• Imitation of Life (1959)

2/12/22 (Fri)

I see where a musical version of the great Imitation of Life is in the works, drawn from the original 1933 novel and both the 1934 and 1959 film adaptations, all of which differ in significant ways from the others. It is being written by the estimable Lynn Nottage (Sweat) with music and lyrics by pop star John Legend in his first musical. What modern-day writers and audiences will make of the material is to be seen, but the two movies give some clue as to changes in perspective over time. The earlier and superior film rendition, discussed here, was melodrama that crossed into tragedy. Douglas Sirk’s remake a quarter-century later never made that crossing.

The biggest difference is that the later black character (Juanita Moore) is a domestic worker from start to finish, with no business angle or any sense of missing out on a different life. In the earlier film, she found meaning in her limited circumstances with no aspirations for material or social status, from a deep belief in the worth of all God’s creatures. That is nowhere to be found in the later film (and is unlikely to make it into the musical in these enlightened times). The white character (Lana Turner) is now a budding actress who makes it into the big time by selling out. She supposedly neglects her daughter (Sandra Dee) due to her ambition for fame, but we have to take that on faith since it’s not clearly shown other than her inability to settle down with her suitor (John Gavin) when the big time calls. The daughter’s childish infatuation for her mother’s flame is an unconvincing sideline, as in the earlier work, and Gavin’s story is never quite resolved. Seems like much ado about very little in both cases.

But the one plot point that again worked beautifully was Moore’s light-skinned daughter (a very good Susan Kohner) who despised her blackness and coldly rejects her mother, only to feel deep remorse when it’s too late.

While the key to the earlier film was unquestionably the black mother, here it’s the daughter thanks to Kohner’s uncompromising performance. The actress herself, unlike the earlier film, is not half-black – she’s half-Hispanic, if that counts for anything – but her acting and some good writing brought her dilemma into sharp focus. Her brutal treatment by her boyfriend when he learns of her race was especially shocking. She is portrayed as the bad girl in a sense after she humiliates her loving mother, but the film clearly has sympathy for her given the world she was living in at the time. Her desire to “pass” as white and live what she sees as a trouble-free life was entirely understandable, and the performance was wrenching. The excellent Moore makes the angelic black mother feel real and earned the biggest tears, but she is overshadowed by the passion of Kohner’s portrayal. Both were deservedly nominated for Oscars. Turner was not overly emotionally invested in the role of the glamorous actress, though she certainly looked the part (her wardrobe apparently cost a small fortune), and Dee was a bit too cutesy.

This was a tear jerker for sure, and while Sirk, a native of Germany, is to be praised for taking on a bold theme for the times, he ladled it on a bit too heavily to take seriously, as was his wont. Still, the film is enjoyable for what it is. And we’ve always got the superior original version to remind us of attitudes in a different era. Seeing both versions is instructive.