“Imitation of Life” is a drama film dealing with issues of class and race, centered around the story of a black woman whose light-skinned daughter has trouble coming to terms with her African-American heritage. Director Douglas Sirk (“Magnificent Obsession” 1954) and screenwriters Eleanore Griffin and Allan Scott basically have a big glossy soap opera on their hands, typical of projects from producer Ross Hunter. It is based on the 1933 novel of the same name by Fannie Hurst.
The cast includes Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner, Dan O’Herlihy, Robert Alda, Jack Weston, Troy Donahue, Terry Burnham, Joel Fluellen, Billy House, and Sandra Gould as a receptionist. Gould later became popular as Gladys Kravitz on television’s “Bewitched.” Dee and Donahue were reunited the same year in “A Summer Place.” Moore and Kohner received rave reviews from many quarters portraying the interracial mother-daughter.
This was director Doug Sirk’s final film before retiring to his native Germany. He began directing movies in 1935. “Imitation of Life” was a big hit at the box office for producer Ross Hunter and Universal Pictures.
Imitation of Life (1959)
cinema
My Review
“Imitation of Life” is a drama film dealing with issues of class and race, centered around the story of a black woman whose light-skinned daughter has trouble coming to terms with her African-American heritage. Director Douglas Sirk (“Magnificent Obsession” 1954) and screenwriters Eleanore Griffin and Allan Scott basically have a big glossy soap opera on their hands, typical of projects from producer Ross Hunter. It is based on the 1933 novel of the same name by Fannie Hurst.
The cast includes Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner, Dan O’Herlihy, Robert Alda, Jack Weston, Troy Donahue, Terry Burnham, Joel Fluellen, Billy House, and Sandra Gould as a receptionist. Gould later became popular as Gladys Kravitz on television’s “Bewitched.” Dee and Donahue were reunited the same year in “A Summer Place.” Moore and Kohner received rave reviews from many quarters portraying the interracial mother-daughter.
This was director Doug Sirk’s final film before retiring to his native Germany. He began directing movies in 1935. “Imitation of Life” was a big hit at the box office for producer Ross Hunter and Universal Pictures.