Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Micransix Crappy film

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

brchthethird As much as we'd like to think that films exist in a vacuum, that is not the case. Still, despite progress, sometimes it is beneficial to (at least attempt to) evaluate art on its own merit and in its historical context. IMITATION OF LIFE is a film to which this can be applied. In terms of its approach to race and gender issues it was probably quite daring for its time. You have two single mothers, one black and one white, who start a business and climb up the social ladder. And their daughters, even though having a somewhat contentious relationship, were treated as equals. But, treating something academically isn't the only possible critical approach. By today's standards, I think the film still falls a bit short in terms of race and gender issues. Louise Beaver gives an awkward performance as a cheerfully subservient "mammy," even though that's the type of roles that were available to women of color back then. There is also an antiquated view on romantic relationships as marriage or "falling in love" is still seen as the pinnacle of a woman's life. All of this, and I haven't even really broached the style of film this is. I don't really mind melodrama as long as its executed well and has a compelling story. For what it's worth, IMITATION OF LIFE tends toward the positive side of this although it bites off a little more narrative complexity than it can fully chew, in my opinion. The primary plot threads involve Delilah's (Louise Beaver) daughter, Peola, who is mixed race and hates her "blackness," and an ichthyologist who Bea (Claudette Colbert) and her daughter both fall in love with. At least to me, there wasn't enough done to really integrate the various story elements in service of cohesiveness. It's like the story had a checklist of things it wanted to cover instead of letting things flow naturally from scene to scene. The outcome of the story was also kind of predictable. Still, the acting, which seems kind of stagey now, was decent, with Claudette Colbert doing the best out of the cast. She was a goddess who shone in every scene, and looked absolutely gorgeous in soft focus. Also, the toddler actress who played young Jessie, her daughter, was cute as a button. Overall, IMITATION OF LIFE is a product of its time. It might seemed dated today, but it's well produced, acted and directed for what it is.

Cyke 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).

tavm First, I have a question: What's with IMDb listing Dorothy Black playing Peola at age 35? This version I saw ends with her at 19 crying at her mother's funeral and still played by Fredi Washington. Was there an extra scene missing? Anyway with that out of the way, I found this movie interesting with the relationship between Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers being nearly equal as being more friends as opposed to boss/employee even though Delilah kept calling Bea, Miss Bea, to the end of her days. Those scenes were so interesting and that of Beavers and Washington more so especially their last confrontation when Delilah still wants to be called Mammy and not some white woman's parent title (no offense to Bea, of course), that Bea's scenes with her potential husband (Warren William) and grown daughter (Rochelle Hudson) are sappy and a little melodramatic by comparison. I'd also like to praise the child, Sebie Handricks, that played Peola at age 4. She was really good. Ned Sparks as Bea's business partner is amusing with his sour disposition though a little of him goes a long way. I do wonder how many of the people at Delilah's funeral were her friends and how many were simply Bea's that simply came at her request because of Delilah's request of wanting a big one. I also wonder about the trailer that played on the VHS tape before the movie that emphasized Beavers and Washington in still frames with critical notices of them that probably played in segregated black theatres and how the intended audience reacted when their parts were small compared to the white actors. Despite those mixed reactions, I still recommend Imitation of Life.

dbdumonteil ...no one can see me cry...(Michael Stipe) Delilah is par excellence the heroine of melodrama;if the sky she looks upon should tumble and fall,she would put her faith in God,and that's exactly what happens. Although her contribution to Bea's phenomenally successful pancakes business is more than useful,all that she wants is a beautiful funeral.Her daughter Peola disowns her ,because she does not want to pass for black.Melodrama has always been somewhat reactionary(and I love melodrama): the 1934 black woman will get pie in the sky,but on the good old Earth,she knows her place:owning a house ,being considered by Bea as an associate eludes her.And however Bea , a liberal woman (wonderfully played by Claudette Colbert ,far superior to Lana Turner in Sirk's remake) really loves Delilah,who is not a servant to her.This black and white version is much closer to Fanny Hurst's novel.The 1959 remake made Bea a star and the biggest mistake was to cast a white actress as Sarah-Jane (Peola).Her mother's name changed too:it became "Annie" .However ,it is hard to tell which version is the best.As I already wrote ,Lana Turner was not an improvement on Claudette Colbert ,and the relationship between the two widows is more touching in the 1934 version.The scene of the pancakes ,although very down-to-earth , wonderfully depicts the rapport they have.And being a business woman ,particularly in the thirties ("They bottled Coca Cola.Do the same for your flour! Box It!),is certainly more challenging for a woman than to be a star.In an interview,Fanny Hurst told that she thought that a woman should occupy the same posts as a man;but she added that it took her twice a man's courage to make half of the way.The main problem in Stahl's versions is the two plots.Male characters are definitely uninteresting and the love affair Jessie /mom's squeeze pales next to Delilah/Peola scenes.Douglas Sirk,in 1959, succeeded in combining the two stories ,although,once more,it's Annie and Sarah Jane the audience remembers.The funeral is more grandiose,more impressive in the color version too.Both versions have their qualities .You should see them one after the other and make up your mind.