The Best of Everything (1959) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Amanda Farrow secretly advised editor-in-chief Shalimar not to promote Caroline because she feared Caroline was angling for her own job. Despite having recommended Caroline for the position, Farrow's jealousy and insecurity about being replaced drove her to undermine her own mentee. This reveals the competitive, cutthroat environment among women in the workplace who were forced to see each other as rivals.

Foreshadowing: Farrow's resentment toward Caroline was established early when she suspected the young secretary wanted her chair.

• amanda farrow
• caroline bender
• promotion
• workplace rivalry
• fabian publishing

No, Mike insists nothing happened. After drinking together at Mike's apartment, Caroline fell asleep and woke up worried they may have been intimate, but Mike clearly tells her the next day at the office that nothing occurred between them. The ambiguity serves to highlight the charged, uncertain romantic dynamics in the workplace.

Foreshadowing: The scene established the ongoing tension between Caroline's professional ambitions and the romantic pressures around her.

• mike rice
• caroline bender
• drunk
• apartment
• night

Gregg died in a tragic accident on a New York street. After her affair with director David Savage ended, she began stalking him outside his apartment. When a boisterous neighbor startled her, Gregg panicked, tried to flee in her high heels, and her shoe got caught in a fire escape grate. She fell to her death while trying to escape the confrontation.

Foreshadowing: Gregg's obsession with David was foreshadowed by her quick fall from leading role to understudy when she couldn't manage her lines or emotions.

• gregg adams
• david savage
• death
• fire escape
• stalking

April jumped because she was desperate to avoid the forced abortion Dexter was taking her to get. When he tricked her into eloping and drove her to a doctor's office for an abortion, April panicked at the thought of losing her baby and leaped from the moving vehicle. The fall caused her to miscarry and required hospitalization.

Foreshadowing: April's naive excitement about dating a wealthy playboy masked the dangerous power dynamic from the start.

• april morrison
• dexter key
• pregnancy
• abortion
• jump
• car

April's jump from the moving car caused her to miscarry and resulted in hospitalization. While she lost the baby, she survived the accident and eventually formed a romantic relationship with the attending physician who cared for her during her recovery. Her experience marked a turning point in her priorities and emotional development.

Foreshadowing: Dexter's coercive behavior during their relationship built toward this violent confrontation.

• april morrison
• pregnancy
• miscarriage
• doctor
• hospital

Eddie visits Caroline while on business in New York, implying he wants to reconcile and leave his wife. However, when he returns to her hotel room later, he reveals he has no intention of divorcing his affluent wife and only wants Caroline as his mistress. This crushes Caroline's hope for a legitimate romantic future with him.

Foreshadowing: Eddie's earlier marriage to another woman immediately after breaking up with Caroline established his pattern of choosing security over love.

• eddie harris
• caroline bender
• affair
• mistress
• new york

Shalimar made sexual advances toward Barbara Lamont during an alcohol-fueled office party because he believed he could exploit his position of power without consequence. When Barbara rejected him, Sidney Carter overheard her protests and intervened. Shalimar showed no remorse, implying that such behavior was expected from male executives in the workplace.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes established Shalimar's predatory pattern, including his pursuit of April during late-night work sessions.

• mr shalimar
• barbara lamont
• harassment
• office party
• sexual advances

Farrow quits Fabian to marry and move to St. Louis, believing she was leaving the competitive rat race behind. However, her marriage fails, and she returns to New York explaining that she "no longer has enough to give" to start over professionally. This signals the vulnerability of women who sacrificed careers for marriage in that era, only to find neither path guaranteed fulfillment.

Foreshadowing: Farrow's bitter resignation at the beginning, resenting younger women's ambitions, foreshadowed her own uncertain trajectory.

• amanda farrow
• fabian publishing
• quit
• return
• st louis
• marriage

After being demoted to understudy for fumbling her lines, Gregg becomes consumed by her affair with director David Savage. When he ends the relationship, her obsession intensifies into stalking behavior, which ultimately leads to her fatal accident outside his apartment building. Her professional failure triggered an unhealthy emotional fixation that proved deadly.

Foreshadowing: Gregg's rapid rise and even faster fall was linked to her inability to separate her personal ambitions from her professional capabilities.

• gregg adams
• david savage
• understudy
• demoted
• obsession

The ending suggests Caroline and Mike are finally pursuing a genuine romantic connection after years of workplace tension and missed opportunities. When Caroline removes her hat and locks eyes with Mike on the street, it symbolizes her choosing love alongside her career. However, the bittersweet tone implies their future remains uncertain, they're walking toward something together, but the compromises and challenges of their world loom ahead.

Foreshadowing: Their relationship was foreshadowed throughout the film through charged conversations about ambition versus marriage, with Mike often questioning Caroline's career drive.

• caroline bender
• mike rice
• ending
• hat
• walk
• together