Series Histories - Detail
Eve And Everybodyís Film Review
- Dates:
- 1921 - 1933
History
Eve and Everybody's Film Review was launched in June 1921 as Pathe's cinemagazine aimed at the female audience, a compliment to their already successful, Pathe Pictorial. The series began with a title competition, asking members of the public to suggest a better name for the magazine. However, it seems as though none was forthcoming, as the title remained, often shortened to Eve's Film Review, throughout the cinemagazine's twelve year run. Eve's Film Review was produced by Pathe's Periodicals Department, under the direction of Fred Watts, who described the series in a promotional essay, ìJust 'Pic and Eveî in 1928, as 'a most comprehensive and attractive ìlightî periodical'. It was mostly put together from library footage, the occasional specially shot story (using manpower from the Pathe News camera team), and bought in series, for example, Living Masterpieces' (March 1922 - March 1924) and Sportlights'(April 1925 - May 1926).
Eve's Film Review's main content, in keeping with its 'fashion, fun and fancy' slogan was film of women doing interesting and novel jobs and hobbies, fashion displays and novelty items ranging from excerpts of musicals and plays to slow-motion camera studies of nature. The mixture was lively and varied, reflecting art, home, fashion, stage, recreation and cartoons. These cartoons were often of great prominence in the series. Eve's Film Review was the first context in which British audiences saw Felix the Cat, whose cartoons were shown over two consecutive issues of Eve, from June 1922 until January 1926 (when Ideal began to distribute 'whole' Felix cartoons as a separate entity), and were phenomenally popular. Many promotional Felix the Cat souvenir items remain from this association, from wool winders to china figurines, all bearing the legend 'Pathe's Eve's Film Review'. After Felix, Eve's Film Review continued to finish each reel with a cartoon, running Krazy Kat (January 1926 - May 1927), and Sammy and Sausage (May 1928 - April 1929). Combined with the other content of the reel, Eve's Film Review provided everything a 1920s woman could desire for cinematic entertainment.
Indeed, the longevity of this cinemagazine does suggest that it was a popular exhibition choice. The Bioscope celebrated Eve's Film Review's tenth year in 1931, saying that the series 'has been one of the most appreciated of all the screen topicals, and during the ten years it has thrived has been noteworthy for the bright and interesting nature of its contents' (20th May 1931, p.32). Evidence from the surviving correspondence between Pathe and the public suggests that alongside the critics and the women for whom the series was intended, Eve's Film Review also had an appreciative male audience, perhaps because of the frequent shots of women wearing very little, but also because of the variety of subjects covered, and the amusing, often ironic, intertitles composed by Watts.
Eve's Film Review was one of the longest running cinemagazines of the 1920s, ending in December 1933. Its demise can be attributed mainly to Pathe's business strategy rather than any failure of the series itself. It seems that a decision was made for Eve not to make the transition to sound and its content was incorporated into Pathe Pictorial.
Provenance
This database is an attempt to reconstruct the output of Eveís Film Review from details published in contemporary trade journals, particularly the Kinematograph Weekly and The Bioscope. Several issue records were also compiled from surviving Pathe paperwork, held at the BUFVC, and viewing notes.
Other Information:
Note: Pathe took its name from the company's French founder, Charles PathÈ. The acute accent was used occasionally in the various newsreels and cinemagazines that the company issued in Britain, but it was most commonly not used at all, and for consistency's sake the accent has not been used on News on Screen. Further information about Eveís Film Review can be found in the talk given by Emily Fuller at the British Silent Cinema Festival, Nottingham (2005) entitled ëLa Belle France Steps In: International Co-operation and European Presence in Pathe Cinemagazinesí, which can be found on the Talks page.
Where to see the film:
- BFI National Archive
- British Pathe Ltd
