Bette Davis Was Convinced Her Offer For All About Eve Was Nothing More Than A Prank

The Fox producer called Davis a decade after their falling out to offer her a life-changing role, but the actress was convinced it was nothing more than a prank call. She answered the phone with an exaggerated accent: “Hello, Darryl dear, Lovely to heah from you.” Zanuck, unphased by her theatrics, informed her that he had a script for her. “I think you’ll like it. And I hope to death you’ll want to do it,” he said sincerely. Davis, still convinced she was being toyed with, played along and responded, “Anything you say… if I like it, I will do it.”

The lead role in “All About Eve” was originally given to Claudette Colbert, a huge ’30s movie star known for “It Happened One Night” and “Cleopatra.” Sadly, the actress suffered a serious injury just weeks before the shoot. When Zanuck offered the part to Davis, he informed her that they were 10 days from filming and that she’d have to start right away. Davis assured Zanuck that she would do “anything you say, Darryl dahling.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know the name of the picture?” the producer ventured. “Oh why not surprise me?” the actress responded laughingly. Finally, Zanuck cut to the chase. “Bette, this script is by Joe Mankiewicz. It’s the picture Claudette Colbert was going to do before she broke her back.” Suddenly everything clicked and she realized that Zanuck had been serious all along. “Darryl! Is that really you?” she exclaimed.

Zanuck made one of the best decisions in Hollywood history when he put aside his biases to cast Davis in “All About Eve.” Her headstrong personality may have gotten her in hot water, but it’s also what made her the perfect fit for the role.