Imitation of Life (1959 film)

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Imitation of Life is a 1959 film directed by Douglas Sirk, adapted from Fannie Hurst's novel Imitation of Life, produced by Universal as a vehicle for Lana Turner. It is a remake of the 1934 Imitation of Life. The story was considerably altered so that the black housekeeper helps her white employer achieve fame as an actress instead of an entrepreneur. This version of Imitation of Life was director Douglas Sirk's final major film, and is considered one of his best.

Contents

1 Plot
2 Release and critical reaction
3 Trivia
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

Plot

Turner plays Lora Meredith, a struggling widow with plans to become a famous Broadway actress. She takes in Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) and her daughter Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner), so that Annie can take care of Meredith's daughter Suzie (Sandra Dee). Meredith becomes a successful star, but at the cost of a true relationship with her daughter, who as a teenager falls for her mother's boyfriend, Steve Archer (John Gavin). Meanwhile, Annie has her own problems with Sarah Jane, who wants to pass for white and runs away from home to do so, causing Annie to fall ill and eventually die of a broken heart. As in the original film, a remorseful Sarah Jane resurfaces during the processional for Annie's lavish funeral, begging her deceased mother to forgive her. However, unlike the 1934 version, the romantic triangle of Lora, Steve and Suzie remains ambiguous and unresolved.

Release and critical reaction

Sirk's Imitation of Life premiered in New York City on April 17, 1959, and Universal put the film into general release on April 30. Both Moore and Kohner were nominated for the 1960 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven (2002) is an homage to Sirk's work, in particular Imitation of Life and All That Heaven Allows.

Trivia

R.E.M.'s song Imitation of Life is based on this movie.
Fredi Washington, the actress who plays the African-American daughter Peola in the 1934 film, was an actual light-skinned African American, who was noted for turning down a number of offers by Hollywood agents to pass for white and become a star. Although many African Americans were screen-tested for the Sarah Jane role in the 1959 remake, Susan Kohner, of Mexican and Caucasian descent, won the role.

Sirk depicted the Annie/Sarah Jane relationship with even more intensity than the original versions of the story, and some critics commented that Moore and Kohner stole the film from Turner. Sirk later admitted that he had deliberately and subversively undercut Turner to draw focus towards the problems of the two black characters.

Lana Turner's wardrobe was, at a cost of over $1.078 million, one of the most expensive in cinema history at that time^{[#endnote_www.brightlightsfilm.com.431]}.

Mahalia Jackson sings "Trouble of the World" at Annie's funeral, and receives star billing for doing so (she appears in no other scenes in the film).

Imitation of Life has been a staple of both the American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies cable television networks. Both versions of the film are currently available in on a double-sided DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.

References

External links

[Screen shots from both versions]