Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Entertaining, For Lana Turner, that hit a little too close to home, and she hesitated. Along the way, Quinn also dabbled in professional boxing (he quit after his 17th match, the first he lost) and street-corner preaching. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their searing portrayals of the African-American mother and daughter. Quinn again won Best Supporting Actor playing painter Paul Gauguin Lust for Life (1956) which at the time was the shortest on-screen time to win an acting Oscar. Lana Turner was back on top, and a rich woman as well. It Should Happen to You, directed by George Cukor, was a popular success and Lemmon and Holliday were quickly teamed again in Phffft! Dr. Joseph Choi, a deputy medical examiner at . An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white. According to a July 19, 1956 Hollywood Reporter news item, producer Ross Hunter originally planned to make a musical version of the story starring Shirley Booth and Ethel Waters. The '70s actually saw Dee improve as an actress. Directors Michael Anderson Vincente Minnelli Writers Rosamond Marshall Robert Thom Stars Robert Wagner Natalie Wood Susan Kohner More than 40 women were considered for the role of Annie (Delilah in the original), including Pearl Bailey and classical singer Marian Anderson. Although she has the second largest role in the film, Juanita Moore was billed seventh, behind actors with much smaller roles. She claimed to never see a movie more than once or to change her mind about it later. It was Wright in fact who suggested the possibility of acting to Quinn and even paid for an operation to cure a speech impediment. C-125m. Imitation of Life (1959) Trivia Showing all 35 items As Mahalia Jackson started singing at the funeral, Lana Turner lost control and fled to her trailer in tears. Quinn worked with Marlon Brando who he had replaced in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. While Lora is filming in Italy, Steve looks after Susie, and the eager teenager soon falls in love with him. Cowboy is based on the autobiography of Frank Harris, and, like the author, Lemmon found himself adapting to the rough and tumble lifestyle on the trail. Lana Turner was back on top, and a rich woman as well. Born in New York on August 2nd, 1924, O'Connor served in the merchant marine during World War II before attending the University of Montana where he worked on the school newspaper. Together they made seven films, but it was their first, Some Like It Hot (1959), that captured the sheer comic genius of their collaborations together. In New York, the film premiered at the Roxy, the same theatre at which the 1934 version had opened. Shown at London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival March 13-27, 1997. He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. Producer: Ross Hunter Blanche Met Brando. Carroll O'Connor - who died June 21st at the age of 76 - will be best remembered for portraying Archie Bunker on TV's All in the Family but his career actually was much more extensive. Surprised and overjoyed by a visit from Steve, Lora confesses she still loves him, and the two are reunited. Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst 's 1933 novel of the same name; the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934. One unanticipated result was that Quinn married DeMille's daughter the following year; they appeared together in Phil Karlson's Black Gold (1947) and had five children. "It's drama. Cowboy is based on the autobiography of Frank Harris, and, like the author, Lemmon found himself adapting to the rough and tumble lifestyle on the trail. -- John Gavin, as Steve Archer, coming on to Turner, as Lora Meredith. The novel was a huge success and it was made into a film in 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, directed by John Stahl. He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. scene has white Troy Donahue brutally beating date Kohner, who he has learned racial identity, and hope lost and found. Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie), Dan O'Herlihy (David Edwards), Susan Kohner (Sarah Jane), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), Mahalia Jackson (Herself), Troy Donahue (Frankie), Sandra Gould (Receptionist), Jack Weston (Stage Manager), Bess Flowers (Geraldine Moore), Myrna Fahey (Actress) But that's just one of many incidents in a life that can only be described as colorful. Despite the film's success with black audiences, there also were African-Americans who resented the sympathetic depiction of Annie's (Moore) subservient nature and the casting of a white actress as her daughter. She Was Terrified Of Water. (Plume). Turner hesitated about accepting the role, fearing that the combination of the scandal and the recent financial disappointment of Another Time, Another Place (1958) had put her in a very tenuous position. In It Should Happen to You, Holliday plays a struggling actress who soon wins fast fame as the product of promotion. Juanita Moore's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress was such a surprise the studio didn't even have a biography on hand to distribute to the press. During this period she was also managing and programming Berkeley Cinema Guild Theatres (one of the country's earliest repertoire cinemas despite being basically small rooms above a laundry), and was briefly married to avant-garde filmmaker James Broughton. The sometimes cynical comic sense of director Billy Wilder provided Lemmon with the perfect complement. Imitation of Life. A journal about film, music, literature and any other form of imitation of life. Those issues also brought Hurst an impressive amount of fan mail thanking her for her depiction of the African-American characters. Email Subscription. After Lana Turner's success in Peyton Place (1957), which pointed to a new career for her as the star of big-screen soap operas, she was Universal's only choice for the female lead. Closed captioning. Despite its success, it was also Sirk's last commercial feature. Quinn continued in film parts that gathered acclaim: Crazy Horse in They Died With Their Boots On (1941), a gambler in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), a soldier in Guadalcanal Diary (1943). Missing was inspired by a true story - the production was condemned by the Reagan administration and awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival. Famous Quotes from IMITATION OF LIFE "If the dramatist's club want to eat and sleep with you, you'll eat and sleep with them. - Danny Peary, Guide For the Film Fanatic (Fireside). Remake of "Imitation of Life" directed by John Stahl in 1934. Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. Onscreen, Lemmon's characters often found that they were the wrong men for their jobs. The following year came was a Best Actor nomination for George Cukor's Wild Is the Wind (1957). Natalie Wood, original name Natalia Nikolaevna Zackharenko, Zackharenko also spelled Zakharenko, (born July 20, 1938, San Francisco, California, U.S.died November 29, 1981, off Santa Catalina Island, California), American film actress who transitioned from child stardom to a successful movie career as an adult. The book's reviews were mixed, with the best notices going to the depiction of Delilah and the story's racial issues. Two years later legendary editor William Shawn hired Kael as film critic for The New Yorker, completing her jump into the limelight. The same year Imitation of Life hit movie theatres and became a best seller all over again, the book's inspiration, Zora Neale Hurston, died forgotten and penniless in Florida. material -- at least for a matinee." During her audition, Lora suggests that David rewrite portions of his play, and though angry at first, he soon realizes she is right. Her mother Maria was a very overbearing parent, pushing Natasha into show business no matter what it cost the poor little girl. Geoff Andrew, TimeOut Movie Guide (Penguin). C-125m. For Lana Turner, that hit a little too close to home, and she hesitated. Fannie Hurst's novel, Imitation of Life (1933), was the story of two single mothers, one white and one black, who join forces and become successful businesswomen. Born to be Hurt is the first in-depth account of Thanks to its provocative themes, the novel was a huge success. Quinn also appeared on stage in 1936 playing opposite Mae West. There she majored in philosophy at University of California at Berkeley though she didn't graduate (the school later gave her an honorary degree). Not only was there a music system in her dressing room, but Hunter even hired somebody to operate it for her. (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy (1981). Lora Meredith. She was meant to be an "executive consultant" at Paramount but actually making movies is quite a different matter than writing about them so Kael lasted only five months. We strive to provide reliability in our movie trivia database, and we . Her few films of that period : AWARDS & HONORS In 2018, "48 Hours" first reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had talked for the first . The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Writer Nolbert Brown Jr. See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist Photos Add photo More like this 7.5 Imitation of Life Watch options 7.8 Imitation of Life Donahue's career declined as the Sixties became more turbulent but he still made notable appearances in The Godfather Part II (1974), playing a character with Donahue's own real name, and Monte Hellman's Cockfighter (1974). Two mothers discover that success is not necessarily the key to happiness, particularly when it comes between mother and child. Their success is tainted by problems with their daughters. Donahue was actually Merle Johnson Jr, born in New York City on Jan 27, 1936. He had just completed the title role in Avenging Angelo (with Sylvester Stallone) at the time of his death. At a suburban theatre in the Philadelphia area, the manager stood in the lobby at the film's end with a box of Kleenex for sobbing patrons. It was made into a film in 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, directed by John Stahl. Actress. - Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide His parents were involved in Pancho Villa's revolutionary struggle and must have made a striking couple since the father was half Irish and mother Mexican Indian. Instead of accepting her offer, they made Imitation of Life their major offering for spring 1933. previous biographies of movies: All About All About Few films inspire the devotion of Imitation of Life, According to a April 3, 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, Turner contracted for a five percent participation in the film's profits. Internationalen Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen Later, Lora invents a lie that gets her into the office of Allen Loomis, a well-known theatrical agent, but when he tries to make love to her, arguing that a successful actress must be willing to satisfy such requests, she angrily leaves. Susie, who has suffered from her busy mother's lack of attention despite the material advantages Lora has provided her, looks forward to taking a trip with Steve and Lora, but the plans are canceled when Lora excitedly accepts a coveted role in an Italian film. Review. -- Kohner, as Sarah Jane, rejecting her mother, Moore, as Annie Johnson. Lora's black housekeeper, Annie (Juanita Moore), has troubles of her own as she faces the rejection of her own fair-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner), who abandons her heritage for a. As Ensign Pulver, a deckhand who avoids work whenever possible, Lemmon won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®. But she was deeply in debt, and she needed to work. Quoting the actress herself, she claimed, "I'm . He died in Lugano, Switzerland January 14, 1987. At the studio's suggestion, Turner took her daughter to the premiere. O'Connor even auditioned for the part of the Skipper in the TV series, Gilligan's Island, but it was his role as Archie Bunker in a 1971 sitcom that made him a star. For a brief, quicksilver period of the early '60s, Sandra Dee was the quintessential sweet, perky, All-American girl, and films such as Gidget and Tammy Tell Me True only reinforced the image that young audiences identified with on the screen. He continued the same mix of classics and best-forgotten quickies throughout the 1960s and '70s. Cinematography: Russell Metty As he did throughout his career, Quinn rarely hesitated to take work whereever he found it, which resulted in dozens of potboilers like Seven Cities of Gold (1955) but also a few cult favorites like Budd Boetticher's The Magnificent Matador (1955). The Douglas Sirk revival started in 1968 when film critic Andrew Sarris placed him in his second ranking of directors, just behind such geniuses as Orson Welles and Charles Chaplin, in The American Cinema. This was followed by major attention in academic film journals and retrospectives at film festivals. Quinn married his third wife in 1997; they had one son. Quinn worked with Marlon Brando who he had replaced in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Tragically, Ms. Dee died on February 20 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. Variety. He continued to sculpt and paint for the rest of his life while also becoming a noted art collector. Later, Lemmon claimed that he learned more about comic technique by watching these Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd two-reelers than acting school could have ever taught him. One day, Annie tells Lora to make certain all her possessions are left to Sarah Jane and then, after reassuring her old friend that she is "going to glory," dies. But beneath that comedian's facade, the actor had a very serious side, which occasionally surfaced in such films as Days of Wine and Roses (1962) or Costa-Gavras' political thriller Missing (1982). But there was a serious side too. director Sirk's masterpiece. insincere." Meanwhile, Sarah Jane tells Susie that she secretly has been seeing her white boyfriend, and that she would rather die than be considered black. You name it, it's got it!" Viva Zapata! install aisle scuppers to drain off the tears." Both Moore and Kohner were The series lasted until 1979 and brought O'Connor four Emmys, even leading to a four-year spinoff Archie Bunker's Place starring O'Connor. The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. These Natalie Wood massive butt photos are positive to depart you mesmerized and awestruck. The gritty crime drama Across 110th Street (1972) is one of the best American movies of its decade, enhanced by Quinn's turn as an embattled police captain. Although Imitation of Life put Kohner on the fast track to stardom (she had three other features that year), she retired from acting in 1964 when she wed fashion designer John Weitz. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner both received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and Kohner won a Golden Globe in the same category. In Cowboy (1958), Lemmon plays a city slicker venturing out on the wild frontier. "Sarah Jane is your child?" initial U.S. release, placing number five on the year's list of top box-office But in Quinn's case, it's all true. "You know I still have you in my blood, don't you?" Director: Douglas Sirk Imitation of Life hit number nine on the New York Times best seller list and went through nine printings in its initial release. Released in United States March 1977 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Double Vision-Two different classics made from the same story) March 9-27, 1977. In the background of her public rise to fame, Wood survived some of the worst situations life could throw at someone, just to mysteriously drown in a still-unsolved incident at only 43 years old. They eventually married and she gave birth to a son, Dodd Mitchell Darin in 1961. During the publicity tour for the film, one reporter asked Susan Kohner if she had "minded" playing a black character. By all accounts, O'Connor was nothing like Archie Bunker; in fact, O'Connor was an active anti-drug crusader, partly the result of his son's drug-related suicide. The film's top-billed stars are Lana Turner and John Gavin, and the cast also features Sandra Dee, Dan O'Herlihy, Susan Kohner, Robert Alda and Juanita Moore. Imitation of Life became Universal's biggest moneymaker to date, and a 1995 poll by the New York Daily News still ranked it as one of the top-ten all-time favorite films. The idea for remaking Imitation of Life came up in 1956, when Hunter was looking for a follow-up to All That Heaven Allows (1955), a hit romance co-starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson in the romance of an older woman and younger man. Director and comic star went on to make five more films: Irma la Douce (1963), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Avanti! molestation by her stepfather, anorexia, drug use and alcoholism, that had haunted her her entire life. Magazine The outcome of this boycott is not known. Her personal life took a surprising turn when she hooked up with singer Bobby Darin. every film fan. African-American actress Juanita Moore Casting him opposite Lana Turner seemed a logical step in his development, mirroring Hudson's casting opposite Jane Wyman in Sirk's Magnificent Obsession (1954). Along the way, Quinn also dabbled in professional boxing (he quit after his 17th match, the first he lost) and street-corner preaching. Maria seemed to be very . -- Karin Dicker, as the young Sarah Jane Johnson, beginning to question her position as an African-American. He signed with Warner Brothers in 1959 and immediately jumped to stardom in films like A Summer Place and Imitation of Life (both 1959). After Lora is cast and the play and its new leading actress are hugely successful, the papers report that "a new star is born" on Broadway. (The idea for the book was born when Hurst traveled with black author Zora Neale Hurston and encountered racism, although the story was not remotely based on either of their lives.) Her next film, The Reluctant Debutante, a bubbly romantic comedy with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall and John Saxon, proved Dee to be adept in light comedy. Most of Donahue's later films were direct-to-video efforts like Nudity Required and Omega Cop but trash aesthete John Waters, a huge fan, used him for Cry-Baby (1990). If a novelist had invented a character like Quinn, she would be accused of unbelievable invention. For Lana Turner, that hit a little too close to home, and she hesitated. ), Released in United States March 1997 (Shown at London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival March 13-27, 1997. Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. of personal and professional ruin starred as Lora Principal Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie, age 16), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), Susan Kohner (Sara Jane, age 18), Dan O'Herlihy (David Edwards), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis). Quinn was born April 21, 1915 in Mexico. It covers Natalie Wood's life from about age 4 to her death at age 43, and the investigations into her death since then. Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. . This is life as they would like to believe it, and it makes good movie the heart with each step in one of the best Universal films of recent years. "My camera could easily have a love affair with you." The other notorious controversy occured in 1971 with her essay "Raising Kane" which was intended to show that screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz deserved as much if not more credit for Citizen Kane (1941) than Orson Welles. gowns by Jean Louis, garish Technicolor, irony, Oscar®-nominated Later, Lemmon claimed that he learned more about comic technique by watching these Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd two-reelers than acting school could have ever taught him. films. Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Editor: Milton Carruth Back home, she sobs in frustration while Annie attempts to comfort and encourage her. Admission to each screening is $7 . Hunter offered a first-class production, with Jean Louis gowns and Laykin et Cie jewels, the leading women's director, Douglas Sirk, and a chance to make a lot of money, if Lana would work for a small salary plus half the net profits. Quinn was a pope in The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), an Islamic leader in The Message (1976), a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in The Greek Tycoon (1978) and an assortment of gangsters, con men, military leaders and what have you. It was made into a film in 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, directed by John Stahl. As recently as 1995, readers of the New York Daily News voted Imitation of Life a place among their ten favorite films. With Sirk's other melodramas, Imitation of Life has become one of the central films for proponents of the auteur theory, who point to his filmmaking technique as a clear reflection of his personality and his attitude toward the often exaggerated soap opera plots in his films. Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst Although by no means a classic, her role as woman falling pray to a warlock (Dean Stockwell) who sexually and psychologically dominates her in the The Dunwich Horror (1970), was nothing short of startling. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org. by Michael T. Toole, PAULINE KAEL 1919-2001 In a passionate and witty behind-the-scenes expose, Sam Imitation of Life Premiere 1959 historycomestolife 55.3K subscribers Subscribe 128 Share Save 16K views 9 years ago Gala Opening with John Gavin, John Saxon, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Lana. C-125m. He was a fixture in movies during the 1950s, playing an assortment of heartthrobs and borderline tough guys. At the mortuary,. At the age of 11 he won a sculpture award and shortly after began studying architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright. Finally, Hunter and Turner's agent, Paul Kohner, convinced her that making the film was the only way to lay the rumors to rest. Supporting Actress, with Kohner winning the award. Kael never shied away from controversy as two other events proved. But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. Before graduating, he followed his brother to another college in Ireland (he would later get a Masters in speech from Montana). TCM REMEMBERS JACK LEMMON 1925-2001 degeneration of family bondsForget those who decry the '50s Hollywood When Sarah Jane runs from Annie, her distressed mother turns to Lora and asks, "How do you explain to your child that she was born to be hurt?" Her sons, Chris and Paul Weitz, are film producers/directors best known for the American Pie films and About a Boy (2002). Producer: Ross Hunter degree of emotion that virtually dissolved the audience watching the film with Together they made seven films, but it was their first, Some Like It Hot (1959), that captured the sheer comic genius of their collaborations together. "Imitation of Life may be the most important movie ever made. Lemmon brought a new comic persona to Hollywood films. The son of a doughnut manufacturer, Lemmon later attended Harvard University but was bitten by the acting bug and left the prestigious college for Broadway. Landmarks, Breakthroughs and Milestones in Black Film History, a five-week series, will run through March 14 at Film Forum 2, 209 West Houston Street, Manhattan. O'Connor even auditioned for the part of the Skipper in the TV series, Gilligan's Island, but it was his role as Archie Bunker in a 1971 sitcom that made him a star. into a masterpiece of film writing. "Tell her I know I was selfish -- and if I loved her too much, I'm sorry -- but I didn't mean to cause her any trouble.
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