Imitation of life

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Uniform Title

Imitation of life (Motion picture : 1934)

Title

Imitation of life / produced by Carl Laemmle ; screenplay, William Hurlbut ; directed by John M. Stahl.

ISBN

9798886070064

Publication

[United States] : The Criterion Collection, [2023]

Physical Description

1 videodisc (110 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in.

Notes

Originally released as a motion picture in 1934.

Full screen (1.33:1).

Special features: new interview with Miriam J. Petty, author of Stealing tyhe show: African American performers and audiences in 1930s Hollywood, about the resonance of Louise Beavers's and Fredi Washington's performances; new interview with Imogen Sara Smith, contributor to The call of the heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood melodrama, about director John M. Stahl and his work with actor Claudette Colbert and others; trailer.

Subtitled for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH).

Summary

It explores the friendship between two struggling single mothers: one a working-class white woman who ascends to the top of the business world, and the other her Black housekeeper, whose life is shattered by the rejection of her rebellious, white-passing daughter. 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.

Format

Images / Video & Film

Language

English

Added to Catalog

January 24, 2023

Series

Criterion collection.

Criterion collection

Cast

Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, Warren William.

System details note