Customer Reviews

Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life

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Sam Staggs has created a franchise telling the stories of the making of classic motion pictures. Behind the Movie - complete with tragedy, triumph, sex-capades and substance abuse. I greatly enjoyed Stagg's first three offerings (on All About Eve, Sunset Boulevard and A Streetcar Named Desire) in part because he treated these fine movies as classics without becoming too precious or too snobby about the whole thing. He writes as an intelligent movie fan for other intelligent fans who aren't above sharing a juicy bit of gossip.

This latest outing - the story of the 1959 version of Imitation of Life - finds Mr Staggs having misplaced his sense of humor. Early on Staggs makes it clear that Imitation is a movie that changed his life and his analysis proceeds from there. Like his two earlier books Staggs provides plenty of backstage gossip about the stars and fascinating details about the making of the movie itself. When Staggs sticks to the story behind the story and writes like a fan telling another fan about their favorite movie of all time this is an entertaining book. But this outing just isn't as much fun for several reasons.

First, Staggs takes this movie way too seriously. I'm all for reclaiming popular art as art. I'm also not in the least snobby about the emotional impact even the lowest of art can have on the viewer. But making a case for Imitation as one of the best movies ever made? There you're on your own, Sam. Especially when he has to go through such contortions to explain away the "blonde half" of the movie starring Lana Turner and Sandra Dee. This would be the part of the movie so beloved by fans of camp - until you've seen Lana "acting" like someone "acting" you just haven't lived - and it's entertaining in its way. It is, however, melodrama, no matter how much Staggs dislikes the word. Melodrama is all about heightened emotions, and what's wrong with that? But whenever Stagg tries to convince the reader that Douglas Sirk was achieving something brilliant by having a weak actress playing another weak actress he lost me. No, Sirk was doing the best he could with the actress he had. This wasn't all part of some cunning plan.

Second, Staggs can't seem to keep his mind on the topic at hand. If Staggs goes easy on Lana, not that I mind, he's downright vicious to John Gavin. I'm not a big fan of John Gavin, I wouldn't even call him an actor if I could think of another word for someone who appears in movies and recites his lines accurately but he's far from the worst thing ever to hit the cinema. Staggs' enmity for Gavin goes beyond his limited thespian skills and seems to have something to do with the fact that Gavin didn't like to do shirtless scenes. Staggs attributes this reluctance to Gavin's political beliefs instead of the more believable idea that Gavin was insecure about his acting and didn't want to be sold as a slab of beefcake. Despite the fact that several interviewees declare John Gavin to be a nice man Staggs isn't having any of it. You'd think Staggs would have a little fun with the man who nearly replaced Sean Connery in Diamonds are Forever (the first American James Bond!) but, no.

The only things that piss Staggs off more than John Gavin are the Catholic Church, Condeleeza Rice and George W. Bush. Again, I have no quarrel with this beyond the fact that these three have nothing to do with the movie in question. I do not know the Catholic Church official opinion on Imitation of Life. Nor do I know whether Condie or George have ever seen this movie, whether they like it or not, or where they stand on who stabbed Johnny Stompanato. And since Staggs doesn't see fit to share any of this with the reader I don't know why any of them make appearances. He also doesn't bother to place the movie in the political context of its own time so these current asides are doubly weird. These venomous drive-by remarks only serve to jar the reader out of the narrative and, ultimately, to date this book.

Third, Staggs is so partisan that he fails to see the virtues of the 1934 film version of the 1959 version. In the earlier film, the main characters are business partners; in the remake, Annie Johnson doesn't help create a business, she's the maid to a self-absorbed actress. In 1934, an African-American actress plays a young woman who "passes for white." In the 1959 version, a white actresses passes for white. Which sounds more ground breaking to you?

Finally, Staggs is so convinced of the greatness of the 1959 version and Douglas Sirk in general that he doesn't bother to make a convincing case for either. They're both great, and if you don't get it Staggs doesn't want to know you. That and the endless, pointless axe grinding (what does he have against poor Celeste Holm and Claudette Colbert?) makes this a disappointment.

Kindle version: no photographs and some glitches in the linked Table of Contents.

'Imitation of Life' is a movie beloved by a large contingent of classic film fans including African-American women and gay men. The wonderful artifice of the Lora-and-Susie side of the story dovetails beautifully with the more poignant and meaningful Annie-and-Sarah-Jane side. You'll learn everything you've ever wondered about the movie in this book, including all about the marvelous Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner, who give the performances of their lives as Annie and Sarah Jane. Once again, Sam Staggs delivers the goods. Although some readers complain about minutiae or too much information, these are the very things I look for in a good behind-the-scene story of a classic film. Insights from the ghostwriter of Lana Turner's autobiography are revealing and have never been mentioned before, as well as in-depth analysis of the racial aspects of the movie (truly a rarity in mainstream Hollywood film of the late '50s).

A previous reviewer complains that Staggs neglected to mention the "Imitation of Life"-inspired storyline featuring actress Ellen Holly on the daytime soap "One Life to Life," when in fact, Staggs mentions this on page 289.

This book is unusual in that the author seems to have uncovered every tidbit, good or bad, interesting or pointless, about the 1959 film version of "Imitation of Life." Sam Staggs was apparently born to write this type of book by virtue of the staggering minutiae that he has gathered. Yes, it is fact-filled (mostly) and fascinating, but it is also catty and hateful, all at the same time. He has nothing but love for both Juanita Moore (who played faithful maid, Annie Moore) and Susan Kohner (who played her daughter, Sarah Jane), as he was able to interview both of them and get a unique window on this Douglas Sirk-directed tearfest--and about everyone involved in it. It is perhaps because these two lovely women were willing to give him all the information he wanted that he praised them to the heavens in the book. But others were not treated so kindly. Staggs was particularly cruel to John Gavin and goes into the man's politics and other pointless odds and ends that have nothing to do with his relatively solid acting career in Hollywood, despite what Staggs thinks of his talent.

At times the book feels like it is taking you on a second-by-second journey of the film, covering the dialogue, what was going on in the stars' lives, all the backstage drama, all the creative choices, and more. But after a while, it got tiring. There were simply too many tiny details and unnecessary quotes for readers to care. But perhaps more importantly, Staggs seemed to have a vendetta against Republicans and apparently anyone else who does not think or feel or believe as he does about certain issues. None of that had a place in this book. He could have easily stripped the text of about 50-75 pages of unnecessary banter and ranting and raving and embellishing and just gotten on with it.

There is no question that "Imitation of Life" is a unique film and its impact at the time, and since, cannot be underrated. It's great that someone has taken the time to unearth interesting tidbits about everything associated with this movie, but it is doubtful as to whether every single one of them should have been included in this book.

If the author would focus more on his subject and keep himself and his political commentary and judgment calls to himself, his books would be that much more pleasurable to read. Until he does, I can only suggest this as an oddity that may appeal to hardcore of fans of this film or of Lana Turner.

Sam Staggs has proved to be a master of his genre. This is just one of several books that he has written for film buffs. He always comes up with little snippets of gossip and background information that everyone else seems to have missed. It is not necessary to be a film buff to enjoy the books but it certainly helps. So far I have read four of his books about film classics (All About EveAll About All About Eve: The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made!, Sunset BoulevardClose-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream, Imitation of LifeBorn to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life & Streetcar Named DesireWhen Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire") and I am really hoping that he has another up his sleeve.

Sam Staggs is the perfect image of a modern major film fan.
Apparently, the good Staggs eats, sleeps, drinks and excessively obsesses about movies.
And not modern nor classic films, but movies from a very peculiar time and place---mid-century America.
His three previous books---All About All About Eve: The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made!, Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream and When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire" ---are exhaustive studies of those films yet still breezy, gossipy, informative and fun.
Norma Desmond, Eve Harrington and Blanche DuBois, cult heroines all, are strangely legitimized and elevated from campiness to a weird nobility in these books . . . but elevated in such a way as to treat, say, the McDonald's arches as if they were as representative of our culture as the Sistine Chapel was of the Renaissance. Let's not call these films trashy---although that's part of their fun---but these movies are hardly prime examples of film art.
Sam Staggs, perhaps, has just too much time on his hands.
If there is any doubt that Staggs might put his industry to more constructive use, his exhausting new book, Born to be Hurt: The Untold Story of "Imitation of Life," proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he fears that idle hands may be the devil's playground.
And Staggs' busy little fingers have drudged up every single item and atom of trivia concerning the film, beaten it, slogged it and whipped it until all of the campy fun and sleaziness of the 1959 Lana Turner weepie lies dead on the page. (Yes, the first version, released in 1934 and starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, is also good. Universal Home Video has released both versions on one nifty DVD.)
Imitation of Life is a fun film, well worth watching and enormously helped by a drink or three, but Staggs attacks it with the seriousness and pomposity of a grad student attacking Marcel Proust. The Fan is very nearly becoming the Academic.
And this really is too bad as Staggs himself has an interesting way of reporting the idiosyncratic ways and means of picture making. His pronounced writing style, rare in these days of blogging and texting, is as fancy and florid as the most orchidaceous Victorian writer, yet poses both charm and originality. But, like a friend or a stranger with a seemingly charming obsession about, say, stamp collecting or baseball, eventually the reader is so oppressed by the obsession that eyes, glazed, seek an exit, any exit . . . please. Quick. Now. In the course of the 400+-page book, with notes and an index natch, the fun of the film nearly flickers and dies.
For the record, Imitation of Life, based on a Fannie Hurst potboiler, concerns two mothers, each with a daughter. One mother is white, played by Lana Turner, arguably the whitest actress in the world, and one is black, played by Juanita Moore. Ms. Moore's daughter is light-skinned and able to "pass," and played brilliantly by Susan Kohner. Ms. Turner's daughter is played by Sandra Dee, arguably the second whitest actress in the world. Both Kohner and Moore received Oscar nominations for their work; Turner and Dee did not, their rewards mostly consisted of howls from the audience. Directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter, the film is an over decorated, overwrought altar to high melodrama, wretched excess, over-the-top emotions, operatic performances and good, clean fun.
Now, research is research, but do we really have to concern ourselves with the stars' parents or grandparents? Grips, designers, authors, minor players, production aids and seemingly anyone even a vague connection with the film is given time in the limelight, until ultimately, the reader is reduced to a boredom-induced coma.
This book proves without a doubt that, after all, there is such a thing as too much information.

I eagerly awaited Sam Staggs' BORN TO BE HURT; THE UNTOLD STORY OF "IMITATION OF LIFE," as I had enjoyed his previous ALL ABOUT "ALL ABOUT EVE," despite its tendency to dwell on minutiae beyond mere trivia, and his obvious, mean-spirited "feud" with actress Celeste Holm, simply because she chose not to be interviewed for his book.

As a big fan of the book and both movie versions of IMITATION, I hoped to learn some new information, or gain some new insights, from this book. Unfortunately, it was not revelatory; if you've watched the documentary and listened to the commentaries on the recently revised 2-disc DVD release of IMITATION, you know most of what you need to. Staggs' exhaustive research is ultimately much ado about nothing. I didn't need to know how many sets existed in the film, what they cost to construct and strike, and so on.

I was surprised that, despite his research into all the other forms of media (television, movies, and such) that IMITATION has influenced, Staggs neglected its most famous "homage," the late 1960s storyline on ONE LIFE TO LIVE where light-skinned black actress Ellen Holly played Carla Gray, who passed in Llanview society as Carla "Benari," an Italian, embarrassing her dark-skinned mother and ending her engagement to a dark-skinned fiance. Carla eventually confessed to passing and embraced her heritage, providing a happier ending than the one that Sarah Jane, the daughter in IMITATION who wishes to pass for white, probably had. If IMITATION influenced any other media (and even WILL & GRACE is mentioned!), it was this story on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.

Staggs, who met and interviewed Supporting Actress nominees Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner, lavishes bounteous praise on these two actresses, but has it in somewhat for star Lana Turner, who usually gets praised elsewhere for her performance in this film. John Gavin, who refused an interview with Staggs, takes the author's worst abuse. (Staggs also finds time to slam Celeste Holm, AGAIN, seemingly out of nowhere.) Apparently, if you take the time to speak with Staggs, you're golden. If you're dead or refuse to be interviewed, watch out.

I did enjoy the mention and inclusion of photos of deleted scenes from the film which I never knew existed (and would love to see in a future DVD version of IMITATION, if they have survived), so, for these, I am grateful to Staggs' no-stone-left-unturned research.

If you love the movie(s), you'll want to read the book, regardless of this review. Ultimately, though, the author puts too much of himself into the book. It's less a history and more a book-long critique or review. I'll definitely keep this in mind should Staggs review other classic films in the future (and given his mentions of MILDRED PIERCE's Ann Blyth, "Veda," in this book, I'm already wondering if that movie is next...). I hope Joan Crawford's performance is spared the raking over the coals that Lana Turner's receives here. (Wonder if Staggs has interviewed Ann Blyth? If so, she has nothing to worry about.)

If you haven't watched the most recent 2-disc DVD release of both films, get it from amazon.com first, then read the book.

After reading all of the above reviews, I have come to the conclusion that some of the reviewers who trash Staggs seem to take THEMSELVES too seriously. Lighten up! I have read all of the Stagg books, and read them in the spirit in which they were written. I don't think he believes that what he writes is the last word about these films. He takes his sensibilities as a gay man and film fan and brings them to a discussion of film classics. Lots of gay men do that. He just got off his butt and committed to the page his thoughts about them. Some of the reviewers who trash him should think about writing their own books if they think they can do better. I think they are amusing, and as a gay film fan myself, appreciate his effort to offer behind the scenes info. His personal stories are just that - if you read the book in the spirit in which it was written, his anecdotes shouldn't be a problem.
I have also followed with interest the little "controversies" surrounding some of the author's books, and I am somewhat puzzled by them. For instance, in "All About All About Eve", Staggs takes Celeste Holme to task for not wanting to participate. Staggs made her sound like a complete bitch, which at the time, I took with a grain of salt. Then, after listening to HER commentary track on the DVD, I found that Staggs was pretty accurate at that. She did sound like a bitter old woman who really just couldn't believe anyone couldn't be interested in anything else she had ever done. Wow. If you haven't listened to it, do, for a nice lesson on how to eat sour grapes with a nice grimace. And why shouldn't he tell it like it happened to him? I'd be pissed if Miss Celeste Holme dissed me too. Like I said, listen to Miss Holme on the commentary of AAE to get her opinion and attitude. I think Stagg was spot on there. On the other hand, he heeps a mountain of praise on Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore because he likes them and they played along. If you listen to the featurette on the special edition of IoL, you see Miss Moore comes across as she does in Staggs book. All that to say plainly that I tend to believe Stagg.
In his current effort, Staggs employs his typical style, seasoned with his own stories of how the movie impacted his life. Anyone who has ever read his books knows that one of the biggest reasons he wrote them was because he had made an emotional investment in them. He doesn't claim otherwise, unless I missed something. I love the fact his books are so long - he throws in everything plus the kitchen sink. But that is what makes his books so good. He has tried to get answers to questions I have always had about these films, but have been too lazy to research myself. I hope he does write more of these books. Heck, I wish I had done it. I, like some others referenced above, could have sour grapes and vent here about how bad Staggs is. But I won't. I think that kind of behavior can be so typical of certain people in the community, and frankly, it is time they stopped tearing others down just to inflate their own sense of self.
Keep writing Mr. Staggs. I will keep buying.

The 1958 version of IMITATION OF LIFE will not go down as a classic. It is a soapy weeper done in true Ross Hunter technicolor bigness which makes me question why I get such a kick out of this movie. Lana Turner is the star and this is not one of her better cinematic moments. However, this book about the making of IMITATION OF LIFE and all things related to it is quite enjoyable and manages to get to the heart of why this movie resonates with viewers. What appealed to me specifically was the information provided re: casting, editting, and promotion of the movie and the gossipy details regarding some of the behavior of the principle players. I also enjoyed the recollections of the cast members and the background information the author provided about them.
Fortunately for the author, he had access to both Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner who really carried this film and gave performances worthy of high praise.
This book, like the author's previous books which disected bonified classics ALL ABOUT EVE and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, illustrates that movie-making is not an easy business. If you like IMITATION OF LIFE for even the worst of reasons (i.e., it is heavy handed and a weeper) you'll find this book worthwhile.

What otherwise would have been an interesting book about the
movie "Imitation of Life" is marred by constant political references
that are completly unnecessary to the subject of the book.
Why can't these writers about movies and actors keep their politics
out of the books.

Nobody does it better than this author! I fell in love when I read "All about All About Eve," and as I am also a HUGE "Imitation of Life" fan just KNEW I wouldn't be disappointed here. AND HOW! There is so much backstory, many anecdotes, and just plain good-ol' Hollywood GOSSIP here it will literally make your head spin. A GREAT and FUN READ!!