Oh, boy, was there ever a sudsier Douglas Sirk movie than this one? Or one I watched more often growing up? How could you beat the mother-daughter combos of Lana Turner and Sandra Dee and Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner. A struggling actress hires a housekeeper to care for her child. The housekeeper has a child of the same age. There are more troubles inside this prettily wrapped package than one can imagine. Get out your tissues before sitting down. They don't make pictures like this one anymore.
For more choices, see Todd Mason directly.
20 comments:
Patti - Oh, I haven't thought about this one in years! Thanks :-)
I bet I've seen this film at least 30 times. STILL weep copiously over the funeral scene. "Mama, mama!" Oh, my heart is breaking again!
Along with this one, my other favorite tearjerkers: MADAME X and one I never see on TV anymore and isn't on dvd: BACK STREET.
There's also an earlier version of IOL with Claudette Colbert & Louise Beavers as the mothers. The Doug Sirk version may represent the last appearance on film on the "tragic mulatto" trope in which light-skinned, mixed-race women are punished for their deceptive attempts to pass for white.
When it comes to Doug Sirk melodrama, I think "All That Heaven Allows," featuring widow Jane Wyman becoming involved with hunky younger man Rock Hudson, much to the disapproval of her awful young adult children and country club friends, is about as sudsy as you can get.
I have seen the earlier version but somehow the color in this one really makes it zing. Susan Kohner was so lovely-wonder what happened to her.
Oh, I almost chose Back Street. I think John Gavin may be in that one too. Have to check. All That Heaven Allows is fabulous too.
Talk about your chick flicks! Jackie is also a big fan of this one but I doubt many guys would put it on their Best Movies list.
To answer your question, I found this: In 1964, Kohner married German novelist and fashion designer John Weitz, and retired from acting. Their children, Chris and Paul Weitz, are successful film directors in Hollywood, having helmed films such as American Pie and About a Boy. Chris Weitz is best known for directing New Moon in The Twilight Saga (film series).
Jeff M.
Wow. That is interesting. I guess the classic story was Delores Hart who retired to become a nun and died recently.
Delores Hart -- was she the one in WHERE THE BOYS ARE?
That was John Gavin in BACK STREET. Do you remember him in a (very)short-lived TV series called DESTRY?
Yes, Delores Hart was the one in WHERE THE BOYS ARE (another of Jackie's favorites, even more than IMITATION OF LIFE).
Patti, you must be mixing her up with someone else, as she is still alive (and a nun) at 72.
Jeff M.
Oh, it's Dolores apparently, as I couldn't find her under Delores.
Jeff M.
Right! I think she died within the last year. I remember seeing scenes from the movie when it happened. I like it too. Paula Prentiss was one of my favorites as a kid.
Cracking film. I haven't seen it in years but I loved it as a kid!And I liked Judy Garland!
Magnificent Obsession is another good OTT film.
I checked a few sources and they all indicate she is still alive, like Abe Vigoda.
Jeff M.
I'm definitely a Sirk fan, but I've never quite understood the appeal of this movie. I like nearly all his well known movies more than this one, particularly "Written on the Wind" and "The Tarnished Angels".
I think the appeal is the star power of the actresses teamed with the over the top melodrama. I'd be surprised to find many men who liked it. But if you need a good cry...
I must have imagined it, Jeff.
I like WRITTEN ON THE WIND a lot more than the gushy ones.
Jeff M.
Not enough guys here weighing in on this Sirk classic. This goes back to when I'd see anything being projected on a movie screen. Totally memorable.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY did a huge article on Dolores Hart just a few weeks back--they said it generated more reader feedback than anything they've ever ran. As of that article, she was still alive, well, watching movies, and being a nun.
IMITATION OF LIFE was the all-time favorite of an old girlfriend of mine. This one is quite the tearjerker. They certainly don't make them like this anymore.
Hart played out a real-life version of A CHANGE OF HABIT, in which MT Moore's character had to choose between Elvis's character and her calling...Hart, I guess, chose one calling over another, if the latter might mean more Elvis films.
I stumbled across the VARIETY review of this one, while looking a a collection of reviews...paraphrase: this one will get good word of mouth, particularly if the mouth is lipsticked...
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