Imitation of Life (1959)

An aspiring actress befriends a black widow, but trouble arises when the latter is rejected by her daughter, who tries to pass for white.

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Eleanore Griffin (screenplay), Allan Scott (screenplay)

Stars:

Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lana Turner	...	Lora Meredith
John Gavin	...	Steve Archer
Sandra Dee	...	Susie - 16
Susan Kohner	...	Sarah Jane - 18
Robert Alda	...	Allen Loomis
Dan O'Herlihy	...	David Edwards
Juanita Moore	...	Annie Johnson
Karin Dicker	...	Sarah Jane - 8
Terry Burnham	...	Susie - 6
John Vivyan	...	Young Man
Lee Goodman	...	Photographer
Ann Robinson	...	Showgirl
Troy Donahue	...	Frankie
Sandra Gould	...	Annette
David Tomack	...	Mr. McKenney

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.

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Plot Keywords:

african american | housekeeper | light skinned black | race relations | melodrama | 

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Taglines:

Fannie Hurst's Best Selling Novel of Today's Tormented Generation!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Imitación de la vida

Filming Locations:

Aquarius Theater - 6230 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$13,990,819

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,000,000, 1 January 1970

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ross Hunter originally planned to make a musical version of the story starring Shirley Booth and Ethel Waters.

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Goofs

The type of desk telephone in Robert Alda's 1947 office was not developed until the mid-1950s.

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Quotes

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

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Doctor Blake Mysteries: Still Waters (2013)

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Soundtracks

Empty Arms
(uncredited)
Written by Arnold Schwarzwald & Frederick Herbert
Performed by Susan Kohner dubbed by Jo Ann Greer

User Reviews

Beauty! Romance! Betrayal!

This Five Hanky Weeper is a classic Lana Turner vehicle. She never looked better.

This is a remake of a 1934 Claudette Colbert movie of the same name from a popular Fannie Hurst novel.

The 1934 version is more true to the original story but it is difficult to find and is seldom shown on television.

The story has been rewritten to take full advantage of Ms. Turner's luminescent beauty. Now, instead of a restaurant owner she is a glamorous star of stage and film.

But the underlying pathos is the same -- two women, each with a daughter that does not appreciate the sacrifices their mothers have made.

Before I saw this film I had no idea who Susan Kohner was. She turns out quite a performance and I wonder why she didn't do more films.

Sandra Dee as Ms. Turner's daughter is Sandra Dee playing a daughter -- you've seen it before.

In the final scences when Susan Kohner's character does her "That's my momma..." piece you can hear sobs coming from the people in the audience...

Do not be surprised if some of them are yours.