The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

Joanne Woodward was wonderful in this movie. She really showed the confusion and hardship surrounding multiple personality disorder. Years later, however, I found a book called, "I'm Eve". It was the autobiography of Chris Sizemore, the person the movie is based on. If you would like the continuation of this story, and there is a lot more, then this book is a must read.

Fmovies: 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. Cobb) since she has painful headaches followed by blackouts with no recollections of what she did. The rude Ralph tells that she bought expensive clothing and hurt their daughter Bonnie during one of these blackouts. Dr. Luther begins her therapy and soon Eve shows a new personality, the reckless and wild Eve Black that hates Ralph and loves to drink and dance with other men, and Dr. Luther diagnoses a case of multiple personality to his colleague Doctor Francis Day (Edwin Jerome).

Ralph moves with Bonnie to Jacksonville and Eve continues her treatment. She tells that she is hearing voices, and Dr. Luther uses hypnosis to disclose more about her trauma. Out of the blue, a third personality emerges and tells that she is Jane that shows that is a balanced personality. Dr. Luther questions which personality should be the predominant.

"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. I do not know the impact of Nunnally Johnson's movie in 1957 since it is dated in the present days. But it is still a good docudrama, especially because of the magnificent performance of Joanne Woodward in the role of three different women. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Três Máscaras de Eva" ("The Three Masks of Eve")

For the average viewer, this will be a highly entertaining film. Joanne Woodward's performance is extremely colorful and entertaining--she really did a good job in portraying the 3 personalities! However, the sad problem with the film is that so much of the movie just isn't true or sound psychologically--at least according to the average psychotherapist. This is actually a pretty controversial topic among some therapists today. 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). For example, IF the therapist believes that multiple personalities exist, they tend to find that MANY of the patients who come to them have MPD--while those who don't believe in its existence do not see people with these traits. In addition, many cases (especially the more famous "Sybil") have actually been debunked as frauds.

PS--In response to OTHER postings on IMDb, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders are NOT the same. Even among therapists who believe MPD exists, there is universal agreement among professionals that MPD and schizophrenia are not at all the same. The DSM (the therapists' bible for diagnosing mental illnesses) lists them as separate disorders with very different symptoms. They are VERY different and are treated VERY differently. This movie was NOT about schizophrenia. I use the movie myself in my psychology class as it is a wonderful introduction into this controversy. Great entertainment but "fact"? I am skeptical.

PPS--In response to one posting advising others to IGNORE another posting because it is WRONG. I would NEVER want to do this. Whether you believe DID/MPD exists, it is very unwise to advise others to ignore those whose opinions differ. Provided you have an informed opinion (like the 2 in question), it's nice to hear the controversy. I want people to be aware there is a lot of disagreement--don't believe any one posting is definitively right just because they say so!

The Three Faces of Eve fmovies. This movie is definitely a must-see for any classic movie lover. Joanne Woodward definitely deserved the Oscar for this one. It is so amazing how seemingly easy she could change from one character to another in 2 seconds flat and make it so believable. This is an excellent movie and I highly recommend it. 5 stars out of 5!:)

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. Got to see this one.

Joanne Woodward is simply amazing as a woman who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. She is very believable, and is fantastic in all three personalities, Eve White/Eve Black/Jane. Lee J Cobb is also great as the doctor who treats her. In my opinion one of the greatest "Best Actress Academy Award" winning performances that I have watched. She deserves all the critical acclaim and awards that she won. 10 out of 10.