Imitation Of Life (1934)

A struggling widow (Claudette Colbert) with a child (Juanita Quigley, later morphing into Rochelle Hudson) takes an African American widow (Louise Beavers) and her child (Dorothy Black, later morphing into Fredi Washington) into her home to take care of her daughter. With the black woman's pancake recipe, the widow becomes a businesswoman and mogul known as "the pancake Queen". Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst (later remade in 1959) and directed by John M. Stahl (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN). An admirable film that was daring for its day in its examination of racial identity in a society which restricted access to African Americans. But the film is not without flaws which were later corrected for the superior 1959 Douglas Sirk remake. For example, when Colbert starts her pancake empire, she gives Beavers 20% instead of 50% of the profits and it was her pancake recipe that makes the company a success. Given the financial opportunity to live her own life, Beavers chooses of her own volition to remain a servant to Colbert because she likes taking care of them ... uh-huh! The white mother/daughter relationship lacks the complexity of the Sirk version. However, as in the 1959 movie, it's the performances of the actors playing the black mother/daughter that dominates the film. With Warren William, Ned Sparks and Alan Hale.