Imitation of life background info directed by john stahl film is based on fannie hursts 1933 novel the film stars claudette colbert warren william rochelle hudson and features louise beavers fredi washington. Dracula 1992 film questions and answers cass technical high school. Imitation of life was originally a popular but unremarkable romantic potboiler novel by fannie hurst. The great director douglas sirks imitation of life, a spectacular, sprawling melodrama, follows a widowed aspiring actress lana turner and a homeless single mother juanita moore who raise their daughters together. A oncemust, at least, for its camp value, and for moores earnest performance inside an impossibly awful movie. Turner is a single mother, more determined to achieve acting fame and fortune than function as a parent. The imitation game full movie streaming online in hd720p video quality, the imitation game full movie, where to download the imitation game full movie. Whilst in the original film, the imitation of life was just a reference to peolas in this film, sarah jane desire to pass for white, in this film, three out of the four main characters have been living their own imitations of life.
Dec 24, 20 imitation of life is no exception to that. The movie was originally made in 1934 with a remake in 1959. Imitation of life is a 1934 american drama film directed by john m. Set in new york in the 1950s, imitation of life by douglas sirk portrays an intricate relationship between a black american mother and her fair skin daughter, sarah jane. Sirks version starred lana turner as an actress and uninterested mother whose. Imitation of life is without question one of my alltime favorite movies. Jo ann greer susan kohners empty arms from imitation of. Annie becomes the caretaker of loras daughter, suzie, while lora pursues her stage career. Imitation of life movie 1959 lana turner, john gavin, sandra dee. Oct 12, 2008 but what makes imitation of life so interesting is the subversive and ironic touches that sirk includes. Imitation of life is a popular 1933 novel by fannie hurst that was adapted into two successful films for universal pictures.
The imitation of life is one of the most powerful cinematic displays of racial passing in movie history. An aspiring actress befriends a black widow, but trouble arises when the latter is rejected by her daughter, who tries to pass for white. Lora meredith, a white single mother who dreams of being on broadway, has a chance encounter with annie johnson, a black widow. With lana turner, john gavin, sandra dee, susan kohner. Whilst in the original film, the imitation of life was just a reference to peolas in this film, sarah jane desire to pass for white, in this film, three out of the four main characters have been living their own imitations of. Imitation of life script transcript from the screenplay. Lora meredith turner is a widow struggling to make it as an actress as well as take care of her little daughter susie. Lora lana turner majestically enters the frame from the right, as if on a grand stage. Lana turner, juanita moore, sandra dee what its about. The legendary lana turner stars in this 1959 version of fannie hursts emotionally charged drama, which chronicles two widows and their troubled daughters as they struggle to find true happiness amidst racial prejudice. Its themes of motherdaughter love and abandonment, shame, and racial injustice provoked in many viewers at the time an endless flow of tears and can still bring on the waterworks today. Two poor single mothers, each with one daughter, meet at coney island one day and form a household to benefit everyone.
Appearance is a central theme throughout the story. Oct 25, 2011 imitation of life movie 1959 lana turner, john gavin, sandra dee. Imitation of life douglas sirk, 1959 opening scenes. Watch imitation of life full movie in hd visit lora meredith, a white widow who dreams of being on broadway, has. Our heroine is lora turner, who rises from poverty to fame as an actress, never losing her respectability in the process. A tribute to everything from the 1959 imitation to life only. From the turn of the 20th century until the supreme court ruled in loving v. As the years pass, the housekeepers lightcomplexioned daughter, sarah jane, grows. In the film, the main characters are lora, a white single mother who dreams of becoming an actress and annie, an african american single mother who is trying to make a life for her and her daughter lora takes in annie and her daughter as her nanny, but treats her no different. Struggling white actress lora meredith hires widowed black woman annie johnson, who is homeless. This emotionally charged hollywood classic drama follows the. Sarah jane can pass as white because of her fair skin. Remake of the successful 1934 claudette colbert outing of the same title, and based on fanny hursts novel, with a few plot changes. Jo ann greer susan kohners empty arms from imitation.
In imitation of life, peoples attitude and behavior towards sarah. Imitation of life is a 1959 american drama film directed by douglas sirk, produced by ross hunter and released by universal international. Jan 24, 2012 imitation of life stars lana turner, sandra dee, john gavin, juanita moore, susan kohner, troy donahue and a cameo by mahalia jacksonthis is a tribute to juanita who passed on january 1. Fannie hursts novel imitation of life, produced and released by universal pictures as a vehicle for lana turner. Imitation of life 1959 full movie download full hd youtube. Imitation of life 1959 movie clip title song, credits duration. Mar 31, 2014 the film opens with a long shot of a crowded beach. View homework help imitation of life 1959 film questions and answers from film film at cass technical high school. Her black maid, moore, is devoted to her own daughter kohner, but loses her when the girl discovers she can pass for white. Rent imitation of life 1959 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. It was sirks final hollywood film and dealt with issues of race, class and gender. I tried to make it into a picture of social consciousness not only of a white social consciousness, but of a negro one, too. Imitation of life is a 1959 film directed by douglas sirk, starring lana turner, juanita moore, john gavin, susan kohner, and sandra dee.
Fannie hursts best selling novel of todays tormented generation the story is a look at early 20th century american race relations. Living a lie is a poor substitute for living the truth sometimes it takes the harsh realties of life to help us discover who we truly are. Virginia 1967, numerous southern states passed laws enforcing a onedrop rule, requiring that persons of any. The shots gets closer and closer, framing the railings of a pedestrian way, on which people are walking in every direction. Imitation of life is a 1959 american film and is the second film adaptation of the novel by the same name written by fannie hurst. The film opens with a long shot of a crowded beach. For positive verification of the old french saying, the more things change, the more they are the same, consider the new film at the roxy. Today, imitation of life has been reevaluated by critics and is now held up as a. Although at times the films deep emotional ties may seem forced or over melodramatic to modern audiences, to anyone who can still invest in that classic melodrama hollywood, the film is the kind of emotional journey and human examination that only sirk seemed to handle so well. Both women deal with the difficulties of motherhood. Today, imitation of life has been reevaluated by critics and is now held up as a masterpiece of douglas sirks directing style. Photograph by everett for his last hollywood film, released in 1959, the german director douglas sirk unleashed a melodramatic.
Imitation of life is the second film adaptation of fannie hursts novel of the same name. Though im not a fan of melodrama, especially the grand 1950s ones, the clothes aspect drew me in, shallow creature that i am. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The film was released by universal pictures on november 26, 1934.
Imitation of life by douglas sirk douglas sirk, lana. A remake of the 1934 imitation of life, the film also stars en. Imitation of life is a 1959 film directed by douglas sirk, starring lana turner, juanita moore, john gavin, susan kohner, and sandra dee the story opens in new york in the late 1940s. The screenplay by william hurlbut, based on fannie hursts 1933 novel of the same name, was augmented by eight additional uncredited writers, including preston sturges and finley peter dunne. While the actresss rise to broadway stardom at the cost of true love gives the first half of the film a romantic arc, the relationship between the two mothers. Ghost 1990 film questions and answers cass technical high school film film winter 20 ghost 1990 film questions and answers. Imitation of life script what is love without the giving without love youre only living an imitation an imitation of life skies above in flaming color without love theyre so much duller a false creation an imitation of life would the song of the lark sound just as sweet would the moon be as bright above every day would be gray and incomplete without the one you love lips that kiss can tell. Sirk closed the 1950s and his featurefilmmaking career with imitation of life 1959, his most commercially successful movie.
Both white and black are leading imitated lives there is a wonderful expression. Living a lie is a poor substitute for living the truth sometimes it takes the harsh realities of life to help us discover who we truly are. Imitation of life novel project gutenberg selfpublishing. A oncemust, at least, for its camp value, and for moores earnest performance inside. Stahls 1934 imitation of life with douglas sirks betterknown version from 1959, an examination of savage inequities. Dec 18, 2015 imitation of life 1959 movie clip title song, credits duration. Cast and crew credits for imitation of life, 1959, directed by douglas sirk, with lana turner, john gavin, sandra dee, at turner classic movies. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film. Imitation of life 1959 movie clip title song, credits. Loras thirst for fame threatens her relationship with suzie, while annies lightskinned daughter, sarah jane, struggles.
Imitation of life stars lana turner, sandra dee, john gavin, juanita moore, susan kohner, troy donahue and a cameo by mahalia jacksonthis is a tribute to juanita who passed on january 1. But what makes imitation of life so interesting is the subversive and ironic touches that sirk includes. Other articles where imitation of life is discussed. This glamorized remake of the 1934 film imitation of life bears only a passing resemblance to its source, the bestselling novel by fannie hurst. The last film in hollywood of director douglas sirk written on the wind, the 1959 imitation of life an adaptation of fannie hursts novelis an endlessly fascinating film that speaks volumes about the american journey toward materialism and the racial tensions that are inseparable from it. The last film in hollywood of director douglas sirk written on the wind, the 1959 imitation of lifean adaptation of fannie hursts novelis an endlessly fascinating film that speaks volumes about the american journey toward materialism and the racial tensions that are inseparable from it. Imitation of life 1959remake of the successful 1934 claudette colbert outing of the same title, and based on fanny hursts novel, with a few plot changes.
The film stars claudette colbert, warren william, and rochelle hudson, and features louise beavers and fredi washington. Imitation of life, lana turner, juanita moore, terry burnham, 1959. Director jm stahl first made it into a film in 1934 and by the time sirk brought it to the screen for the second time, the story had been. Imitation of life 1959 film analysis by jesse day on prezi. Earl grants vocal, sammy fain and paul thomas websters song, the especially evocative title sequence, from producer ross hunter and director douglas sirks hit melodrama imitation of life, starring lana turner, john gavin, sandra dee and juanita moore. Rent imitation of life 1959 starring lana turner and john gavin on dvd and bluray.
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