"Stunningly produced but dully acted, making its racially sensitive plot seem Screenplay: Eleanore Griffin, Allan Scott, based on the novel by Fannie Hurst Directors Michael Anderson Vincente Minnelli Writers Rosamond Marshall Robert Thom Stars Robert Wagner Natalie Wood Susan Kohner White! Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. Though The Apartment was a comic success, with each passing year the film's serious side seems even more dark and derisive. As he did throughout his career, Quinn rarely hesitated to take work whereever he found it, which resulted in dozens of potboilers like Seven Cities of Gold (1955) but also a few cult favorites like Budd Boetticher's The Magnificent Matador (1955). Only producer Ross Hunter was consistently delivering solid box office returns. He has acted in everything from lightweight sex farces (How to Murder Your Wife, 1965) to musicals (My Sister Eileen, 1955) to social dramas (Days of Wine and Roses, 1962) to political thrillers (The China Syndrome, 1979). -- Kohner, as Sarah Jane, rejecting her mother, Moore, as Annie Johnson. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscars for their searing portrayals of the African-American mother and daughter. Though The Apartment was a comic success, with each passing year the film's serious side seems even more dark and derisive. Best Drama. One of the most mysterious aspects of Natalie's death is the setting, as Entertainment Weekly reported back in 1992. According to a April 3, 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, Turner contracted for a five percent participation in the film's profits. 60+ Hot Pictures Of Natalie Wood Which Are Just Too Hot To Handle According to August 1958 Hollywood Reporter news items, portions of the picture were shot at the Warner Bros. studio, the Methodist Church in Hollywood, CA, and at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Los Angeles. For a brief, quicksilver period of the early '60s, Sandra Dee was the quintessential sweet, perky, All-American girl, and films such as Gidget and Tammy Tell Me True only reinforced the image that young audiences identified with on the screen. Imitation of Life (2021) - IMDb He was busy in a variety of films during this periods - notably Parrish (1961) and Rome Adventure (1962) - but also starred in the TV series Surfside 6 (1960) and Hawaiian Eye (1962 and predating Hawaii Five-O by several years). continually counterpointed by an emphasis upon racial tension and the -- Lana Turner, as Lora Meredith, expressing surprise that the light-skinned little girl is the daughter of African-American Juanita Moore, as Annie Johnson. insincere." everything: mother love, musical numbers, backstage intrigue, race relations, Towards the end of that decade he appeared in Nicholas Ray's The Savage Innocents (1959) as an Eskimo, inspiring Bob Dylan to write "Quinn the Eskimo" (a Top Ten hit for Manfred Mann in 1968). Email Address: Sign me up! C-125m. Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) are now teens, Lora (Lana Turner) now a Broadway star and Annie (Juanita Moore) still her backup, when old flame Steve (John Gavin) shows up at a premiere party ten years later, in producer Ross Hunter's, Imitation Of Life (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Foolish Together, Single mom and aspiring actress Lora (Lana Turner), embarrassed by Christmas attention from Steve (John Gavin), as housekeeper/roommate Annie (Juanita Moore) takes a call from agent Loomis (Robert Alda), representing Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy), in Douglas Sirk's hit, Imitation Of Life (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Title Song, Credits, Earl Grant's vocal, Sammy Fain and Paul Thomas Webster's song, the especially evocative title sequence, from producer Ross Hunter and director Douglas Sirk's hit melodrama, Imitation of Life (1959) - (Original Trailer), Two mothers, one white, one black, face problems with their rebellious daughters in Douglas Sirk's, Michael Phillips Intro -- Imitation Of Life (1959). Miss Lora, I killed my mother." Drama Music Romance In rural Texas, Salome, pregnant with Chad's baby, runs away from home and marries wealthy Yale student Tony but, years later, runs into Chad, now a successful musician in New York. Illicit love and the corruption of big business might not seem to be the stuff of hit comedies, but Wilder and Lemmon found humor in the most unlikeliest of places. into a masterpiece of film writing. daughter in the 1950s. Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc. Hollywood, California, United States; Los Angeles--Moulin Rouge nightclub, California, United States, SYNOPSIS Several collections of her work are available, most with mildly risque titles like I Lost It at the Movies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Going Steady. In the background of her public rise to fame, Wood survived some of the worst situations life could throw at someone, just to mysteriously drown in a still-unsolved incident at only 43 years old. She was meant to be an "executive consultant" at Paramount but actually making movies is quite a different matter than writing about them so Kael lasted only five months. TCM REMEMBERS JACK LEMMON 1925-2001 Pauline Kael, who died September 3rd at the age of 82, was one of the handful of film critics who made a noticable impact on the way we view movies. Producer: Ross Hunter Whether playing a cross-dressing jazz bassist or a bickering roommate, Lemmon has kept his fans in stitches for fifty years. Her mix of personal feelings with more abstract aesthetics inspired numerous other critics (sometimes called "Paulettes") and in a few cases even made big hits of movies like Bonnie and Clyde (1967). -- Lypsinka, "My Favorite That same year, much to the delight of her fans, she resurfaced briefly when she starred in a stage production of Love Letters at the Beverly Hill's Canon Theatre with her friend and former co-star, John Saxon. Released in United States March 1977 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Double Vision-Two different classics made from the same story) March 9-27, 1977. At the beginning of the film, directed by Laurent Bouzereau, Wood's older daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, describes hearing, at age eleven, of her mother's shocking and mysterious death, in . Finally, Hunter and Turner's agent, Paul Kohner, convinced her that making the film was the only way to lay the rumors to rest. scene has white Troy Donahue brutally beating date Kohner, who he has learned Yet she would prove her versatility as a performer the following year - 1959, when she scored in the three biggest films of the year:A Summer Place, a brooding melodrama with fellow teen-heartthrob, Troy Donohue; Imitation of Life, a glossy, Ross Hunter sudser; and of course Gidget, the archetypical, sand and surf movie. - Danny Peary, Guide For the Film Fanatic (Fireside). Two years later legendary editor William Shawn hired Kael as film critic for The New Yorker, completing her jump into the limelight. Very few actors today can match Lemmon's range on the screen. 5 Things You May Not Know About Douglas Sirk's 'Imitation Of Life' The outcome of this boycott is not known. Natalie Wood | Biography, Movies, Death, & Facts | Britannica Although by no means a classic, her role as woman falling pray to a warlock (Dean Stockwell) who sexually and psychologically dominates her in the The Dunwich Horror (1970), was nothing short of startling. Her few films of that period : She met Darin in 1960 in Portofino, Italy, where they were both cast in Come September with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida as the older romantic couple. From poverty and childhood accidents to brutal abuse and depressive episodes, here are some heartbreaking details about Natalie Wood's life. (1952) provided him a wonderful role which he used to win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Actor who got the part: Sandra Dee. Cowboy is based on the autobiography of Frank Harris, and, like the author, Lemmon found himself adapting to the rough and tumble lifestyle on the trail. Landmarks, Breakthroughs and Milestones in Black Film History, a five-week series, will run through March 14 at Film Forum 2, 209 West Houston Street, Manhattan. By Cino Niles & Jeff Stafford picture and a dark commentary on ambition, motherhood, Closed captioning. Two other popular releases in 1959, Gidget and A Summer Place, would make her a star and contribute to Imitation of Life's box office success. Universal borrowed costume designer Jean Louis from Columbia for the film. She was abandoned by her father by age five, and her mother, Mary Douvan, lied about Sandra's age so that she could put her in school and get a job. CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme in der Deutschen Bibliothek. Between theatrical gigs, he played piano accompaniment to silent films shown at the Knickerbocker Music Hall in New York. In 2018, "48 Hours" first reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had talked for the first . Director Douglas Sirk suggested changing the leading lady from a businesswoman to an actress. TIL that everyone wears Crocs in the 2006 movie Idiocracy - Reddit Meanwhile, Sarah Jane tells Susie that she secretly has been seeing her white boyfriend, and that she would rather die than be considered black. Kael never shied away from controversy as two other events proved. Ross Hunter wanted to update the story, making the leading character an actress instead of a businesswoman, but keeping the race issue and the conflicts between mothers and daughters. A key role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) only confirmed his talents while he again earned a Best Actor nomination for the unforgettable lead role in Zorba the Greek (1964). Quinn was born April 21, 1915 in Mexico. The other notorious controversy occured in 1971 with her essay "Raising Kane" which was intended to show that screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz deserved as much if not more credit for Citizen Kane (1941) than Orson Welles. We strive to provide reliability in our movie trivia database, and we . Troy Donahue died September 2nd at the age of 65. She was all I had." (The idea for the book was born when Hurst traveled with black author Zora Neale Hurston and encountered racism, although the story was not remotely based on either of their lives.) -- Bosley Crowther, The New York And Natalie's own sister, Lana Wood deemed a credible source by detectiveshas spent years publicly sharing her doubts that Wood's death was an accident and demanding that Wagner, her . Not only could she not risk another flop, but she wasn't sure she was ready to go back to work. Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography by Suzanne Finstad - Goodreads Juanita Moore's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress was such a surprise the studio didn't even have a biography on hand to distribute to the press. By Margarita Landazuri. Quinn divorced DeMille's daughter and married the costumer. Carroll O'Connor - who died June 21st at the age of 76 - will be best remembered for portraying Archie Bunker on TV's All in the Family but his career actually was much more extensive. As Steve looks on, the three women join hands in a gesture of comfort and love. Billy Wilder and Lemmon's lifelong comic foil Walter Matthau (nine collaborations with Lemmon in 32 years, including their most popular film, The Odd Couple, 1968) brought some of the comedian's finest funny moments to the screen. Natalie Wood was first considered for the part of Turner's daughter, but eventually Universal went with its own contract player, Sandra Dee, whom they were grooming for stardom. Turner hesitated about accepting the role, fearing that the combination of the scandal and the recent financial disappointment of Another Time, Another Place (1958) had put her in a very tenuous position. But there was a serious side too. During the publicity tour for the film, one reporter asked Susan Kohner if she had "minded" playing a black character. As Ensign Pulver, a deckhand who avoids work whenever possible, Lemmon won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar®. played her servant and dearest friend, and Sandra Dee Internationalen Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. An aspiring white actress takes in an African-American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white. Imitation of Life movie images: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library. "Imitation of Life may be the most important movie ever made. His romantic visions of the West are soon changed by the hard-living, hard-drinking reality. Her mother's appearance gets Sarah Jane fired, and she again runs from her, causing Annie to faint. "Imitation of Life crosses a succession of emotional bridges, hitting Quinn married his third wife in 1997; they had one son. Natalie Zacharenko (later Natasha Gurdin) was born of Russian immigrants. As some form of compensation, her on-screen billing reads "presenting Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson," but that credit didn't make it into the film's advertising. Donahue's career declined as the Sixties became more turbulent but he still made notable appearances in The Godfather Part II (1974), playing a character with Donahue's own real name, and Monte Hellman's Cockfighter (1974). The son of a doughnut manufacturer, Lemmon later attended Harvard University but was bitten by the acting bug and left the prestigious college for Broadway. The turning point came in 1965 when I Lost It at the Movies not only attracted major critical attention but became a strong seller in book stores. Dr. Joseph Choi, a deputy medical examiner at . director of photography Film Editing by Milton Carruth Art Direction by Alexander Golitzen The novel was a huge success and it was made into a film in 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, directed by John Stahl. Natalie Wood would have been 75 today. Natalie Wood's Life in Photos - Pictures of Natalie Wood - Harper's BAZAAR Susie (Sandra Dee) and Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) are now teens, Lora (Lana Turner) now a Broadway star and Annie (Juanita Moore) still her . Too adult for her own good - Los Angeles Times Lemmon was truly a one-of-a-kind actor and his track record for acclaimed performances is truly remarkable: 8 Oscar nominations (he won Best Supporting Actor for Mister Roberts (1955) and Best Actor for Save the Tiger (1973), a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, 8 British Academy Award nominations, 4 Emmy Award nominations, numerous Golden Globe nominations, a two-time Best Actor winner at the Cannes Film Festival, the list goes on and on. Rosie, and Doctor, You've Got To Be Kidding (both 1967) were pretty dreadful and were disasters at the box-office; and her divorce from Bobby Darin that same year, put a dent in her personal life, so Dee wisely took a sabbatical from the limelight for a few years. Things You Didn't Know About Natalie Wood's Mysterious Death Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Richard H. Riedel Later, Lemmon claimed that he learned more about comic technique by watching these Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd two-reelers than acting school could have ever taught him. During filming, he sent flowers and gifts to Turner's dressing room regularly. Back home, Annie tells Lora, who has just returned from Europe, that she will no longer interfere in her daughter's life, adding that she does hope to help her wayward daughter somehow. Quinn directed his only film in 1958, The Buccaneer, a commercial failure he later attributed to producer Cecil DeMille's interference. Quinn's acting debut was in 1936 initially in a handful of barely noticable spots as an extra until he landed a speaking role in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, supposedly on the recommendation of the film's star, Gary Cooper. The rest of his career might be summed up by the year 1991 when he gathered critical acclaim for his appearance in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Actor in Mobsters, co-starred with Bo Derek in Ghosts Can't Do It, worked beside John Candy and Macaulay Culkin in Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely and made a film so obscure it appears to have never appeared on video. Thanks to its provocative themes, the novel was a huge success. -- Arthur Knight, The Saturday Imitation of Life (1959) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Douglas Sirk Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Ross Hunter . C-125m. ), Released in United States March 1997 (Shown at London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival March 13-27, 1997. Authorities classified her death as an accident, concluding the 43-year-old star of "West Side Story," who. The idea for remaking Imitation of Life came up in 1956, when Hunter was looking for a follow-up to All That Heaven Allows (1955), a hit romance co-starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson in the romance of an older woman and younger man. "If the dramatist's club want to eat and sleep with you, you'll eat and sleep with them. Imitation of Life (St. Martin's Press). According to a July 19, 1956 Hollywood Reporter news item, producer Ross Hunter originally planned to make a musical version of the story starring Shirley Booth and Ethel Waters. Imitation of Life was the last collaboration for producer Ross Hunter and director Douglas Sirk, who previously had teamed for such hit melodramas as Magnificent Obsession (1954) and All That Heaven Allows (1955). -- Turner refusing a marriage proposal from Gavin, as Steve Archer. Leading man John Gavin was being groomed for stardom at Universal, where he was seen as a younger version of Rock Hudson. (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy (1981). He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. degeneration of family bondsForget those who decry the '50s Hollywood Sirk is able to make such a devastatingly embittered and pessimistic movie." Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Re-released in Tel Aviv January 11, 1991. At the mortuary,. His romantic visions of the West are soon changed by the hard-living, hard-drinking reality. Director: Douglas Sirk Sirk had given Donahue a small role in The Tarnished Angels (1958), but when he offered him the role of the fraternity boy who discovers girlfriend Kohner is black and beats her up, Willson almost turned down the role. Imitation of Life (1959) - Turner Classic Movies Things." Mama, I love you. "When passed before the moviegoer's eyes, it may force theatre owners to Whether playing a cross-dressing jazz bassist or a bickering roommate, Lemmon has kept his fans in stitches for fifty years. Best Known For: Natalie Wood was an actress who starred in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'West Side Story.' She died tragically, drowning during a boating trip in 1981. Quinn directed his only film in 1958, The Buccaneer, a commercial failure he later attributed to producer Cecil DeMille's interference. A year after the film came out, Brazilian television presented a telenovella based on the book. Archie became such an icon that his chair is now preserved in the Smithsonian. This was followed by major attention in academic film journals and retrospectives at film festivals. In 1988, O'Connor took the role of a Southern sheriff in a TV series based on the movie In the Heat of the Night and found himself in another hit, this one lasting until 1995. It was Wright in fact who suggested the possibility of acting to Quinn and even paid for an operation to cure a speech impediment. Natalie Wood | Imitation of Life But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. All in the Family was an American version of the British sitcom Till Death Do Us Part that met some initial resistance (ABC rejected the first two pilots) but quickly captivated American audiences and became the country's top-rated TV show. Director Douglas Sirk Writers Eleanore Griffin Allan Scott Fannie Hurst Stars Lana Turner John Gavin Sandra Dee See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video rent/buy from $3.99 More watch options Problems arise when Lemmon falls for his boss's paramour - it gets even more complicated when she tries to kill herself in his pad! In 1965, his relationship with an Italian costumer created a minor scandal when it was revealed that the couple had two children. According to Daily Variety, Universal encountered some resistance to the promotion of the film and tailored its advertising campaign for the South, where, a studio representative said, "white southerners avoid films that are advertised as dealing with the race problem." It Should Happen to You, directed by George Cukor, was a popular success and Lemmon and Holliday were quickly teamed again in Phffft! Director and comic star went on to make five more films: Irma la Douce (1963), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Avanti! Cinematography: Russell Metty -- Time with surviving cast members, and superb storytelling Produced - inevitably - by Ross Hunter. He eventually returned to his native Germany, where he taught film and made a few experimental pictures. But it was the 1950s when Quinn broke out. Imitation of Life (1959) - Trivia - IMDb In 1965, his relationship with an Italian costumer created a minor scandal when it was revealed that the couple had two children. By Lang Thompson 1959, World premiere in Chicago, IL: 17 Mar 1959; Los Angeles opening: 20 Mar 1959; New York opening: 17 Apr 1959. Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. Lana Turner was back on top, and a rich woman as well. Natalie Wood, original name Natalia Nikolaevna Zackharenko, Zackharenko also spelled Zakharenko, (born July 20, 1938, San Francisco, California, U.S.died November 29, 1981, off Santa Catalina Island, California), American film actress who transitioned from child stardom to a successful movie career as an adult. Imitation of Life. and Turner saying "I'll get the things I want out of lifeone way -- or another." It was appraised at $1 million. "All the kids talking behind my back! Universal bought the screen rights to Imitation of Life and produced a faithful screen adaptation in 1934 under John Stahl's direction (he had previously directed the very successful first version of Hurst's Back Street in 1932). Douglas Sirk was nominated for the Directors Guild Award but lost to William Email Subscription. Natalie Wood - Trivia - notstarring.com He returned to the U.S. for his Broadway debut in 1958 and shortly after started to appear on numerous TV shows like The Untouchables and Naked City. He was afraid playing a violent racist would damage Donahue's career. Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. Lora Meredith. AWARDS & HONORS Just then, Loomis offers her a role in a new comedy by well-known writer David Edwards, but Steve forbids her to visit Loomis, prompting her to accuse him of settling for less in his own career. This is life as they would like to believe it, and it makes good movie Times. He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy (1981). Born to be Hurt is the first in-depth account of Annie then introduces herself to Sarah Jane's white friend as Sarah Jane's former nanny and leaves, but not before Sarah Jane tearfully embraces her. White! . Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst 's 1933 novel of the same name; the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934. personality drama that's both an irresistible women's (1954), another lightweight romantic comedy. But beneath that comedian's facade, the actor had a very serious side, which occasionally surfaced in such films as Days of Wine and Roses (1962) or Costa-Gavras' political thriller Missing (1982). TCM Race & Hollywood "Imitation of Life" - YouTube