Imitation of Life (1934) | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: Imitation of Life (1934)
Released: 1934-11-23
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Ned Sparks

Imitation of Life (1934)

NR
1h 50m
1934

88%

PRICING SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Confirm current pricing with applicable retailer. All transactions subject to applicable license terms and conditions.

The lives of a widow and her housekeeper are united first in mutual need, then success and ultimately, in heartache in this Academy Award®-nominated Best Picture. Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers are superb as Bea and Delilah, two women with young daughters who build a life and a fortune together selling Delilah's pancake recipe. But success doesn't save them from sorrow with the passing years. Delilah's light-skinned teenager rejects her mother and her race, while Bea must choose between the man she loves and the daughter who loves him, too. Now all of them will pay the price of love in this spellbinding classic, revered as one of the all-time Hollywood tear-jerkers, from collaborators William Hurlbut and Preston Sturges.

Director:

John M. Stahl

Producer:

Carl Laemmle, Jr.

Cast:

Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Ned Sparks, Baby Jane, Alan Hale, Henry Armetta

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

88%

Critics Consensus: Imitation of Life isn't always subtle, but even as it tugs at the heartstrings, this socially conscious melodrama effectively explores Jim Crow-era racial taboos.

Reviews

IONCINEMA.com

Nicholas Bell

A classic melodrama, John M. Stahl’s version of Imitation of Life is perhaps a more accurate depiction of partially mislaid good intentions regarding contentious race relations compared to Sirk’s more lavish 1959 version.

The soul of the drama is the conflict that Delilah’s fair-skinned daughter feels between her personal black identity and the dominant white society around her. [Full review in Spanish]

Adapted from the novel by Fannie Hurst, "Imitation of Life" is a multi-layered melodrama that feels staid in some places and fresh as a daisy in others.

The film remains a conscientious depiction of the bitter realities of race in America.

Miss Beavers, who has been in pictures for about ten years found her masterpiece in Imitation of Life.

1611983496000

FULL REVIEW