Imitation of Life (1959 film)
Imitation of Life is a 1959 American drama film directed by Douglas Sirk, produced by Ross Hunter and released by Universal International. It was Sirk's final Hollywood film and dealt with issues of race, class and gender. Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name; the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934.
Film poster by Reynold Brown
From left to right: Sarah Jane (Karin Dicker), Annie (Juanita Moore), Susie (Terry Burnham) and Lora (Lana Turner) in an early scene of the film.
Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) and Annie.
Drive-in advertisement from 1959.
Douglas Sirk was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war films. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for Hollywood in 1937 after his Jewish wife was persecuted by the Nazis.
Sirk in 1955
Poster for the film Written on the Wind
Sirk and actors on the set of All That Heaven Allows (1955). Left to right: Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman, Sirk, and Agnes Moorehead