An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
17K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Eleanore Griffin(screenplay)
- Allan Scott(screenplay)
- Fannie Hurst(novel)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Eleanore Griffin(screenplay)
- Allan Scott(screenplay)
- Fannie Hurst(novel)
- Stars
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 7 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- Eleanore Griffin(screenplay)
- Allan Scott(screenplay)
- Fannie Hurst(novel)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film, which focuses on the relationship struggles of mothers and daughters, was Lana Turner's first since a very public scandal involving Turner and her daughter Cheryl Crane. The previous year, the fourteen year old Crane had fatally stabbed Turner's boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. Stompanato, part of Mickey Cohen's infamous gang, had been beating Turner, and the court ruled that Crane's actions were justifiable homicide. Nonetheless, the killing and subsequent scandal created a rift between Turner and her daughter, and seriously threatened to end Turner's film career. However, Turner channeled the pain from her experience into this film. It proved financially and critically successful, and served as a comeback vehicle for the actress.
- GoofsWhen Steve and Susie go riding together their horses jump a low stone wall which one of the horses knocks revealing the whole thing to be a lightweight single-piece prop.
- Crazy creditsJuanita 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Home Stories (1990)
Review
Featured review
Ahead of its time
This movie, released in 1959, features topics that would not be discussed in good company for years: blacks and whites sharing an apartment, single mothers raising children on their own, and prejudice against blacks.
I was only 7 when this movie came out, and I remember when the Civil Rights movement started and what trouble it caused. This movie showed the suffering that racism was causing, in a way that helps non-blacks empathize with the tragedy.
The screenwriters cleverly wove all kinds of sub-themes into the plot, including the challenges women had to overcome to land a decent job. The story also addresses the question of what should happen when a working woman gets married: does she quit working and let her husband be the bread-winner, or should the husband support the wife in her work? These were unusual questions in the early years after World War 2, before which almost no women held professional positions.
Given the year this movie came out, it dealt fairly with all of these social challenges.
I was only 7 when this movie came out, and I remember when the Civil Rights movement started and what trouble it caused. This movie showed the suffering that racism was causing, in a way that helps non-blacks empathize with the tragedy.
The screenwriters cleverly wove all kinds of sub-themes into the plot, including the challenges women had to overcome to land a decent job. The story also addresses the question of what should happen when a working woman gets married: does she quit working and let her husband be the bread-winner, or should the husband support the wife in her work? These were unusual questions in the early years after World War 2, before which almost no women held professional positions.
Given the year this movie came out, it dealt fairly with all of these social challenges.
helpful•93
- james-osborn3
- Apr 17, 2006
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $365
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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