Two widows, a rising actress and her African-American housekeeper, struggle in their relationships with their troubled daughters. As the years pass, each of the four women realises that she has been living out an emotionally fruitless existence. A film in which the conventions of the ‘woman’s weepie’ are manipulated in a melodramatic schema of American class and race relations. An ironic success story, the rise of Lora (Lana Turner) from housewife to actress, in the first half, merges into intensified melodrama on the theme of race and identity as a light skinned black woman tries to pass as white. Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst. Cast also includes John Gavin, Juanita Moore, Robert Alda, Susan Kohner and Sandra Dee.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
315951
Language
English
Subject categories
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → African Americans
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → African Americans
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Mothers and daughters
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)