Imitation of Life (1959)

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Eleanore Griffin (screenplay) and
Allan Scott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 April 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | African American | Widow | Maid | Beach

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 (video rating) (uncut) (2005) | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:12 (1999) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #19184) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Aquarius Theatre - 6239 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

'Margaret O'Brien' originally considered for role of Sara Jane, that ultimately went to Susan Kohner.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Susan Kohner's bedroom clock radio is unplugged throughout both its scenes, although she switches it on to music in the second scene.

Quotes:

Lora Meredith: [to Sarah Jane] You weren't being colored, you were just being childish.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Holiday Heart (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Imitation of Life

"If we should ever pass on the street, please don't recognize me."

Lora Meredith, an attractive widow with theatrical aspirations, has lost her 6-year-old daughter, Susie, in the crowded beaches of Coney Island... She finally finds her in the care of Annie Johnson, a black woman, and her very light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane, who had been playing with Susie… Before long Annie goes to work as a maid for Lora and the two women become fast friends…

Encouraged by an agent (Robert Alda), Lora gets a good role in a play by David Edwards… In the years that follow, she becomes a successful Broadway actress and appears in one Edwards enormous hit… But fame means work and work means neglecting Susie, now sixteen, who must bear the loneliness of a teenager whose mother is too busy being a star…

A handsome photographer, Steve Archer (John Gavin), is the resolute, admiring love of Lora's life but he too must wait and suffer for her affection… Meanwhile, Annie has big problems with her daughter… Sarah Jane rejects her race, and refuses to accept she is black… She disclaims her mother to camouflage her ancestry and eventually takes a decision with extremely drastic effect…

"Imitation of Life" was an ideal tearjerker/soap opera for the major talents of Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner... Moore shined as the self-sacrificing mother so loving, honest and sincere… Cleverly enough, Kohner projected unafraid sensuality…Both stars won Academy Award nominations as Best Supporting Actress…