned the screen rights in 1949 and Joseph L. [laughs] developed it into an 82-page treatment called Best Performance before expanding it into a screenplay.

Zanuck was heavily involved in the development, giving Mankiewicz extensive notes and ultimately suggesting the title All About Eve.