Imitation of Life 1959 Archive

[African-American Film] Imitation of Life 1959 Original Lobby Card Archive of 8 Lobby Cards. Universal Pictures Co., 1959-65. Each lobby card ranges from 10" x 8" to 11" x 14". This archive includes four colorful lobby cards and four black and white lobby cards. Imitation of Life is an American drama directed by Douglas Kirk, and tackled several racial and gender issues, along with classism. Most notably, the film stars Susan Kohner, who plays a White-passing light-skinned Black woman in the film. The film has numerous major changes from those of the original book and the 1934 film version. For its time, it was a rarity to see the negative implications of colorism being explored in film. Film critic Molly Haskell once described Imitation's double-vision: "The mixed-race girl's agonizing quest for her identity is not seen from her point of view as much as it is mockingly reflected in the fun house mirrors of the culture from which she is hopelessly alienated". In essence, the film examined the positive and negative implications of being White-passing in the late 1950's. Seven lobby cards feature Juanita Moore as "Annie Johnson", an unemployed Black woman who joins a White family as a nanny. In one colorful lobby card, three images of actresses Juanita Moore, Lana Turner, and Sandra Dee are illustrated, with captions including "The color line won't stop me, Ma! I look, feel, think white...and I am going to marry white!". Another colorful lobby card captures Lana Turner in an elegant gown and bold red lip, with John Gavin peering in the background. An early examination of colorism in the late 50's, this film is impactful this archive is in very good condition.