The Three Faces of Eve
Tags: psychological

Plot synopsis:
Eve White is a timid, self-effacing wife and mother who is subject to severe and blinding headaches and occasional blackouts. Eventually she is sent to see a personality psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and while having a conversation, a "new personality", the wild, fun-loving Eve Black, emerges. Eve Black knows everything about Eve White, but Eve White is unaware of Eve Black. When Eve Black becomes the dominant personality, Eve White's husband leaves her and abandons their daughter, Bonnie. Eve White is sent to an asylum after Eve Black tries to kill Eve White's daughter.
Dr. Luther considers both Eve White and Eve Black to be incomplete and inadequate personalities. Most of the film depicts Luther's attempts to understand and deal with these two faces of Eve. He eventually prompts her to remember a traumatic event in Eve’s childhood. Her beloved grandmother had died when she was six, and according to family custom relatives were supposed to kiss the dead person at the viewing, making it easier for them to let go. Eve's grief and terror led to her "splitting off" into two distinctly different personalities.
Under hypnosis at one session, a third personality manifests, the relatively stable Jane. After discovering the cause of her disorder, Jane is gradually able to remember everything that has ever happened to all three personalities. When Luther asks to speak with Eve White, they discover that Eve White and Eve Black no longer exist. All three personalities have merged again into a single one. She marries a man named Earl whom she met when she was Jane and reunites with her daughter Bonnie.

Review: Cobb is also excellent, as usual, as the soft-spoken, patient doctor who tries for years to help her, and David Wayne is also fine as Eve's husband, who, in one fascinating scene, seems to cheat on his wife WITH HIS OWN WIFE!
However, as Danny Peary reminds us in his fun book "Alternate Oscars," the real-life Eve had not been cured at the time this film was made, but rather required 17 years' worth of additional therapy, during which time a full 22 personalities came forth!
To give credit where it is do, The Three Faces of Eve is about a real case of multiple personality disorder and Alistair Cooke's narration does give it a proper time frame, the cure is a matter of years here.In only her third feature film Joanne Woodward became the Best Actress for 1957, ironically beating out Elizabeth Taylor who was descending into madness in Raintree County instead of being cured.
She's drab homemaker Eve White, a Tennessee Williams sexpot as Eve Black, and as Jane who's trying to leave both behind.As good as Woodward is, my favorite scene in The Three Faces of Eve is when psychiatrist Lee J.
Cobb tries to explain to Woodward's working class husband David Wayne about multiple personality disorder.
Another performance to look for is that of future TV physician Ben Casey, Vincent Edwards as a soldier trying to pick up Woodward in her sex kitten self.Nunnally Johnson gets some real good performances out of his cast and a once in a lifetime role for Joanne Woodward..
Joanne Woodward is simply amazing as a woman who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.
Joanne Woodward is SO good in this (she won the academy award for best actress).
Her portrayals of Eve White (dowdy and dreary), Eve Black (sensual and wild) and the eventual Jane (pretty close to what you'd call normal) were nothing short of incredible due to the diversity of the personalities and the fact that she was able to achieve such believability.
'The Three Faces of Eve' tells the true story of a housewife who suffers from the condition recognized as dissociative identity disorder today.
Nunnally Johnson's movie entirely focuses on the experience of Eve White, Eve Black and Jane during a period of a couple of years beginning from the time she started visiting her psychologist.
Cobb is restrained as Eve's psychologist but it is Joanne Woodward who carries the film.
Joanne Woodward's performance is extremely colorful and entertaining--she really did a good job in portraying the 3 personalities!
Many (and probably the vast majority) therapists now believe that these multiple personalities are, in fact, not a real manifestation of underlying parallel personalities but are unintentionally created by the therapists themselves or are created by the patient due to all the exposure MPD has in the media (such as after the film SYBIL appeared on TV).
And early in the book, they mentioned the 3 faces of Eve and the Oscar Mrs Woodward won for her portray of the personality troubled character.
In 1951, in Georgia, the submissive housewife and mother Eve White (Joanne Woodward) is brought by her husband Ralph White (David Wayne) to a consultation with Doctor Curtis Luther (Lee J.
"The Three Faces of Eve" is based on a true story and based on a book written by two medical doctors about a case of multiple personality in Georgia.
But it is still a good docudrama, especially because of the magnificent performance of Joanne Woodward in the role of three different women.
The drama The Three Faces of Eve is directed by Nunnally Johnson and stars Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, and Lee J.
The film is a true story and takes place between 1951 and 1953 in a small town not too far from New York City.Eve White (Woodward) is a woman who suffers from severe headaches and spells of amnesia.
There were many great shots throughout the film many of them were for when Eve changed into a different personality.
Of course Johnson has to be complimented for his great job getting wonderful performances from his actors.Joanne Woodward delivered one of the greatest performances of all time in this film.
Like a good score should it adds another layer to the film that allows the viewer to get more entwined with the plot.Overall I give this film a 7/10 due to the outstanding performance by Joanne Woodward and also the edginess for the film at the time.
Eve White (Joanne Woodward) has agreed to see a psychiatrist along with her husband Ralph (David Wayne – probably his most significant film role).
Cobb (as Dr. Luther) really supports this film and the character(s) of Eve, and it is seems to me a big oversight by the Academy that he wasn't nominated for an award; two of the nominees for Best Supporting Actor (Russ Tamblyn and Arthur Kennedy) had appeared in "Peyton Place".
In an interview Johnson relates that he really wanted Orson Welles to play the doctor's role (http://www.archive.org).There is more to the story of the real person's life upon who this was based (Chris Sizemore) then we are able to cover in this movie.
Joanne Woodward began her formidable career as a woman with three personalities: Eve White, Eve Black, and Jane.
Her tendency to shift from one personality to another very quickly causes numerous problems for her, necessitating psychiatric help.You can easily see why Joanne Woodward won an Oscar for this role.
*Joanne Woodward gives possibly the best performance any women has given in a starring role as Eve White, Eve Black, and Jane.
Joanne Woodward's stellar performance as a woman afflicted with multiple personality syndrome gives empathy to victims of emotional disorders.
You could definitely see the little Hollywood touches (the happy ending, for one) but for the most part it seemed pretty accurate and (because it was based on a true story) happens to be one of the only movies out there about multiple personalities that is even somewhat accurate..
Excellent performance from Lee J Cobb as the psychiatrist, phenomenal performance from Joanne Woodward as the victim of multiple personality disorder and a really fine, tight, dramatic and emotional film.
Joanne Woodward lights up the screen in triple roles in this tale of multiple-personality disorder.
In time, a third personality emerges, a soft-spoken but mature and intelligent woman named Jane.Although extremely well shot in CinemaScope by Stanley Cortez, this relatively brief film (92 minutes long) does not try to dazzle the viewer with visual dynamics, hinging almost entirely on Woodwards' impressive ability to delineate these three distinct characters.
Offering strong support are Wayne, as the husband who finds that he just can't stand by her (and, in one memorable scene, finds himself attracted to the Eve Black personality), and Cobb as the determined doctor interested in Eves' welfare.
It doesn't get too bogged down in "psycho-babble", although there is some amusement in the way that Cobb has his work cut out for him trying to use laymen's terms with the not-terribly-bright, hot-tempered Wayne.While the film ends rather abruptly, it's careful to point out to us that the journey to self-discovery for Eve was a couple of years in the making.
While the ending is kind of typical Hollywood stuff, Woodward still sells all of it so beautifully.Inspired by the real-life case of South Carolina woman Christine Costner Sizemore, who ultimately manifested over *20* different personalities over the course of her lifetime.Eight out of 10..
Here it gets almost clinical treatment, with the many sessions between therapist Dr. Luther (Cobb) and the afflicted Eve. No doubt about it, Woodward really delivers with tricky material that could easily have gone over the top, which comes close with strumpet Eve Black's wanton behavior.It helps that events reflect actual occurrences, otherwise some would be hard to believe.
This purports to be the real case of Eve. In 1951, timid housewife Eve White (Joanne Woodward) and her abusive husband walk into the office of psychiatrist Dr. Luther (Lee J.
Movie about multiple personality disorder that is worth seeing for Joanne Woodward's Oscar-winning performance.Like many movies from this time period about subjects that the medical and scientific worlds were only still learning about, "The Three Faces of Eve" should probably not be used as a factual portrayal of what multiple personality disorder is like, despite the film being based on the case of a real woman.
So much character and warmth and feminine wit...Lee J.Cobb does an excellent job here too and shows in contrast with his performances for example in 'On the Waterfront' or in '12 Angry Men' that he can do the big ole scary villain/tough guy as well as here, the sophisticated psychologist.Ultimately, this film surely could've been better and been a 9 or a 10 but does really well all in all, and one of the main criticisms would be that the ending is too rushed as it is the ultimate climax and answer to the entire film's happenings, if only it could've been explained a bit more or given more depth...8/10..
Joanne Woodward won a best actress Academy Award for her memorable performance as Eve White, an unassuming and shy housewife who has been suffering from headaches and blackouts.
The doctor is determined to get to the root cause of this split, no matter how long it takes...Best remembered for Joanne Woodward's excellent performance, this Nunnally Johnson written and directed drama(based on a real case) is still reasonably compelling, though the outcome is a bit underwhelming.
I am really interested in MPD now and plan on reading the book as well as renting that famous other film about multiple personalities, "Sybil" and re-watching that,too!
This powerful performance given by Joanne Woodward really established her as a top actress and not just another pretty Hollywood face.She gave a dramatic performance of Eve a troubled young woman whose life developed three separate distinct personalities.
The film shows a new side to a patient with multiple personalities that many people had never seen before in the early 50's.
There were many more personalities than three that emerged from the woman called "Eve White" depicted here by JOANNE WOODWARD.
Fans of "Ben Casey" (the TV show) will recognize VINCE EDWARDS as the impatient young man who spends eight bucks on the gin-guzzling Eve Black and expects to pick her up.The childhood incident that seemed to trigger an attack of multiple personality disorder is unconvincing, to say the least.Summing up: Uninspired telling of material that could have been handled with much more dramatic impact, considering that Nunnally Johnson wrote and directed it.
Based on a true story, this film looks at the case of woman with multiple personality disorder.
Woodward, in only her third film and her first lead role, won an Oscar and became a star with her fine performance here.
And the best thing about The Three Face of Eve is that the viewer gets to know the plot somewhat in detail at the right beginning of the movie and the narrations made in intervals yet the curiosity of the background is never lost but improved by it.
The Three Faces of Eve is based on the true story of a woman named Chris Costner Sizemore (Best known as Eve White) who was suffering from the rare condition of multiple personalities.
The Three Faces of Eve is a very character driven movie just like most of the classics are.
So I watched 1957's "the three faces of Eve" starring Joanne Woodward.
Ms. Woodward did win an academy award for her performance as three slightly different personalities inhabiting one body, also known as multiple personality disorder.
However, I read about the woman Eve is based on, and apparently this movie left out a lot and maybe changed some relevant things pertinent to her case.
I think Joanne Woodward's portrayal of Eve in all her forms was o.k. I personally think Eddie Murphy did a much better job of portraying multiple characters in "the nutty professor", but where is his academy award.
And while much credit needs to be given Nunnaly Johnson's direction, I believe Woodward's performance fueled each of the other actors in reacting to her personalities.These days, the film doesn't have the same power which is why I feel it needs to be seen from the mid 50's viewpoint.I heartily disagree with those who feel there wasn't enough difference between the Eve White personality and the Jane personality.
Woodward definitely brought out the submissiveness and lack of self confidence in Eve White and the level headed attitude of Jane.It's true that the true story didn't end where the movie did.
However, Woodward did the switch so effortlessly that I feel she was destined for the role.As for those who argue that MPD doesn't actually exist, I personally knew a woman afflicted with the disorder.
I'm certainly no psychiatrist and I would never, ever say that I knew a hill of beans about something like Multiple Personality Disorder (M.P.D.) - But, with that said, I certainly found this film's over-simplified fast-tracking in regards to the complete cure of Eve White's obviously complicated, deep-rooted mental affliction to be just a tad too pat and easily remedied from this layman's puzzled point of view.With the way that Eve's psychological illness was treated in this somewhat pedestrian-level, little picture, all that was needed to fix Eve's screwed-up, little head was for the doc to subject her to but a few limp-wristed sessions of hypnotherapy - And before we knew it, Eve was suddenly emerging into that of a very well-rounded, level-headed, likable and intelligent woman who had not a care in the world (as well, she also had a hunky, understanding new beau waiting in the wings to love her to pieces).I don't know what most people think, but, when I took into serious consideration the fact that Eve's M.P.D. didn't just take place over night (it was an extremely rare, almost unheard of, mental disorder that had been with her, steadily becoming worse, since the very young age of 6), this over-simplified cure-all of using only hypnosis struck me square in the face as being downright ludicrous beyond words.I guess (considering that this "based-on-fact" story was a very clear product of the 1950s) its whole over-simplification of a very complex disorder of the mind was a deliberate attempt by its producers to present its subject matter as a marketable product, easily sold to the naive mind-set of "Mr.
Joanne Woodward won her Oscar for performing the role of a woman with 3 "multiplied" personalities in this Nunnally Johnson film.
What I liked best about the movie was the fact that the "bad girl" persona (Eve Black), who seemed at first simply a shallow representation of her repressed sexuality, actually becomes a very sympathetic and believable character in her own right.
Maybe Johnson thought the film could be seen as feminist if he didn't include him for some kind of balance, but to me it felt cheesy and forced.On the whole the movie works, by keeping us interested in the cause of Eve's sickness and also in the fact that it's called "3 faces" but we only see the first two for quite a lot of the film's running time.
A CinemaScope production, music is by Robert Emmett Dolan and cinematography by Stanley Cortez.Doctor Curtis Luther (Cobb) treats Eve White (Woodward) for Multiple Personality Disorder...Christine, Strawberry Girl.It has become one of those films that is stuck in some sort of Hollywood purgatory.
Though away from "Eve's" interactions with Doctor Luther (Cobb perfectly restrained for a change), the rest of the film kind of feels like filler, Johnson not quite comfortable enough as a director to expand the dramatic thematics out of the Doc's office.Based on the real life case of Chris Costner Sizemore, the story only scratches the surface of what the poor lady went through.
But again, it put the case in the public conscious, where even today it should at least make people consider reading up on the real "Eve's" story.Uneven for sure, where rewards and annoyances await, but Woodward and the film's mark in subject matter history lift it way above average.
Joanne Woodward came practically out of nowhere and sailed right into an Oscar win for her smashing breakthrough performance in this study of a woman with multiple personality disorder.
I had to wonder if there was a clinically right or wrong way to approach multiple personality disorder, and here he was just plowing right ahead.Right after watching the movie I took a look at the clip of Miss Woodward accepting her Best Actress Oscar from John Wayne.
Joanne Woodward is the chronically fatigued, defeated, dull housewife, Eve White, dominated by her boorish husband, David Wayne, in 1950s Georgia.
The different personalities don't know what's causing "this multiplied thing," as Eve White's husband calls it.
***SPOILERS*** Based on the true story of Chris Contner Sizemore the film "Three Faces of Eve" explores the problem of multiple personalities that at the time of the release of the movie in 1957 was almost totally unknown even in the world of medicine.
But as for Eve's friends and family members who knows her both as Eve White and Eve Black she was still someone who needed help not just for herself but those, like Dr. Luther, who have to deal with her personality disorder without them ending up going nuts themselves..
Joanne Woodward plays Jane, Eve White & Eve Black.
In fact Nunnally Johnson - a Georgian himself, as was the real-life Eve and indeed Joanne Woodward - coaxes excellent performances out of virtually all the performers and the film stands up well overall..
Also remarkable because, although it took good coin, "Three Faces of Eve" failed to chalk up any box- office records at all, either domestically (it didn't even make the top hundred) or in the United Kingdom.Alas, aside from Joanne Woodward's award-winning performance, the film is actually of little interest.