The Three Faces of Eve
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| The Three Faces of Eve | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nunnally Johnson |
| Produced by | Nunnally Johnson |
| Written by | Corbett Thigpen (book) Hervey M. Cleckley (book) Nunnally Johnson |
| Starring | Joanne Woodward David Wayne Lee J. Cobb |
| Music by | Robert Emmett Dolan |
| Cinematography | Stanley Cortez |
| Release date(s) |  United StatesSeptember 23, 1957 |
The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 book and film, loosely based on the true story of a woman (Chris Costner-Sizemore) who had dissociative identity disorder. [1]
The film stars Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb, Nancy Kulp and Alistair Cooke. It was filmed at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia.
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[edit] Film Summary
Eve White is a quiet, self-effacing wife and mother who has headaches and occasional blackouts. Eventually she is sent to see psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and while under hypnosis her "alter personality", wild, fun-loving Eve Black, discloses herself. With Eve Black on the loose, Eve White's husband leaves her and abandons their daughter. Under continued therapy, a third personality appears, the relatively stable Jane.
The rest of the film depicts Luther's attempts to reconcile the three faces of Eve, including uncovering a tragic event which occurred in Eve’s childhood. Her beloved grandmother had died, and according to family custom relatives were supposed to kiss the dead person at the viewing. Eve's grief and terror led to her "splitting off" a second personality to accomplish things she herself did not want to do.
After discovering the cause of her disorder, Jane is able to remember everything that has ever happened to all three personalities. Dr. Luther asks to speak with Eve White, but when Jane tries to bring her out, she discovers that Eve White and Eve Black no longer exist. All three personalities are once again whole. She marries a man named Earl whom she met when she was Jane and reunites with her daughter Bonnie.
[edit] Film notes
[edit] The non-fiction book
The original Three Faces of Eve book was rushed into publication and film rights immediately sold to director Nunnally Johnson in 1957, apparently to capitalize on public interest in multiple personalities following the publication of Shirley Jackson's 1954 novel The Birds' Nest, which was made into the 1957 film Lizzie. [2]
[edit] Awards
The film won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Joanne Woodward), at that time a relative unknown, who later went on to play Dr. Cornelia Wilbur in the film Sybil .
[edit] References
- ^ Thigpen, Corbett, and Herbert Cleckley, The Three Faces of Eve. Kingsport, 1957.
- ^ Jackson, Shirley, The Birds' Nest. Farrar Straus & Young, 1954.
