Imitación de la vida

I find the movie aptly named. My motivation for responding is due to an earlier opinion on this movie, specifically: "the central character of Delilah is the worst kind of racial stereotype; a relentlessly cheerful mammy, perfectly satisfied to spend her life tending to the needs of her white employer". I am an American Black (African-American) and I do not find Delilah offensive. In fact I applaud the reflection of honesty that this 1934 film attempts. The "mammy" of that time period had very few choices. That she was happy to help her very nice white employer for the safety provided does not make for a hate figure by Blacks. It makes for a reminder of the intense level of crap Black folks went through and how they dealt with the pain of it to stay honest, kind and helpful people. Should Delilah lived in the streets and hated white people the rest of her life? Should she have not had the fortitude and insight to find a situation with another caring human being, albeit this other human was white? And for this she is lauded as a the worst kind of racial stereotype? No. The answer is a resounding NO. Now if Delilah was beaten and raped on a regular basis and still wanted to please her white employer while denying her race the previous poster would have had a point.

Okay, I really didn't like the mournful gospel music, R&B would have made this movie perfect to me but that's just me. Live and Love. There is no shame in being a good person.

When Imitation Of Life came out in 1934, Fannie Hurst was at the height of her literary reputation having had her two best works this one and Back Street, come out back to back as both novels and movies. Both stories are about a women's sacrifice.

One day before World War I, Louise Beavers comes looking for domestic work and gets the wrong address and comes knocking on Claudette Colbert's door. Colbert is a recent widow with a child and Louise has a child the same age. Colbert can't afford any salary, but Louise is willing to work cheap, just for room and board for herself and her child.

This starts an unusual partnership both personal and business because Claudette's late husband was a seller of a cooking syrup and Louise makes a melt in your mouth type of pancake. When passing stranger Ned Sparks tells her one day to package the flour, this makes both Colbert and Beavers millionaires overnight. Beavers can't see it however and passes up her own household to stay with Claudette.

A lot of people today look at Beavers's character and say this is a racial stereotype that Hurst was perpetrating. Taking the racial component out of it, I've seen several people who are just like Beavers in their own way. Clark Gable had a father who could have lived quite well off his son, but couldn't deal with the Hollywood lifestyle and actually told his son they ought to resume their previous occupations as oil roughnecks. Stan Musial when he was making big money as a baseball star had a mother who took in washing back in the little steel mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania where he came from and not because he wasn't willing to provide.

And I had an uncle who worked hard at Kodak and also built up a milk delivery business of his own and at an age where he could have just relaxed and taken it easy, he was out working at close to 80 at a tool and die plant. There are folks out there who shy away from the outward trappings of success like Beavers. And there are those stubbornly over-committed to a work ethic when they don't have to be.

Both Colbert and Beavers are just moms with problem daughters on their hands. Daughter Rochelle Hudson is crushing out on Warren William who has his eyes on Colbert. But Beavers has bigger problems.

Remember these girls were literally raised together with their mothers in business. Fredi Washington sees the white world, she's light skinned enough to pass, she wants what's over in that world. But her denial of heritage hurts Beavers more than my words can describe. But Hurst's words in the novel and the screenplay betray a rare understanding of racism during her time.

Imitation of Life got three Oscar nominations including Best Picture. It's a dated film, but that fact alone makes it worth watching as a glimpse of the racial picture in America in the Thirties.

This film is a part of growing up black in America. I saw it as a kid and I don't know anyone who hasn't cried. But, it is what it is, a true testament to the times. There is not much you can say. Lana turner did a great job on the remake but to me this is a bit earthier and I prefer to see the original and then see the 57 version. However, the pancake recipe bit is a bit ludicrous i mean how many secret ingredients can you put into pancakes. geesh Louise! Wonderful, keep it in your library at home and show it to your kids. I haven't seen a teenager yet that isn't fasinated and somewhat appalled by this movie. Its like listening to Billie Holidays Strange fruit. You are shocked but find yourself listening over and over again. To assure you have not missed anything.

A black mother worries that her light skinned daughter will have only an IMITATION OF LIFE if she continually tries to pass for white.

Let it be stated unequivocally that this is one of the most remarkable films of the 1930's - unique in that it deals squarely with aspects of the racial question decades before it became common to do so. After becoming accustomed to the casual racism of most Hollywood movies of the era, this honesty is quite astonishing.

As the black mother, Louise Beavers is heartbreaking in the simple power of her performance. Joyously serving up love & pancakes, or devastated by her daughter's rejection of their race, Miss Beavers makes her audience feel her every emotion. This was the finest role of her film career, and she makes the most of it. However, the movie over, the studio system returned her to mammy parts. This is a tremendous blot on Hollywood's record.

Beautiful Claudette Colbert is scintillating, as always. Playing a tenderhearted maple syrup saleslady who first employs Miss Beavers, and later befriends her, Miss Colbert adds a distinct touch of class to the film. But she is also sympathetic to the concerns of the story and helps to quietly push along the plea for racial equality.

Elegant actor Warren William, he of the sophisticated profile, brings his considerable talents to the role of Miss Colbert's ichthyologist boyfriend. Refreshingly, he plays a solid, decent fellow - instead of the rake or cad which he portrayed so often & so well. His involvement is a definite asset to the film.

The rest of the cast adds to the overall excellence of the production: acerbic Ned Sparks as Miss Colbert's business manager; lovely Rochelle Hudson as her ready-for-love daughter; Henry Armentta & Alan Hale as businessmen cajoled by Miss Colbert's charms; and especially Fredi Washington, memorable as Miss Beavers' daughter, a stranger inside her own skin.

Movie mavens will spot Clarence Wilson as the pancake shop's landlord, Franklin Pangborn as a party guest & Paul Porcasi as a restaurant manager, all uncredited.

IMITATION OF LIFE preached a powerful sermon on racial justice & equality, but the Hollywood congregation was not paying attention. It would be a very long time before black performers & black roles would be treated with the dignity they so desperately deserved.

I hope this film will be restored and put on DVD soon. It is a classic and a worthy addition to the film buff's library. Imitation of Life is not a perfect film, but considering that it was made in 1934, it deserves recognition. The film tells of two women, one white one black. Each has a daughter. Single moms and interracial friendships in 1934? Yes, it is true that the black woman, Delilah is subservient, but this is true to the times and she should not be criticized for it. Both these woman want a better life for their daughters and work together to do so. It is a sad, but realistic fact that neither daughter is happy with the better life. Delilah's daughter is very light-skinned and wants to pass for white for she knows in this era that the only opportunities are for whites. The later version starring Lana Turner is a poor substitute for this one. Lana tends to over act and the friendship between the two women is severely downplayed. It is true that in this film the camera seems to pause on the actors' faces over long, but this I think is a holdover from the silent film era when acting had to be done by facial expression instead of voice.

While this film is flawed it is a good film for young people in that it shows the changes made in our society both for single moms and for blacks.