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74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Memorable Guilty Pleasure, March 23, 2003
Although little known today, in her own era author Fannie Hurst was among America's most famous authors, a writer who frequently challenged the status quo in both her life and her literature. Among her most popular works was the novel IMITATION OF LIFE, which first came to the screen starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers in 1934. Today both the novel and film would be considered somewhat racist--but at the time both were considered social shockers, dealing frankly with single mothers, rebellious daughters, and racial issues in a way that few novels and fewer still films of the era dared.The first film version was as faithful to the novel as it dared be, telling the story of two single mothers--one black, one white--who join forces and hit the big time when the white woman successfully markets the black woman's pancake recipe. But the 1959 film version substituted pancake make-up for pancake batter: the white woman is an actress, and with her black friend behind her she climbs the ladder to Broadway stardom. Director Douglas Sirk was reknowned for his ability with this sort of material, and although he did better films IMITATION OF LIFE is perhaps his most obvious stylistic statement: gallons of gloss, more soap suds than a sink full of dishes, and enough vulgar melodrama to fuel a thousand 1950s schoolgirl dreams. This time around our stars are Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, supported by Sandra Dee and Susan Kohner as the respective and rebellious daughters who make their mothers lives a living hell, with Lana's daughter Sandra falling in love with her mother's beau and Juanita's daughter Susan determined to defeat the racist society in which she lives by passing for white. All four actresses give it everything they've got, which means they all emote to the nth degree as they suffer through every emotional upheaval the screenwriters can devise. Turner and Dee are essentially Turner and Dee. The real surprises here are Moore and Kohner. Saddled with a story that still keeps the black woman in the kitchen while the white woman plays, Moore nonetheless gives an outstanding and ultimately heartbreaking performance, and Kohner matches her every bit of the way as the wayward daughter who makes one bad choice after another in her refusal to knuckle under to a repressive society. It is a tremendous pity that neither actress went on to equally high-profile roles and films, but the times were against them--as the very nature of the film's story should make abundantly clear. The original novel and film were actually advanced for their time, but by the time this version hit the screen the "white lady upstairs and the black lady downstairs" was hardly a rung up the ladder. Even in 1959 many denounced the film as perpetuating racial stereotypes and class-thinking, and by today's standards it is alternately distasteful and absurd. But oddly enough, that fact doesn't undercut the incredible watchablity of the film. We may sneer at some of the values it presents, but it holds our attention all the way, and you'll need at least three hankies for the film's conclusion. If you are torn between purchasing the DVD or a VHS version, you should know that there is actually little difference between the two. The film has not been restored for DVD, and the lack of restoration is quite noticeable; moreover, the only bonus material on the DVD is the theatrical trailer. You might prefer to go with a low cost VHS until a really good DVD is released.
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DVD ~ Universal 2pak
DVD ~ Richard Egan
DVD ~ Lana Turner
DVD ~ Susan Hayward
DVD ~ Susan Hayward
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