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Imitation of Life (1959)

APPROVED  125 min  -  Drama | Romance   -  30 April 1959 (USA)
7.7
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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 5,831 users  
Reviews: 120 user | 29 critic

A struggling young actress with a six-year-old daughter sets up housekeeping with a homeless black widow and her light-skinned eight-year-old daughter who rejects her mother by trying to pass for white.

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Eleanore Griffin (screenplay), Allan Scott (screenplay), and 1 more credit »
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Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lana Turner ...
John Gavin ...
Steve Archer
Sandra Dee ...
Susie - 16
Susan Kohner ...
Robert Alda Robert Alda ...
Allen Loomis
Dan O'Herlihy Dan O'Herlihy ...
David Edwards
Juanita Moore ...
Annie Johnson
Karin Dicker Karin Dicker ...
Terry Burnham Terry Burnham ...
Susie - 6
John Vivyan John Vivyan ...
Young Man
Lee Goodman Lee Goodman ...
Photographer
Ann Robinson Ann Robinson ...
Showgirl
Troy Donahue ...
Frankie
Sandra Gould Sandra Gould ...
Annette
David Tomack David Tomack ...
Mr. McKenney
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Storyline

Aspiring actress Lora Meredith meets Annie Johnson a homeless black woman at Coney Island and soon they share a tiny apartment. Each woman has an intolerable daughter, though Annie's little girl Sarah Jane, is by far the worse. Neurotic and obnoxious, Sarah Jane doesn't like being black; since she's light-skinned (her father was practically white), she spends the rest of the film passing as white, much to her mother's heartache and shame. Lora, meanwhile, virtually ignores her own daughter in a single-minded quest for stardom. Written by alfiehitchie  

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Girl | Maid | Model | African American  | See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Solange es Menschen gibt See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,000,000 (Worldwide) (1 January 1970)
See more »

Company Credits

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono  | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The exterior shot of Lora Meredith's lavish ranch style house would later be used for the the exterior shots of the Hart's home in the TV show Hart to Hart. See more »

Goofs

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Steve's photo of Lora as a 'mother in distress' shows no people in the background, but when we see Lora looking for Susie at the start of the film, the boardwalk is packed with people. See more »

Quotes

Lora Meredith: Well, I'm going up and up and up - and nobody's going to pull me down!
See more »

Crazy Credits

Juanita Moore, who plays Annie, is billed with the credit "And Presenting
Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson", even though she had already appeared in
many films. See more »

Connections

Referenced in My Own Private Oshawa (2002) See more »

Soundtracks

"Trouble of the World"
Words and music by Unknown
Performed by Mahalia Jackson See more »