The Best of Everything (1959) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

A recent Radcliffe College graduate who rises from secretary to manuscript reader at Fabian Publishing. Intelligent and ambitious, she skillfully inserts editorial insight but frequently must navigate a male-dominated office culture. Her evolving career and romantic entanglements reveal both her resolve and vulnerability.

• 💼 Career-focused
• 🎯 Ambition
• 💬 Office politics

An enthusiastic, naive young woman from Colorado who moves into a tiny apartment with Caroline and Gregg. Her courtship with Paul Landers and later complications with Dexter Key place her at the center of romantic and ethical dilemmas. Her arc tracks the tension between optimism and the harsh realities of adult life.

• 💃 Acting dreams
• 🌅 New beginnings
• 💬 Relationships

A glamorous aspiring actress who enters a relationship with David Savage and struggles with professional setbacks in a production. Her obsession with the director escalates into instability, culminating in a fatal fall during a chase that underscores the dangers of unchecked fixation and fame-seeking.

• 🎭 Acting
• 💔 Obsession
• 🕯️ Tragedy

A married woman who becomes the target of Mr. Shalimar’s advances, highlighting the precarious boundaries of workplace flirtations and the consequences of power imbalances. Her experience illustrates the vulnerability of women navigating romance and professional environments.

• 💍 Marriage
• 🔒 Boundaries
• 🗺️ Navigating expectations

A director whose affair with Gregg marks the intersection of art, ambition, and temptation. His professional charisma is shadowed by romantic entanglements, illustrating how personal desire can influence creative decisions and workplace dynamics.

• 🎬 Director
• ❤️‍🔥 Affair
• 🏛️ Ambition

A boisterous co-worker who flirts with Caroline and challenges her career ambitions. His behavior embodies the complexity of office romance, sometimes supportive, sometimes undermining, reflecting the broader tension between personal desires and professional goals.

• 💬 Office romance
• 🚦 Temptation
• 🧩 Rival

A spoiled playboy who pursues April and later tries to manipulate her fate through a coercive marriage proposal. His wealth and arrogance highlight the vulnerability of women caught between desire, autonomy, and exploitation.

• 💸 Wealth
• 🏦 Privilege
• 💔 Heartbreak

A man arranged for Caroline on a blind date by their mothers; his presence and eventual departure reflect the era’s matchmaking norms and the imperfect navigation of romance in a professional setting.

• 💌 Blind date
• 📜 Etiquette
• 🕊️ Romance

The bitter, demanding editor-in-chief who resents Caroline and engages in a controversial affair with a married man. Her departure from Fabian marks a shift in the office hierarchy and underscores the precarious balance of power among women in the industry.

• 💼 Editor-in-chief
• 💢 Jealousy
• ⚡ Power dynamics

The lecherous editor-in-chief whose advances to April and disregard for consequences reveal a corrosive abuse of power in the newsroom. His character embodies the moral compromises and dangers of unchecked authority.

• 🔥 Lecherous authority
• ⚖️ Power abuse
• 👁️ Observation

Caroline’s sharp editorial instincts push her toward advancement at Fabian Publishing, but romance and personal life continually pull at her. The story juxtaposes professional ambition with the pull of relationships, illustrating how women negotiate power, payback, and progress in a male-dominated workplace. It foregrounds the costs and rewards of choosing career ambition in a social climate that still prizes marriage. The tension remains a central driver of character decisions and plot outcomes.

Caroline, April, and Gregg form a bond as they navigate an environment that tests their resilience. The trio supports one another through advances, heartbreak, and career setbacks, symbolizing a collective push for independence. Their camaraderie provides emotional shelter amid office politics, societal expectations, and personal ambitions. The film emphasizes shared experience as a source of strength for women facing a patriarchal system.

The narrative exposes the inequities of authority in the workplace, with senior editors pursuing sexual advances and leveraging their position. Characters confront moral choices, consequences, and the ethics of power dynamics. The story scrutinizes how harassment shapes careers, reputations, and personal agency. It ultimately questions whether power can be tempered by accountability and respect.