Imitation of Life 1959

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Imitation of Life ★★★ 1959

Remake of the successful 1934 Claudette Colbert outing of the same title, and based on Fanny Hurst's novel, with a few plot changes. Turner is a single mother, more determined to achieve acting fame and fortune than function as a parent. Her black maid, Moore, is devoted to her own daughter (Kohner), but loses her when the girl discovers she can pass for white. When Turner discovers that she and her daughter are in love with the same man, she realizes how little she knows her daughter, and how much the two of them have missed by not having a stronger relationship. Highly successful at the boxoffice. 124m/C VHS, DVD . Lana Turner, John Gavin, Troy Donahue, Sandra Dee, Juanita Moore, Susan Kohner; D: Douglas Sirk; C: Russell Metty. Golden Globes ‘60: Support. Actress (Kohner).