Pinky (1949)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Philip Dunne (writer)
Dudley Nichols (writer)

Release Date:

November 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The love story of a girl who passed for white!

Plot:

Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school...

Plot Keywords:

Will | Passing For White | Love | Doctor | Nurse

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jeanne Crain	...	Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson
Ethel Barrymore	...	Miss Em
Ethel Waters	...	Pinky's Granny
William Lundigan	...	Dr. Thomas Adams
Basil Ruysdael	...	Judge Walker
Kenny Washington	...	Dr. Canady
Nina Mae McKinney	...	Rozelia
Griff Barnett	...	Dr. Joe McGill
Frederick O'Neal	...	Jake Walters
Evelyn Varden	...	Melba Wooley
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Judge Shoreham

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

John Ford was the original director of the film, but after seeing dailies Darryl F. Zanuck felt Ford wasn't connecting with the material. Zanuck called Elia Kazan in New York and asked him to take over the film. Kazan felt he owed Zanuck for his film career, and agreed to do the movie without even looking at the script. He flew to Los Angeles and started filming the next Monday.

Quotes:

Melba Wooley: Cousin Em, what do you mean, gettin' sick like this?
Miss Em: When you're eighty years old, you expect to be sick. Sit down.
Melba Wooley: Now, now. Naughty, naughty. Eighty years *young* is what we say.
Miss Em: I don't. It's old, and I won't have it minimized. Takes a lot of livin' to get there, and pure, cursed endurance. Eighty years young indeed!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A House Divided (2000) (TV)

Love and Pride Conquer Prejudice

I've just seen this film for the 3rd time although I'm sure I hadn't seen it for at least 10 years. I had forgotten the depth and intensity of the prejudice displayed in the film. It is taking nothing away from Jeanne Craine's sensitive and beautiful performance to say that the star of the film is Ethel Waters - she is simply a magnificent presence throughout. It is one of those performances where every fibre of being is transmitted thru to the viewer - you cannot help but feel that the character is one of the strongest and bravest women ever shown on screen. Considering the shocking 1950's world of Amos and Andy and the in-every-sense-white-bread fiction world of Hollywood - Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, etc - it is startling to see how movies so transcended the comfort-food level of TV and challenged audiences. This movie belongs, I believe, in the highest echelon of social commentary films - such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Gentlemen's Agreement. Absolute must see!!!