#1167: STAHL, John M.: Imitation of Life (1934)
STAHL, John M. (United States)
Imitation of Life [1934]
Director/Writers
The Film
Imitation of Life [1934]
Spine #1167
Blu-ray
Melodrama master John M. Stahl brings his exquisite restraint and almost spiritually pure visual style to this devastating, enduringly relevant story of mothers and daughters. Imitation of Life explores the friendship between two struggling single mothers: one (Claudette Colbert) a working-class white woman who ascends to the top of the business world, the other (Louise Beavers) her Black housekeeper, whose life is shattered by the rejection of her rebellious, white-passing daughter (Fredi Washington). It is this latter relationship—attuned to America’s bitter racial realities and heartbreakingly enacted by trailblazing Black performers Beavers and Washington—that lends the film its transcendent emotional power. This first adaptation of Fannie Hurst’s best-selling novel boldly confronts the complexities and contradictions of racial identity, economic exploitation, and the limits of the American dream.
110 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:33:1
Criterion Release 2023
Black & White
Monaural
1:33:1
Criterion Release 2023
From the novel by Fannie Hurst.
Screenplay by William Hurlbut.
John M. Stahl was 48 when he directed Imitation of Life.
Other Stahl films in the Collection:
#1020: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Screenplay by William Hurlbut.
John M. Stahl was 48 when he directed Imitation of Life.
Other Stahl films in the Collection:
#1020: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
The Film
a
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by Miriam J. Petty.
Commentary
None.
Introduction
To the film by Imogen Sara Smith, contributor to The Call of the Heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama.
Interview
With Petty, author of Stealing the Show: African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood, about the resonance of Beavers’s and Washington’s performances.
Trailer
Cut for segregated Black theaters at the time of the film’s release.
Extras Rating (0-40):
60
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by Miriam J. Petty.
Commentary
None.
Introduction
To the film by Imogen Sara Smith, contributor to The Call of the Heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama.
Interview
With Petty, author of Stealing the Show: African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood, about the resonance of Beavers’s and Washington’s performances.
Trailer
Cut for segregated Black theaters at the time of the film’s release.
Extras Rating (0-40):
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