Mirage de la vie

Not only is this film one of the all-time great women's pictures, but it also is a visually and psychologically intriguing piece of art. Veteran director Sirk went out with a bang with this, his last film. The title refers to any number of subjects covered in the movie: an actress imitating people for a living, her daughter imitating her mother's romantic life, a Black daughter imitating white people, etc... (The title means more in this version. The "imitation" dimension has been heightened in this glossy remake....The original 1934 film already veered greatly from the book. By now, only the barest of story threads from the original novel remain.) Turner (an actress with imitation eyebrows and hair and, some say, talent!) plays a widow who drags her young daughter to New York while she belatedly pursues a career in the theatre. She comes upon a Black woman (Moore) whose own daughter is nearly white in appearance. The children hit it off and soon the woman has completely embedded and inserted herself into Turner's life. The relationship turns out to be mutually beneficial as Turner needs someone to watch her daughter and Moore has no place to live and few job opportunities. Eventually, Turner becomes successful, but she finds that she has sort of left her daughter behind emotionally. Moore, meanwhile, has an even tougher time of it because her daughter insists on passing as white (much to Moore's dismay.) Dee plays Turner's daughter as a teen and her bright presence brings a lot to the part. Kohner is the pale Black daughter and does a fine job displaying the torment she faces, often acting out towards the other ladies. Moore is an acquired taste. Some viewers see her as perfection; a doting, caring, loving, selfless mother who is rocked by the venom of her troubled daughter. Others see her as a pushy, bullheaded, relentlessly defeated annoyance. (In any case, considering the Negro condition in the 1950's, it's hardly difficult to understand why Kohner's character wanted to break free and get more out of life! Moore will have none of it.) Turner looks about the best she ever did, especially in the second half when a dizzying array of Jean Louis concoctions parade across the screen and she's dripping in every kind of jewel. She has many insincere and stiff moments in the film, but also has several great scenes including when she tells lover Gavin that she's going to make it and later when she's at another character's deathbed. Mercifully, her character's acting scenes are never shown....just the curtain calls. The film is a Faberge treasure box of interesting sets, lighting, color, costumes and shadow. Despite the relatively simple storyline, term papers could be written about the psychological behavior in the film and the irony of the editing and storytelling. Anyone averse to soap operas will have already run screaming from the room the moment the Universal-International logo comes up and Frank Skinner's gloriously sentimental scores begins to howl. Those who are game for some histrionics and glamour mixed with silliness and sorrow should be in hog heaven.

During the Fifties and Sixties Lana Turner got to remake four Hollywood classics with the following films, The Merry Widow, The Rains Of Ranchipur, Imitation Of Life, and Madame X. I think only with Imitation Of Life did she get into something better than the original product. And the original Imitation Of Life with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers was a classic indeed.

The film is updated with the action beginning at the end of World War II until the present which would be 1959 in the movie. Instead of the two women coming together to form a business partnership, they meet on the Coney Island beach when their daughters play with each other. For Lana it's a cheap day of fun because she's overdue on rent. Lana is a widow who came from the Midwest to make it as an actress on Broadway. But Juanita Moore and her daughter are already homeless. Lana has an extra room and Juanita is willing to work as a domestic for room and board.

What happens though is the two women bond like sisters despite the racial differences. The girls who grow up to be Sandra Dee and Susan Kohner also bond, but Kohner who is light skinned passes for white in school and away from home in general. She publicly repudiates her mother several times because she doesn't want it known she's black. Being cut off like that from her daughter wounds Moore to the depths of her soul beyond any comprehension.

Turner has her problems too when success comes her way she has less and less time for Dee and Dee looks to Moore for the woman's answers to teen issues when reaching puberty. If you've seen the 1934 version you know how this will all resolve itself.

The two Oscars that Imitation Of Life earned were for Moore and Kohner in the Best Supporting Actress category. Both lost to Shelley Winters for The Diary Of Anne Frank another story about prejudice. But the whole cast is just brilliant. And the ending will move you even if you've had an encounter with Medusa.

Moore's whole life is her daughter which makes the way Kohner treats her even more painful. Turner has several men in her life each with a character flaw or two. John Gavin is a nice man, but a male chauvinist. Dan O'Herlihy is playwright who has an ego a mile wide. And Robert Alda as an agent just can't tame his wolfish ways.

Fannie Hurst's novel was powerful indictment against racism and the damage self hate can do. Hurst was also a lesbian and she could see that from a sexual perspective as well. Closeted gays passing for straight in positions of power can and have done incalculable damage to their brothers and sisters.

In that vein this review is dedicated to Andy Humm who made that remark to me years ago and it's in the past few years I've seen the wisdom behind that statement.

Don't ever pass this powerful film by if it is broadcast.

A lot of comments were written on this movie. I recently viewed it for the first time - and I liked it.

The story is interesting and exciting. There are remarkable scenes in it especially with Juanita Moore. There is likable acting by Lana Turner and Sandra Dee too. A special bonus is the appearing of Mahalia Jackson. Of course there are some scenes which seem overloaded towards the end.

But I was most impressed by leading man John Gavin. I wonder why not only one comment focuses on him. Never recognized that he was looking that good. And I think his acting was everything but wooden.

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

In this second and best filmization of Fannie Hurst's classic tear-jerker, a woman(Lana Turner) aspires to an acting career and neglects her emotionally troubled daughter(Sandra Dee). I'm not a person who expresses my inner feelings very much, but this movie was a very emotional experience for me, especially the subplot involving racial conflicts. If you're in the mood for a good cry, this film really delivers. The cast is absolutely wonderful. Next to PEYTON PLACE, this is Turner's best film, and Sandra Dee, known mostly for lighter fare like GIDGET and the TAMMY movies, does some of her strongest work here. For moving, high-powered drama, it just doesn't get any better than this. A must!