Rent Imitation of Life (1934)
3.7 of 5 from 79 ratings
1h 50min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In this Academy Award-nominated Best Picture, two widowed mothers - one white, Beatrice Pullman (Claudette Colbert), and one black, Delilah Johnson (Louise Beavers) - decide to pool their talents and go into business together, opening a waffle shop. A surprising financial success, their business is quickly franchised into a chain of coffee shops that market their unique product line - Delilah's waffle recipe and Bea's maple sugar-candy hearts. But their success is a mixed blessing because it complicates their relationships with their own daughters. Ashamed of her mother, Peola seeks a new life by passing for white. Bea's love for her daughter is tested when she and Jessie fall for the same man. - Actors:
- Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Ned Sparks, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, Juanita Quigley, Alan Hale, Henry Armetta, Wyndham Standing, Monya Andre, Alyce Ardell, William Austin, Dorothy Black, Edna Bowdoin, Tyler Brooke, Daisy Bufford, Joyce Compton, William B. Davidson, Sayre Dearing
- Directors:
- John M. Stahl
- Producers:
- Carl Laemmle Jr
- Writers:
- Fannie Hurst, William Hurlbut, Preston Sturges, Finley Peter Dunne, Walter Ferris, Bianca Gilchrist, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, Samuel Ornitz, Arthur Richman
- Others:
- Theodore Soderberg, Scott Beal
- Studio:
- Final Cut
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Basil Dearden, Top 10 Best Last Films: World Cinema, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1959, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/02/2023
- Run Time:
- 110 minutes
- Languages:
- English Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New introduction to the film by Imogen Sara Smith, contributor to The Call of the Heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama
- New interview with Miriam J. Petty, author of Stealing the Show: African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood, about the resonance of Louise Beavers's and Fredi Washington's performances
- Trailer cut for segregated Black theaters at the time of the film's release
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Reviews (2) of Imitation of Life
A Hot Stove - and Beyond - Imitation of Life review by CH
How many films open with a close up of ducks in a bath? The only one that comes to mind is Imitation of Life (1934). And it lifts off from there. The other occupant of the bath is the infant daughter of widowed Claudette Colbert. As chance has it, there is a knock at the door from Louise Beavers, a black woman who is also a single parent who offers to work in the household. The women strike a bond which combines the cooking skills of one with the marketing prowess of the other (no prizes for guessing this division of labour).
All this was bold for the Thirties. It is based on a novel by Fannie Hurst, who, after a struggle, became a bestselling, often-filmed author much given to social issues which, such is fame, was to have her consigned to relative oblivion after a long life; signs are, she is becoming esteemed again. As for this film, directed by John Stuhl, it is as bright as ever (Preston Sturges had a hand in the script).
There is a schematic shape to it all. As the enterprise grows, so do the daughters, which, as always brings new problems, not least an amatory tangle as bold for the time as the racial one (partly driven by a case of “passing” which had been the subject of Nella Larsen's eponymous novel (1929)). There are moments, including death, when it appears to become maudlin, but the script – as well as the camera – pulls back, and moves on at a pace which makes one surprised to find that it has lasted almost two hours. One can never miss an appearance by Claudette Colbert – and must wish that Louise Beavers had been to the for more often.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Great film but no subtitles. - Imitation of Life review by GM
This is a great film, but be warned if you are hard of hearing - there is no subtitle option. A working widow goes into business with a poor black woman. There is some fantasy in the details of this film, but at its heart is the real situation of the black woman's daughter, Peola, who is light-skinned enough to pass as white, and doesn't want to be black.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.