CineMata's Movie Madness
  • Homepage
  • Guest Reviews & Interviews
    • Rhapsody in August
  • Hollywood Award Shows
    • Barbenheimer, the Goldilocks Dilemma and Oscar 2024
    • Cine's Fantasy Golden Globes 2021
    • Oscar 2020
    • For Your Consideration 2018
    • For Your Consideration 2017
    • 50 Shades of Oscar 2016
    • 2016 Golden Globes
    • 2015 Emmys Redux
    • 2014 Oscars: Plantation Politics
    • 2014 Emmys : A Dash of Racism
    • 2013 Emmys : Hold the Mayo
  • Cine's Closeup
    • Nessie 2023
    • Jeanne duBarry
    • Dead Boy Detectives
    • Missing
    • You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah!
    • Kill Bok-soon
    • The Pale Blue Eye
    • The Munsters 2022
    • Hello, My Name is Doris
    • In Praise of Family
    • Venom 2
    • Ophelia
    • Mank
    • Macbeth 2015
  • Pioneering Feministas
    • Tar: Are You Being Gaslighted?
    • Janet Green: Tapping into the Dark Side
    • Women Make Film
    • Alice Guy-Blache
    • Auteur Directors
  • Star Spot
    • Juanita Moore
    • Raisin in the Sun 3
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
  • The Woman's Voice
    • Blonde 2022
    • Women Warriors
    • The Divine Order
    • Twilight: A Primal Call for Patriarchal Dominance
    • The Fierce Women of Summer
    • Martha Fiennes' ONEGIN
    • The Dressmaker
    • Sofia Coppola and The Silent Woman
    • Thelma and Louise
    • Bridesmaids 2011
    • Mildred Pierce HBO
    • Dragonwyck
    • Cousin Bette
    • Stage Beauty
  • About Cine
  • Top Ten Faves
    • Cine's Top Film & TV Picks for 2023
    • 'Tis the Season for Murder
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2020
    • The Best Film Experiences of 2017
    • Female Villains to Die For
    • 10 Remakes to Remember
    • We Heart the Bad Boys
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2014
    • Most Memorable Moms
    • Cult Film Faves
  • Contact Cine
  • Hollywood Notables
    • Fiona Shaw
    • Viola Davis
    • Elizabeth Banks
    • Shia LaBeouf
  • Rave Reviews
    • Best of Netflix 2017
    • Mayhem
    • Dave Made a Maze
    • Lavender
    • Hail Caesar!
    • Spy
    • Gravity
    • Inception 2010
    • Black Swan 2010
    • Flight
    • Moonrise Kingdom
    • Lincoln
    • Looper
    • Lawless
  • Telegenic Static
    • Annika * Season 2
    • Wednesday
    • Cine's 2018/19 Seasonal Faves
    • The Highwaymen
    • Cine's New Year Resolution: Watch More Netflix!
    • TCM : A Class Act
    • Best of TV * 2017
    • Female Detectives on TV
    • Neo-Renaissance TV: Feud & Big Little Lies
    • True Detective Navigates Noirland
    • Texas Rising
    • 2014/2015 TV Season Highlights
    • 2013-2014 TV Favorites
  • British Film & TV
    • The Holy Trinity of Snoops
    • Stage Fright
    • The Banshees of Inisherin
    • Doc Martin
    • Song of the Swan
    • Death in Paradise
    • Miss Scarlet and the Duke
    • The Stranger
    • Sanditon
    • Collateral
    • Handsome Devil
    • Love & Friendship
    • Victorian Slum House
    • 45 Years
    • Anonymous
    • Appropriate Adult
    • Sherlock Holmes: Many Faces
    • Philomena
    • British Feminista TV
    • Brassed Off
  • The Golden Age
    • Gone with the Wind
    • Cleopatra 1934
    • Elizabeth Taylor: The Passing of an Icon
  • Who You Callin' Crazy?!
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
    • Count Bela: Nosferatu & Vampyr
    • Post Awards with Ida Lupino
    • The Duke: Cowboys/Aliens vs WWZ
    • Liberace Dishes
    • Elizabeth Taylor Visits Cine
  • Noir Greats
    • Nightmare Alley
    • The Big Heat
    • Femme Fatales: Crime is My Career
    • Femme Fatales: Honey, I'm Home!
    • Crime of Passion
    • The Loves of Carmen
    • The Many Faces of Noir
    • In Order of Disappearance
    • Boss - 2011/12 series
    • Pepe le Moko 1937
    • Mystery Street 1950
    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    • The Barefoot Contessa: A Noir Bridge to Nowhere
    • They Won't Believe Me
    • Dan Duryea Nails Noir
    • What Is Film Noir?
    • They Drive By Night
  • Commentaries
    • Award Season 2019 Redux
    • #OscarsSoTarnished
    • Orson Welles Independent Film Tribute
    • Oscar 2016: The Politics of Segregation
    • Hollywood Director's Club: For Men Only
    • Poliwood and the Hollywood Blacklist
    • Cine Mata's 2015 Picks and Pans
    • The Unbearable Whiteness of Emmy Hosting
    • Oscar's Dodge
  • Drive-By Reviews
    • Dark Phoenix
    • Nola Circus
    • Comfort
    • ATOMICA
    • Innuendo
    • My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
    • Film Franchise Meltdown
    • The Woman in Black
    • Girls with Guns 3.0
    • Coriolanus
    • Lady Scarface 1941
  • International Films & TV
    • My Pandemic Marathon Diaries
    • The Twelve
    • Mr. Sunshine
    • The World of International Noir
    • Romance of Our Parents
    • The Grand Hotel Saga
    • Don't Be Bad
    • The Handmaiden
    • Caramel / Sukkar banat
    • Morning for the Osone Family 1946
    • Fritz Lang's M
    • La Bete Humaine
  • Political Rx
    • The Sympathizer
    • Rebellion
    • Women in the White House
    • The Ides of March
    • By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
  • Culture Centric Cinema
    • Horror Noire
    • Self Made
    • Little
    • Hidden Figures
    • Fences
    • #Whiterose: Identity, Secrecy & BD Wong
    • Imitation of Life 1934
    • Frazzled Hair Wars
    • Soul Men
  • Indie Films
    • Scotland, PA
    • Adrift in Soho
    • H4
    • Paint It Red
    • HAMLET in the Golden Vale
    • Trouble is My Business
    • The Browsing Effect
    • Indie Films 2018 >
      • Clara's Ghost
      • Cold War
      • To Dream
      • The New Romantic
      • Here and Now
      • Unlovable
      • The Landing
      • I CAN I WILL I DID
      • Choosing Signs
      • Iron Brothers
      • Across the River
      • Josephine Doe
      • Sunset
      • SUNSET: Interview
      • The Forgiven
      • Kill Order
      • Midnighters
      • Half Magic
      • Looking Glass
      • Entanglement
      • Crazy Famous
      • Stratton
      • As You Like It
      • Hunter
  • eau de cinematic clunker
    • Avatar 2: The Way of Water
    • The Irishman
    • Almost Friends
    • The Osiris Child
    • Bushwick
    • Pilgrimage
    • Fun Mom Dinner
    • Once Upon A Time in Venice
    • Aaron's Blood
    • Black Rose
    • Lucy 2014
    • Transcendence 2014
  • Book Reviews
    • Conversations with Ray Bradbury
    • A Woman's View
    • Dark Dames
    • Auntie Mame's Favorite Son: Patrick Dennis
    • I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski
  • Documentary Picks & Pans
    • Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop
    • Black Ballerina
    • Leftover Women
    • Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
    • Unrest
    • Be Natural
    • Farmsteaders
    • Bombshell : Hedy Lamarr
    • Jungle
    • Who the F**k is that Guy?
    • The Man in the Camo Jacket
    • Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation
    • Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe
    • Listen to Me Marlon
    • I Am Not Your Negro
    • The Girls in the Band
    • TCM's Trailblazing Women in Film
    • The Honor Diaries
    • Side By Side
    • American Masters : Salinger
    • The Story of Film
  • LGBTQ pov
    • The Watermelon Woman
    • Making Sweet Tea
    • Drag Queens & Trannies
    • Milk 2009
  • Silent Classics
    • Charles Epting: Silent Film Historian
    • Hollywood's Silent Film Grave Huntress
    • La Boheme 1926
    • The Blot 1921
    • Pandora's Box
    • Don Juan
  • Art House Flicks
    • Birth
    • I'm Not There
  • Kid's Korner
    • Pokemon Detective Pikachu
    • Hotel Transylvania 3 : Summer Vacation
    • The Incredibles 2
    • Sherlock Gnomes
    • Paddington 2
    • Lego Batman: A Super Hero in Crisis
    • SING: Cine's 2017 Oscar Pick
    • Summer Flicks 2016
    • Kung Fu Panda 3 / 2016
  • Cine's Friends
  • Archives
Imitation of Life 1934 :
A Love Story Wrapped in Racism


​
by Paulette Reynolds
November 9, 2014
Picture
Picture
Imitation of Life
1934
Directed by     John M. Stahl
Screenplay by   William J. Hurlbut; based on Novel by Fannie Hurst
Cinematography  Merritt B. Gerstad
Universal Pictures


Starring Claudette Colbert/Beatrice "Bea" Pullam, Louise Beavers/Delilah Johnson, Fredi Washington/Peola Johnson, Warren Williams/Steve Archer, Rochelle Hudson/Jessie Pullman

At first glance, Imitation of Life appears to be is a story about race and relationships during the 1930s.  Bea Pullman and Delilah Johnson are two single parents, struggling to raise their daughters in the rough world of the Depression, where hunger lingers on every corner.  These two independent spirits form a fast friendship, pooling their resources as Bea tries to dream up the perfect business that will rescue them from poverty.  Lucky for them, Delilah whips up a breakfast plate of pancakes that eventually spell success for both women.
Picture
But I began by saying this was a story about race and relationships, didn't I?  Imitation of Life 1934 serves up an interracial lesbian love story, shattering our expectations through the hidden prism of color politics. Shedding conventional roles, this film explores the relationship between Bea, a white single parent, and Delilah, her black counterpart, during a time when social-political changes were straining the status quo for both women, minorities and homosexuals in America.  

But what were these societal expectations in 1934?  With respect to gender, women were supposed to be devoted wives and loving mothers. Delilah and Bea are single, by choice or circumstance, but Bea focuses most of her energy on managing the business while Delilah plays Mammy to their offspring.  This might smack of just the same old racial inequality despite their loyal friendship, yet Imitation of Life uses the role of servitude to mask the deeper devotion that exists between these two women.  
Picture
The strongest thread of this film - indeed, in the novel by the same name - is the friendship between Bea and Delilah.  Even with the veneer of deference that Delilah offers and that Bea casually accepts, their lives are intertwined by more than economics and girl-talk.  On a subterranean level theirs is a friendship that dare not speak its name - at least, not overtly.  When Delilah soothes her tired feet and Bea drops everything to help her search for Delilah's wandering daughter, Peola, we realize that their love is exclusive and for life. It's unclear if the general 1934 audience caught the gay subtext, as it was subsumed neatly within the servile veneer that Colbert and Beavers play.  

Imitation of Life came at a time when it was vital for society to remind women - especially black women - about the narrow definition of race and class.  White Bea Pullman can be rich, living luxuriously upstairs, running the business, while Delilah only gets 20% of the profits from her pancake recipe and lives comfortably downstairs.  Delilah and Peola may be well-dressed, but not to the stylish extreme of fashion maven Bea, and to a lesser extent, her daughter, Jessie.  As Bea charms and captivates during all a party, Delilah and Peola must look at the guests from a safe distance.  On one level, it’s easy to get angry at the inequality that they suffer, especially Peola, who - unlike her mother - has no love interest to turn to for support.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Yet the subject of race is another central theme for all concerned.  At a time when over 100,000 light-skinned minorities were passing as white, Imitation of Life acts as the cautionary tale for all second-class citizens yearning to breathe free - even if they have to live a lie. Peola, represents this trend, that was explored in Nella Larsen's 1929 novel, Passing- which bears more than a passing similarity to Fannie Hurst's 1933 blockbuster, Imitation of Life. Larsen was an artist from the Harlem Renaissance movement, and the title of her work referred not only to racial barriers but to those constraints placed on homosexuals of the time.

Here Delilah's role is to teach what White America wants - that Black Americans - and single white women - should know their place.  The film painfully develops the rising conflict within Peola and between mother and daughter.  Delilah becomes more desperate with each cruel outburst from her daughter, who refuses to accept that she can't pass for white.  "Look at me. Am I not white? Isn't that a white girl?", she demands, looking at her reflection in a mirror. 

Many scenes of the 1934 film produces a marked visceral response to Louise Beavers stifling mother and Fredi Washington's spiteful offspring.  Delilah's hysteria begins to match Peola’s, as she grimly makes it her duty to try to force her into submitting to societal expectations.  She instructs Peola to, "Bow your head! You got to learn to take it!" 


However, Peola’s genuine feelings for her mother are blocked by Delilah's constant smothering and her own refusal not to let make her own choices.  Instead, she hovers at her daughter's elbow, sweetly badgering to accept the racism that surrounds her until Peola finally breaks free.
Picture
Beatrice is clueless about Posey's obsession with color, after all, she has none of those concerns.   In a world where white women are routinely treated as second-class citizens by men, she's content to show support for Delilah while allowing her daughter, Jessie, to grow up, unfettered by such worries.  Instead, her attention is taken up by her romance with Steve Archer - a wonderful man who’s absolutely right for Bea - urbane, sophisticated, and loving every moment of Bea's empowerment.  When Jessie returns home from college on a holiday break, Bea convinces him that they must put off telling her about their relationship until Jessie gets to know him.  Circumstances take Delilah and Bea off to search for Peola, but Bea suggests that this is a good opportunity for them to get to know each other while she's gone.  By the time they return, Jessie has fallen for Steve, mistaking his good-natured banter for romantic foreplay, much to his surprise and displeasure.

Bea halts their engagement, supposedly to buffer Jessie's feelings, but the relief in her voice as she says goodbye signals to understanding viewers that she never wanted to get married in the first place.  After all, her heart belongs elsewhere.  For the heterosexual 1934 woman, this naturally translated into the freedom coda that was familiar to so many women's films of the era, but the lesbian community knew better.  And the married women of that era had just as few choices as Peola, who were expected to quit working for home and hearth.
Picture
Unable to save her daughter, Delilah promptly dies a glorious death, instructing Bea on her funeral arrangements.  There is a revealing moment for Bea as she struggles to realize that she will now have to face life without her lifetime companion.  Again, observant viewers will also connect the dots within this short but powerful scene.  

As her casket is loaded into the hearse, Peola breaks down and declares to the world that Delilah is her mother.  At last, her daughter is forced to accept her third-class status in a future of servitude and inequality.  But this moment sparks the opportunity for her to embrace her biracial status in pre-war America.  With a new decade just on the horizon, perhaps the biracial Peolas of America could transformed their self-hatred into something separate from the rigid dictates of class and color.
Picture
Imitation of Life 1934 was a showpiece for Claudette Colbert and she sparkles as the optimistic Beatrice Pullman.  She has an outfit to match every new crisis and she wears them to the hilt, all fabulously filmed by cinematographer Merritt B. Gerstad.  Her role is to float above whatever obstacle is put in front of her, relying on her better half, Delilah, to patiently explain it all. There are many condictions to raise our blood pressure, but the force of Bea and Delilah’s forbidden bond and Delilah and Peola’s conflicted double life commands our sustained attention.

The stars of this story go beyond the black mother and her biracial daughter, as Imitation of Life encourages us to emotionally connect through the generic Mother-Daughter theme.  In the 1934 version, Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington (herself biracial) dominate our attention, after all, every woman was a girl (at one time) with a mother who tried to snap the leash, and then we grew up to become a subtle variation of that dynamic for our own daughters.  This powerful relationship has spawned countless stories, psychological theories and 12 step programs that immediately allow us to relate with our on-screen counterparts.  
Picture
But this familial bond goes further than biology in Imitation of Life, with both the 1934 version and 1959 remake, starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore.  There's no doubt that Beavers and Washington stole the entire film, along with Colbert's runway fashions.  Louise Beaver's superbly emotive interpretation matches Fredi Washington's rage every step of the way, and it was a crime that neither of them were nominated with an Oscar for their efforts.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Imitation of Life, circa 1959, repeated the same cinematic magic and netted Oscar nominations for both Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner (who did nab a Golden Globe), but the script changes produced an uneven result.  Lana Turner's role was now that of a stage actress and the sub textual love affair, so prominent in the 1934 version, was cut entirely.  This left Juanita Moore with the one-dimensional part of the black Mammy servant, yet she was free to explore a more complex relationship with Susan Kohner, who played her daughter.  The 1959 remake also pandered to an emerging teen market, by focusing more attention on Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue.  Try as Lana, Sandra and Troy might, the film will always belong to the magnificent Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner.
Picture
As any film critic will tell you, every viewer sees something different in every film.  Much to our delight, Imitation of Life 1934 offers a multi-level viewing experience, one that promises to challenge and entertain us for generations to come.

COPYRIGHT 2012/2016. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.  
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.