With her fetching blonde curls and pretty face, Dee found herself moving up quickly on the modeling ladder. Was considered to play the role of the young daughter of Lana Turner in the classic melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk. (It also produced one of TV's oddest spinoffs in1994's 704 Hauser about a multi-racial family living in Archie Bunker's old house. Juanita Moore's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress was such a surprise the studio didn't even have a biography on hand to distribute to the press. of personal and professional ruin starred as Lora Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Richard H. Riedel Together they made seven films, but it was their first, Some Like It Hot (1959), that captured the sheer comic genius of their collaborations together. That same year, much to the delight of her fans, she resurfaced briefly when she starred in a stage production of Love Letters at the Beverly Hill's Canon Theatre with her friend and former co-star, John Saxon. Strmungen zu ermglichen: So werden pfingstliche Strmungen hufig als Paradebeispiel eines globalisierten Christentums angefhrt. Susanna "Susan" Kohner is an American retired actress who worked in film and television. White! Producer: Ross Hunter They eventually married and she gave birth to a son, Dodd Mitchell Darin in 1961. No fun." Lana Turner, on the brink Illicit love and the corruption of big business might not seem to be the stuff of hit comedies, but Wilder and Lemmon found humor in the most unlikeliest of places. Those issues also brought Hurst an impressive amount of fan mail thanking her for her depiction of the African-American characters. Two years later legendary editor William Shawn hired Kael as film critic for The New Yorker, completing her jump into the limelight. It Should Happen to You, directed by George Cukor, was a popular success and Lemmon and Holliday were quickly teamed again in Phffft! As some form of compensation, her on-screen billing reads "presenting Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson," but that credit didn't make it into the film's advertising. Not many actors can boast that they've inspired a Bob Dylan song but Anthony Quinn - who passed away June 3rd at the age of 86 - was one of the select few. "Fine performances and direction overcome possible soapiness to make this Viva Zapata! (1954), another lightweight romantic comedy. "I think it's impeccably made Hollywood trash - a watchable, laughable, For a brief, quicksilver period of the early '60s, Sandra Dee was the quintessential sweet, perky, All-American girl, and films such as Gidget and Tammy Tell Me True only reinforced the image that young audiences identified with on the screen. By Lang Thompson. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org. Miss Lora, I killed my mother." Their success is tainted by problems with their daughters. By the dawn of the '60s, Sandra Dee mania ruled the movie fanzines worldwide. Archie became such an icon that his chair is now preserved in the Smithsonian. Fannie Hurst's novel, Imitation of Life, was the story of two single mothers, one white and one black, who join forces and become successful businesswomen. Enter Ross Hunter, producer of lavish women's pictures for Universal, who had breathed new life into the careers of aging stars like Jane Wyman and Barbara Stanwyck. Turner agreed, and the film succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Natalie Wood, Thelma Ritter. A modern source reported that Sirk had read the novel before directing this film, but had not seen the 1934 film. In 1965, his relationship with an Italian costumer created a minor scandal when it was revealed that the couple had two children. But both women suffer heartbreak caused by their daughters. (Director Elia Kazan tried to start a rivalry between the two actors but they were great admirers of each other.) Lemmon brought a new comic persona to Hollywood films. by Frank Miller, Imitation of Life is one of only two dramatic films to feature gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. His first film was Parrish (1961) though he eventually acted in over a dozen films during the Sixties including Cleopatra (1963), Marlowe (1969), Hawaii (1966) and Point Blank (1967). The closer he gets to his goal, the clearer it becomes that a government conspiracy is behind his son's disappearance. By Margarita Landazuri. Hunter insisted on maintaining a lavish production, despite a tight budget. Billy Wilder and Lemmon's lifelong comic foil Walter Matthau (nine collaborations with Lemmon in 32 years, including their most popular film, The Odd Couple, 1968) brought some of the comedian's finest funny moments to the screen. For the next ten years, Lora stars in one hit David Edwards play after another. In 1988, O'Connor took the role of a Southern sheriff in a TV series based on the movie In the Heat of the Night and found himself in another hit, this one lasting until 1995. Quinn worked with Marlon Brando who he had replaced in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Drama Music Romance In rural Texas, Salome, pregnant with Chad's baby, runs away from home and marries wealthy Yale student Tony but, years later, runs into Chad, now a successful musician in New York. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane tells Susie that she secretly has been seeing her white boyfriend, and that she would rather die than be considered black. Als Faktoren ihres globalen Erfolgs werden unter anderem diskursive Offenheit und Adaptionsfhigkeit genannt: Nicht-christliche Traditionen werden, beispielsweise in vielen Regionen Asiens, als Ressourcen behandelt, die in der christlichen Perspektive eine . From sexual antics to social critique, Lemmon and Wilder sharpened their comic knives on the hypocrisies they saw in American culture. "You know I still have you in my blood, don't you?" Surprised and overjoyed by a visit from Steve, Lora confesses she still loves him, and the two are reunited. It had no cast members from the earlier series and only lasted six episodes.) In addition to the usual writer's assortment of jobs (seamstress, cook, retail clerk) she started writing about film in 1953; her first review was of Charlie Chaplin's Limelight which she disliked. After Quinn's birth, the family soon moved to East Los Angeles (after a quick Texas detour) where Quinn grew up in the shadow of Hollywood. the heart with each step in one of the best Universal films of recent years. Quinn's acting debut was in 1936 initially in a handful of barely noticable spots as an extra until he landed a speaking role in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, supposedly on the recommendation of the film's star, Gary Cooper. A year later, Lemmon hit the major leagues when he supported Hollywood heavyweights Henry Fonda, James Cagney and William Powell in Mister Roberts (1955). TCM REMEMBERS JACK LEMMON 1925-2001 Cast & Crew Read More Douglas Sirk Director Lana Turner Lora Meredith John Gavin Steve Archer Sandra Dee Susie Meredith, age sixteen Susan Kohner Sarah Jane [Johnson], age eighteen Robert Alda Allen Loomis Photos & Videos View All lamentable soap opera/"women's picture"/"problem" picture.The most honest AWARDS & HONORS previous biographies of movies: All About All About degree of emotion that virtually dissolved the audience watching the film with By Lang Thompson It features Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, and Freddie Wa. If a novelist had invented a character like Quinn, she would be accused of unbelievable invention. Director Douglas Sirk Writers Eleanore Griffin Allan Scott Fannie Hurst Stars Lana Turner John Gavin Sandra Dee See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video rent/buy from $3.99 More watch options Illicit love and the corruption of big business might not seem to be the stuff of hit comedies, but Wilder and Lemmon found humor in the most unlikeliest of places. Thanks to its provocative themes, the novel was a huge success. He signed with Warner Brothers in 1959 and immediately jumped to stardom in films like A Summer Place and Imitation of Life (both 1959). takes on the classic 1959 Douglas Sirk film starring Before graduating, he followed his brother to another college in Ireland (he would later get a Masters in speech from Montana). - Danny Peary, Guide For the Film Fanatic (Fireside). He combined elements of screwball and slapstick comedy with his own self-deprecating humor to create satiric portraits of the contemporary American male. The Douglas Sirk revival started in 1968 when film critic Andrew Sarris placed him in his second ranking of directors, just behind such geniuses as Orson Welles and Charles Chaplin, in The American Cinema. "Miss Turner and the others act unreally and elaborately[They] do not As Steve looks on, the three women join hands in a gesture of comfort and love. Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven (2002), starring Julianne Moore, is a pastiche of scenes and themes from Sirk's films. A key role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) only confirmed his talents while he again earned a Best Actor nomination for the unforgettable lead role in Zorba the Greek (1964). He also had a reputation for pampering his female stars. Troy Donahue claimed that after the film's release, blacks actually came up to him and thanked him for beating up Kohner on screen. At the time, Hollywood didn't release films to black theatres until they had played out in other markets. (Kohner was like a sexier, less delicate, even more on-the-edge Natalie Wood. She was only five when she entered the 2nd grade. When the young man learns that Sarah Jane's mother is black, however, he beats her. The series lasted until 1979 and brought O'Connor four Emmys, even leading to a four-year spinoff Archie Bunker's Place starring O'Connor. But there was a serious side too. Imitation of Life (St. Martin's Press). Principal Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer), Sandra Dee (Susie, age 16), Juanita Moore (Annie Johnson), Susan Kohner (Sara Jane, age 18), Dan O'Herlihy (David Edwards), Robert Alda (Allen Loomis). played her servant and dearest friend, and Sandra Dee When Sarah Jane runs from Annie, her distressed mother turns to Lora and asks, "How do you explain to your child that she was born to be hurt?" Stories about women in the workplace had declined in popularity since the '30s, and the change also reflected Turner's notoriety as an actress and single mother. "Sirk's last movie in Hollywood is a coldly brilliant weepie, a rags-to-riches graceful level twenty-five years ago." The sometimes cynical comic sense of director Billy Wilder provided Lemmon with the perfect complement. Even though she was currently the subject of a major scandal after daughter Cheryl Crane killed Turner's lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, Hunter insisted on offering her the role. Lemmon waived his salary to act in Save the Tiger (1973), the 'great American tragedy' of a businessman at the end of his rope. Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water 43:00 [This story previously aired on July 4, 2020.] C-125m. picture and a dark commentary on ambition, motherhood, Archie became such an icon that his chair is now preserved in the Smithsonian. Both Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore were nominated for Golden Globes for Best Of the change in plot, Variety commented about the 1959 film, "While this device lends more scope, it also results in the over-done busy actress-neglected daughter conflict, and thus the secondary plot of a fair-skinned Negress passing as white becomes the film's primary force." It had no cast members from the earlier series and only lasted six episodes.) ), Released in United States July 1999 (Shown in New York City (Film Forum) as part of program "Universal Sirk" July 9-22, 1999.). Lana Turner in Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of -- Turner refusing a marriage proposal from Gavin, as Steve Archer. Authorities classified her death as an accident, concluding the 43-year-old star of "West Side Story," who. Lemmon entered the world in a completely novel fashion; he was born prematurely in an elevator in Boston in 1925. Although the Sarah Jane role had been played by black actress Washington in the original film version, for the re-make Universal cast white actress Susan Kohner, the daughter of Turner's agent Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar. Executives particularly valued his ability to deliver glamorous productions on relatively small budgets. ANTHONY QUINN, 1915-2001 Note: This Imitation of Life trivia and all movie trivia on notstarring.com is submitted and reviewed by movie fans from around the world. - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide (HarperPerennial). Natalie Wood first saw Robert Wagner when she was just 10 years old and swore she was "going to marry him" someday, per People. initial U.S. release, placing number five on the year's list of top box-office According to a July 19, 1956 Hollywood Reporter news item, producer Ross Hunter originally planned to make a musical version of the story starring Shirley Booth and Ethel Waters. Lora Meredith. Both Kohner and Moore won Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM. He had just completed the title role in Avenging Angelo (with Sylvester Stallone) at the time of his death. (The idea for the book was born when Hurst traveled with black author Zora Neale Hurston and encountered racism, although the story was not remotely based on either of their lives.) While developing the re-make, Hunter took Fannie Hurst to lunch and asked for her ideas about updating the story. Director and comic star went on to make five more films: Irma la Douce (1963), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Avanti! Lora breaks down, but sees to it that Annie has the elaborate funeral she had requested. He continued the same mix of classics and best-forgotten quickies throughout the 1960s and '70s. (1952) provided him a wonderful role which he used to win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. molestation by her stepfather, anorexia, drug use and alcoholism, that had haunted her her entire life. ), Released in United States March 1997 (Shown at London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival March 13-27, 1997. Quinn again won Best Supporting Actor playing painter Paul Gauguin Lust for Life (1956) which at the time was the shortest on-screen time to win an acting Oscar. Her personal life took a surprising turn when she hooked up with singer Bobby Darin. A key role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) only confirmed his talents while he again earned a Best Actor nomination for the unforgettable lead role in Zorba the Greek (1964). Imitation of Life (1959) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Douglas Sirk Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Ross Hunter . According to a April 3, 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, Turner contracted for a five percent participation in the film's profits. Turner Classic Movies cherishes the memory of this remarkable talent. As he did throughout his career, Quinn rarely hesitated to take work whereever he found it, which resulted in dozens of potboilers like Seven Cities of Gold (1955) but also a few cult favorites like Budd Boetticher's The Magnificent Matador (1955). As recently as 1995, readers of the New York Daily News voted Imitation of Life a place among their ten favorite films. Problems arise when Lemmon falls for his boss's paramour - it gets even more complicated when she tries to kill herself in his pad! Two mothers discover that success is not necessarily the key to happiness, particularly when it comes between mother and child. Imitation of Life hit number nine on the New York Times best seller list and went through nine printings in its initial release.
