Imitation of Life

I have seen this movie a countless number of times and know the dialogue by heart. Each time I watch it, I say, "I'm not going to cry this time". Sometimes I almost make it, but then Mahalia Jackson starts to sing and I lose it. My children don't understand why Sarah Jane wanted to pass for white. I tried to explain to them that in that day and age, it was sometimes necessary. The beautiful Susan Kohner steals the film. It's a shame that she only made a handful of movies. To me the most heart-wrenching scene is where Annie visits Sarah Jane in her hotel room. She says' "I want to hold you my arms one more time. Just like you were my baby." I puddle up just writing about it.

In Lana Turner's biography, she writes about the making of this movie. It was made shortly after her daughter stabbed Lana's gangster boyfriend to death. She said that when you see her crying in the funeral scene, those tears were real. When Mahalia started to sing "Troubles of the World", all of her troubles started to come back to her and she got up and ran out of the church. They had to run after her and bring her back to complete the scene.

The reason this version of Imitation of Life is more popular than the 1934 version is because it really tries to address the racial issues of the day. The original is true to life in that a white woman takes advantage of her black maid's pancake recipe and is able to make it into a successful business. But the black woman refusing to share in the profits was unrealistic in my opinion. There's a difference between being humble and being stupid. In any event, Sirk's version is lavish and soapy, but with all of these elements that ring true to this day. Lora IS ambitious, so much so that she gives up the man she loves to pursue her dream of becoming a successful actress. A huge part of her success she owes to Annie, who she saves from homelessness, along with her daughter Sarah Jane. Annie is not only Lora's maid, she becomes a substitute mom (mammy) for Lora's daughter Suzie. What working mom today hasn't had some guilt when it comes to handling work and home life? And this was in the 1950's when most white women were probably expected to get married rather than work. But the main reason to watch this movie is for the relationship between Annie and Sarah Jane. Yes, Annie is a bit too good to be true (like Melanie in Gone with the Wind). She tries her darndest to give Sarah Jane a good life, but wants Sarah Jane to accept that she 's black. And back then, this meant being "lesser than"-- having to go through back doors, etc. Sarah Jane does everything she can to not accept this fate, including rejecting her mother. Even as a child Sarah Jane rejects all things black, including a doll Suzie gives her. "Why do I have to have the black one?" And "Why do we always have to live in the back?" she wails. Anyone who thinks this is not true to life is in denial. Consider studies that have been done that show little black girls rejecting darker-skinned dolls and images--even today! Some of the best scenes in the film are between Lora and Annie. Lora is so self-centered she doesn't see her maid as a unique individual. Her problems aren't as "real" as her own with Suzie, for example. The scene after Annie rubs Lora's feet was the first time they had any real conversation about Annie's life and she discovers Annie has friends, is a member of several lodges, and a member of the church. Lora says it never occurred to her that she had any friends and Annie responds "Miss Lora, you never asked!" Classic! And as a black female I can honestly say that Susan Kohner's portrayal of Sarah Jane is spot on. The scene when she "acts black" in front of Lora with a tray on her head was priceless--she certainly deserved her Oscar nomination for this role. This movie has so many layers but is fun to watch in all its soapy glory, and if you don't tear up a little at the end, then perhaps you aren't really paying attention.

In Coney Island, the widow aspiring actress Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) finds her six-year-old daughter Susie playing with eight-year-old Sarah Jane, who is the daughter of the black homeless housekeeping Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore). Lora brings Annie and her daughter to live in her small apartment in New York and they become close friends.

Lora has a love affair with the photographer Steve Archer (John Gavin) and sooner he proposes her. But the ambitious Lora dreams on becoming a star in Broadway and prioritizes her career and also neglects Susie (Sandra Dee). The light-skinned Sarah Jones (Susan Kohner) rejects her mother and tries to pass as white for her friends.

Lora is well-succeeded in her career and reaches stardom. Ten years later, she meets Steve by chance and he gives attention to Susie while Lora is shooting a film in Italy. When she returns, she decides to get married with Steve; but Susie has fallen in love with Steve. Meanwhile Sarah Jane run away home to work in fleshpots.

"Imitation of Life" is Douglas Sirk's last melodrama with an engaging and emotional story with romance, ambition, friendship, love and rejection. The drama of Annie that is rejected by her daughter, in a time when color of people was a watershed, is heartbreaking and the best subplot. I do not recall any other film from this period that brings the division in the American society between black and white people so clearly. Susan Kohner has an impressive performance in the role of an outcast girl that does not accept the way the society treats black people but prefers to deny her color. The sequence in the alley where she is beaten up by her boyfriend reflects the mentality of the American society in those years. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Imitação da Vida" ("Imitation of Life")

Lora Meredith, an attractive widow with theatrical aspirations, has lost her 6-year-old daughter, Susie, in the crowded beaches of Coney Island... She finally finds her in the care of Annie Johnson, a black woman, and her very light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane, who had been playing with Susie… Before long Annie goes to work as a maid for Lora and the two women become fast friends…

Encouraged by an agent (Robert Alda), Lora gets a good role in a play by David Edwards… In the years that follow, she becomes a successful Broadway actress and appears in one Edwards enormous hit… But fame means work and work means neglecting Susie, now sixteen, who must bear the loneliness of a teenager whose mother is too busy being a star…

A handsome photographer, Steve Archer (John Gavin), is the resolute, admiring love of Lora's life but he too must wait and suffer for her affection… Meanwhile, Annie has big problems with her daughter… Sarah Jane rejects her race, and refuses to accept she is black… She disclaims her mother to camouflage her ancestry and eventually takes a decision with extremely drastic effect…

"Imitation of Life" was an ideal tearjerker/soap opera for the major talents of Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner... Moore shined as the self-sacrificing mother so loving, honest and sincere… Cleverly enough, Kohner projected unafraid sensuality…Both stars won Academy Award nominations as Best Supporting Actress

I Agree with the poster before me, every time this comes on , I first decide if I will be able to see it without breaking down ( which I cant but I tell myself I can )Then try to concentrate on how beautiful Lana's outfits are ,,, but at the end when Annie dies,I just usually completely lose it ,,,

My real life nanny in the 60's was a Juanita Moore lookalike , coincidently also named "Annie". We watched this movie together and after she died in 1970 , watching this movie, really brings "my Annie's " death back .It is so real.

Lana's outfits are spectacular , the entire movie is outstanding.