Bea Pullman and her daughter Jessie have had a hard time making ends meet since Bea's husband died. Help comes in the form of Delilah Johnson, who agrees to work as Bea's housekeeper in exchange for a room for herself and her daughter Peola. Bea comes up with a plan to market Delilah's pancake recipe. The two soon become wealthy and as the years go on, their friendship deepens.This film came in a two-disc set with the remake, also called "Imitation of Life" and directed by Douglas Sirk. Now, I tend to think Sirk is one of the all-time greats, and really was not appreciated until much later. It would be hard for me to say this is the better film.However, this is probably the braver film. The way it handles race is amazing, and seems far ahead of its time. Not only is there a very positive relationship between the two female leads (with race only being a minor factor), but e even get into what it means to be black, but a lighter shade of black. Did it happen that lighter-skinned children disowned their darker parents? As hard as that is to accept, I think it must have been true in rare cases, maybe even still today.

The 1934 version of "Imitation of Life" is today seen as an important Hollywood film concerning race. In it, a white widow and her black live-in maid form a bond that endures through the years. However, the maid struggles continually with her light-skinned daughter who yearns to 'pass' as a white woman due to the opportunities it presents.To give an idea of where I'm coming from with my comments on this film allow me to state that I'm a white male, 31 years of age. Obviously, what I've seen in my own lifetime regarding race relations reflects much more progressive views than those of 77 years ago. Nevertheless, I know enough to put the film in the proper context of time & place.The filmmakers had guts for tackling an adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel at the dawn of the Hays code era. For instance, they were cautioned to avoid the subject of miscegenation, which was forbidden by the code. Ultimately, though, they were able to make enough concessions to see release without completely undermining the story.While there are elements of the story that are stereotypical I feel that the story is reflective of reality, at least a certain aspect of reality. The stereotype embodied by Delilah may be hurtful but I see it as part of the film's dramatic license. Peola's rejection of her race has its roots in the perceptions of others. Her mother represents the prevailing perception of black women by white America. Since it would be naive to suggest that absolutely no-one fit this stereotype, the character of Delilah is realistic in a sense. However, the important thing to keep in mind is that Delilah, while stereotypical, is not necessarily meant to be representative of all black women. Of course, that's just my own opinion. For all I know, the filmmakers may have just been woefully ignorant.Regarding Peola's desire to 'pass' for white, it may not be laudable but it is understandable. Given the deplorable state of race relations in the 1930's it's not surprising for someone of colour to crave the opportunities that others took for granted. Such feelings are bound to be exacerbated when being raised in close contact with a white family consisting of a mother & daughter.Leaving aside considerations of race, how does the movie function as a narrative? Is it just another film whose importance outweighs its entertainment value? As far as that goes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I wept at the emotional finale, which ought to illustrate the film's power. The movie's impact transcends age, sex & race since it's ultimately about the universal theme of parent-sibling relationships.In the end, while the acting and script show some imperfections and the direction isn't particularly impressive I'd have to say that "Imitation of Life" is a success as a film. Though the 1959 version is a bit more progressive and better in its individual parts I think that this version is better on the whole.

117: Imitation of Life (1934) - released 11/26/1934, viewed 9/9/08.Cole Porter's 'Anything Goes' premieres in New York City.KEVIN: This surprising eleventh-hour addition to the list left me wondering what could possibly compel us to skip it in the first place. Claudette Colbert (playing Beatrice, in her third film this year) teams with Louise Beavers (as Delilah) in an absorbing drama about two very different single moms, their daughters, their successful pancake business, and a lifetime of friendship. At the center of the movie is the relationship between Delilah and her light-skinned daughter Peola (played by Fredi Washington as an adult, in pretty much the role she was born to play). The drama of this story is so powerful, that all the other subplots take a back seat, including the plot of Bea and her daughter Jessie (Rochelle Hudson) falling for the same man. This is the one film that dives in head first with the hard questions for which there are no easy answers. I would like to have seen more scenes between Jessie and Peola interacting as grown women. My only problem with Fredi Washington's performance was that it was hard for me to buy that she was 19 years old. Other than that, her performance is so gut-twistingly poignant that it was sometimes hard to watch.DOUG: A chance meeting between two single moms leads to a lifelong friendship in Imitation of Life, a movie that was a rather late addition to the Odyssey, but one I'm very glad we looked at. Not since Little Women have I seen a melodrama where everyone is so nice to each other. We've already seen Claudette Colbert in a wide variety of roles in a short amount of time: conniving Roman queen, scheming Egyptian queen, spoiled runaway heiress, and so forth. Here we get to see another side of her: loving, working mom. Louise Beavers as Delilah paves the way for African Americans in the cinema. The movie deals with a lot of dodgy territory for the mid-30's, and putting a black woman in a front-and-center supporting role is just the start of it. Delilah's daughter Peola (Fredi Washington as a teenager) is a mulatto, and deals with alienation at trying to relate to her black mother but preferring to pass as white. Contract Player Alert: Warren William joins Claudette on screen again after playing Caesar in DeMille's Cleopatra. Another welcome contract player is Ned Sparks (42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933), who plays a passing business man who helps put Bea on the right track. **SPOILER ALERT**Other dramas develop as Bea's daughter Jessie falls for Steve who is after Bea. After sizing up her daughter's interest in Steve, she begs him to keep his distance (she must have seen Mildred Pierce already). I will say this though: I've heard that most guys, when they grow up, fall for women similar to their mothers. If the reverse is true for girls, then Jessie falling for Steve kind of indicates that he's the right guy for Bea. **END SPOILER** Great performances and good drama attached to the script based on Fannie Hurst's novel lead to a high recommendation for this one.Last film: It's a Gift (1934). Next film: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934).

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.