AllMovie

From the opening credits' cascade of jewels to the final orgy of grief and reconciliation, Douglas Sirk's remake of Imitation of Life encases a potentially maudlin soaper in a flamboyant style that incisively critiques 1950s America even as it mercilessly wrings emotions. Finding the perfect exemplars of artificiality in Lana Turner and cloying daughter Sandra Dee to contrast with the genuine, Oscar-nominated pathos of Juanita Moore and troubled daughter Susan Kohner, Sirk adds an extra bite to the divisions of race and class dictating Lora and Annie's unspoken assumption that Annie will always be the maid and Sarah Jane will always play second fiddle to Susie. The gaudy colors, over-the-top interiors (especially Lora's palatial home and Sarah Jane's vulgar nightclub), and copious mirrors emphasize the deleterious impact of the 1950s obsession with surfaces, whether racial, financial, or maternal. The casting of white actress Kohner to play a black passing for white speaks for itself. The climactic funeral featuring gospel singer Mahalia Jackson teeters between wrenching melodrama and comic irony, exemplifying Sirk's gift for pessimistic "happy" endings. Critical or not, Imitation of Life became Universal's biggest hit ever at that time, capping Sirk's soon-to-be distinguished career.