Imitation of Life *** (1934, Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Louise Beavers, Rochelle Hudson, Fredi Washington, Alan Hale, Henry Armetta, Ned Sparks, Juanita Quigley) – Classic Movie Review 13,916

The 1934 original black and white film version of the Fannie Hurst mother-love weepie Imitation of Life is­­ a pleasure, starring Claudette Colbert, Warren William and Louise Beavers.

Producer-director John M Stahl’s 1934 original black and white version of the Fannie Hurst mother-love weepie Imitation of Life is­­ a pleasure, even if the piece is now much better known through its umpteen TV screenings in the better Lana Turner Fifties colour remake version, Imitation of Life (1959). It was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture.

Claudette Colbert stars as Bea Pullman, the working woman who strikes it rich through the pancake recipe of her black maid, Delilah Johnson (Louise Beavers). It perhaps sounds like the start of a comedy, but it is tears that abound as Beavers’s daughter Peola (Fredi Washington) pretends to be white.

Based on the 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst about two mothers both struggling to raise their daughters, the 1934 American black and white melodrama film Imitation of Life has somewhat faded, but this classic tearjerker still works a treat for all those susceptible to sentimentality, and Claudette Colbert is delightful and Louise Beavers is stupendous.

The cast are Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Louise Beavers, Rochelle Hudson, Fredi Washington, Alan Hale, Henry Armetta, Ned Sparks, Juanita Quigley, Seble Hendricks, Wyndham Standing, Tyler Brooke, Daisy Burford, Joyce Compton, William B Davidson, G P Huntley, Marilyn Knowlden, Henry Kolker, Lenita Lane, Curry Lee, Bessie Lyle, Hattie McDaniel, Claire McDowell, Barry Norton, Edgar Norton, Dennis O’Keefe, Franklin Pangborn, Paul Porcasi, Ethel Sykes, Libby Taylor, Alma Tell, Fred Toones, Walter Walker, Hazel Washington, Clarence Wilson, Jane Withers.

Imitation of Life is directed by John M Stahl, runs 109 minnutes, is made and released by Universal, is written by William Hurlbut, based on the 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst, is shot in black and white by Merritt B Gerstad, is produced by Carl Laemmle Jr and John M Stahl, is scored by Heinz Roemheld, and is designed by Charles D Hall.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,916

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