I did not enjoy Imitation of Life when I saw it, maybe seven years ago, but I've grown to appreciate Sirk and the tenor of performances he elicits. I think Moore would benefit most from a rewatch, I do remember Kohner being somewhat amateurish but remember greatly enjoying the unaffected emotion Sandra Dee brought to the film in her big scene with Lana Turner. She was a pleasant actress who deserved roles with more range than those that she received.
Baddeley makes a strong impression, but still not quite strong enough to justify making the field for this kind of cameo. She was a good actress who deserved to be cited at least once in her career, though, and I love the film and am glad that it was recognised so thoroughly across the board.
My picks for this year:
1. Machiko Kyō, Floating Weeds
2. Sharmila Tagore, The World of Apu
3. Sandra Dee, Imitation of Life
4. Giulietta Masina, Hell in the City
5. Nanna Stenersen, The Wayward Girl
Best Supporting Actress 1959
I haven't seen The Diary Of Anne Frank since I was in grammar school, so I wanted to see it again before voting. I have it on videotape, so I set aside an evening to watch it. But when I went to get the tape -- even though all my tapes are catalogued and stored in order -- it was missing. I don't remember lending iy out, but despite looking around thoroughly I couldn't find it.
It probably doesn't matter, though, because I believe that Juanita Moore's is the greatest performance by an actress in the sound era. No other has ever moved me as much, or overwhelmed me with the range of emotions she expresses. The look on her face when she sees that Susan Kohner is in a hootchy-kootchy show is the equivalent of Falconetti's acting in The Trial of Joan of Ark. Juanita Moore is simply magnificent.
As for the others, Susan Kohner is very good and conveys the anguish and mixed emotions of her character most ably. As late 50s ingenues go, she's not quite as effective as Diane Varsi in Peyton place, nor as charismatic as Suzy Parker, but she was still a talented actress. And I love the fact that Sirk's best film received two acting nominations, especially since reviewers were denigrating it as a trashy old-fashioned womman's picture.
I remember Shelley Winters being excellent in Anne Frank, but at the time I thought she was one of our greatest actresses; today I wouldn't be surprised if I found her to be grating, even more so than the character warrants. (Saw Linda Lavin do the part on Broadway -- she was superb.)
Hermione Baddeley's is the kind of performance which, if you saw when the picture was first released, you might say, "Now that's the type of memorable cameo which should get supporting recognition." Seeing the film with the knowledge that hers is an Oscar-nominated performance, I don't think you can't be disappointed by the brevity of it or that she doesn't do all that much.
As for Thelma Ritter, I love her as much as anyone, but this nomination is an embarrassment. It's actually not Ritter's performance that grates as much as the character. There's nothing even vaguely funny about her comic alcoholic. She's sad, not amusing, and her bon mots don't sparkle (and I actually like Pillow Talk) . Movie drunks can provide for laughs, but this one just makes you uneasy, and Ritter's playing is surprisingly lethargic.
My Own Top 5:
1. Juanita Moore in Imitation of Life
2. Doro Merande in The Gazebo
3. Louise Lorimer in Compulsion
4. Mabel Alberston in The Gazebo
5. Edith Evans in The Nun's Story
Edited By Damien on 1278833761
It probably doesn't matter, though, because I believe that Juanita Moore's is the greatest performance by an actress in the sound era. No other has ever moved me as much, or overwhelmed me with the range of emotions she expresses. The look on her face when she sees that Susan Kohner is in a hootchy-kootchy show is the equivalent of Falconetti's acting in The Trial of Joan of Ark. Juanita Moore is simply magnificent.
As for the others, Susan Kohner is very good and conveys the anguish and mixed emotions of her character most ably. As late 50s ingenues go, she's not quite as effective as Diane Varsi in Peyton place, nor as charismatic as Suzy Parker, but she was still a talented actress. And I love the fact that Sirk's best film received two acting nominations, especially since reviewers were denigrating it as a trashy old-fashioned womman's picture.
I remember Shelley Winters being excellent in Anne Frank, but at the time I thought she was one of our greatest actresses; today I wouldn't be surprised if I found her to be grating, even more so than the character warrants. (Saw Linda Lavin do the part on Broadway -- she was superb.)
Hermione Baddeley's is the kind of performance which, if you saw when the picture was first released, you might say, "Now that's the type of memorable cameo which should get supporting recognition." Seeing the film with the knowledge that hers is an Oscar-nominated performance, I don't think you can't be disappointed by the brevity of it or that she doesn't do all that much.
As for Thelma Ritter, I love her as much as anyone, but this nomination is an embarrassment. It's actually not Ritter's performance that grates as much as the character. There's nothing even vaguely funny about her comic alcoholic. She's sad, not amusing, and her bon mots don't sparkle (and I actually like Pillow Talk) . Movie drunks can provide for laughs, but this one just makes you uneasy, and Ritter's playing is surprisingly lethargic.
My Own Top 5:
1. Juanita Moore in Imitation of Life
2. Doro Merande in The Gazebo
3. Louise Lorimer in Compulsion
4. Mabel Alberston in The Gazebo
5. Edith Evans in The Nun's Story
Edited By Damien on 1278833761
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Big Magilla
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The DVD commentary by historian Foster Hirsch and an accompanying documentary explain what was going on here. Hunter and Turner thought they were making a Ross Hunter movie, but Sirk had other things in mind. The film is deliberately cut in such a way as to show the shallowness of the Turner and Dee characters vs. the real life pain and suffering of the Kohner and Moore characters. I recommend watching it again with the commentary on.Mister Tee wrote:Why I presumed I'd be a dissenter on this year is, I know from years of reading that Imitation of Life is held in high esteem around here -- and it's an esteem I simply don't share. I know it's a Douglas Sirk movie, but, for me, the presence of Turner, Dee and Donahue make it a Ross Hunter movie, which to me means close to unwatchable. I grant the Academy singled out the actors who did best among the cast, but when a film strikes me as overall a silly one -- which this just does -- I can't get hyped for any of its components.
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Mister Tee
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I kind of figured I'd be apart from the crowd this year.
I don't agree this is Ritter's worst nomination -- not while that pipsqueak Birdman nod exists -- but Pillow Talk is a trivial movie and her contribution, while funny, can only rise so far.
I'm sorry to say I don't really recall Baddeley's performance. When I last saw Room at the Top, I was completely blown away by Signoret, and thought more highly of Harvey than I ever had before. But I had to ask "Which one was she?" about Baddeley. So many here seem impressed by her that I ought to take another look.
Shelley Winters has never been actress with much appeal for me. She found her niche as a kvetch, which made her rather perfect for Mrs. Van Daan (and at least the first half of her Patch of Blue character -- though I thought she went over the edge about halfway through that movie and never returned). If she's going to have an Oscar, this is probably a reasonable spot.
Why I presumed I'd be a dissenter on this year is, I know from years of reading that Imitation of Life is held in high esteem around here -- and it's an esteem I simply don't share. I know it's a Douglas Sirk movie, but, for me, the presence of Turner, Dee and Donahue make it a Ross Hunter movie, which to me means close to unwatchable. I grant the Academy singled out the actors who did best among the cast, but when a film strikes me as overall a silly one -- which this just does -- I can't get hyped for any of its components.
Because of this -- and because I don't feel qualified to rate Baddeley -- I'm going to abstain here.
I don't agree this is Ritter's worst nomination -- not while that pipsqueak Birdman nod exists -- but Pillow Talk is a trivial movie and her contribution, while funny, can only rise so far.
I'm sorry to say I don't really recall Baddeley's performance. When I last saw Room at the Top, I was completely blown away by Signoret, and thought more highly of Harvey than I ever had before. But I had to ask "Which one was she?" about Baddeley. So many here seem impressed by her that I ought to take another look.
Shelley Winters has never been actress with much appeal for me. She found her niche as a kvetch, which made her rather perfect for Mrs. Van Daan (and at least the first half of her Patch of Blue character -- though I thought she went over the edge about halfway through that movie and never returned). If she's going to have an Oscar, this is probably a reasonable spot.
Why I presumed I'd be a dissenter on this year is, I know from years of reading that Imitation of Life is held in high esteem around here -- and it's an esteem I simply don't share. I know it's a Douglas Sirk movie, but, for me, the presence of Turner, Dee and Donahue make it a Ross Hunter movie, which to me means close to unwatchable. I grant the Academy singled out the actors who did best among the cast, but when a film strikes me as overall a silly one -- which this just does -- I can't get hyped for any of its components.
Because of this -- and because I don't feel qualified to rate Baddeley -- I'm going to abstain here.
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The Original BJ
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I'm glad I've seen all the nominees this year, as I have a very strong opinion about who should win.
To start, I'll agree with Magilla about the nun: Edith Evans's omission is puzzling, particularly because The Nun's Story scored so many other nominations and she's quite lovely in it.
It's amazing that Thelma Ritter could score so many nominations for fluff, but not win for any of her great roles. Pillow Talk is certainly in the former category -- Ritter's drunk is funny enough, but not remotely worth considering.
I have to say that I was shocked at how strong an impression Hermione Baddeley makes in Room at the Top. I went in preparing to scoff at the shortest nominated performance ever, and was hugely impressed at how rich and commanding her turn was in only several scenes. The role is still far too small for me to vote for her, but she takes a part that could have been a total throwaway and turns it into one of the most memorable moments of the film. So, no Oscar, but bravo nonetheless.
Shelley Winters is strong in The Diary of Anne Frank, and, as others have mentioned, her willingness to let the character be abrasive is admirable. But her film, despite being such an important story, is fairly generic, and I'm not excited enough about Winters here to pick her for a not terribly special film.
Susan Kohner is excellent in Imitation of Life, playing a young woman who sadly projects her own self-loathing toward her mother, and, of course, her race as a whole. She's terrific in the scene when her boyfriend beats her, and even more powerful in her cruel final confrontation with Juanita Moore. And, of course, "That's my mother!" is one of the great, heart-wrenching finales in the movies. I wouldn't have a problem picking her except...
...I think Juanita Moore gives one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema. She's sensational in a devastating role as the mother deeply devoted to the child who fails to love her back. And dws is right, she doesn't sanctify her character either -- Annie can be stubborn in her need to feel her daughter's affection, but as the film goes on, she also comes to understand her daughter's willingness to take hold of opportunities she never could, because of her skin color. I think the Moore-Kohner relationship is one of the great portraits of the complicated bond between parent and child in all of film history, and I defy anyone not to gain a deeper understanding of the joys and struggles of parenthood through Moore's heartfelt, honest characterization. And Moore's friendship with Lana Turner is also quite beautiful -- their final scene together is one of the ultimate tear-jerking moments in any film. I am thrilled to vote for this spectacular performance, one of the best ever nominated in this category.
To start, I'll agree with Magilla about the nun: Edith Evans's omission is puzzling, particularly because The Nun's Story scored so many other nominations and she's quite lovely in it.
It's amazing that Thelma Ritter could score so many nominations for fluff, but not win for any of her great roles. Pillow Talk is certainly in the former category -- Ritter's drunk is funny enough, but not remotely worth considering.
I have to say that I was shocked at how strong an impression Hermione Baddeley makes in Room at the Top. I went in preparing to scoff at the shortest nominated performance ever, and was hugely impressed at how rich and commanding her turn was in only several scenes. The role is still far too small for me to vote for her, but she takes a part that could have been a total throwaway and turns it into one of the most memorable moments of the film. So, no Oscar, but bravo nonetheless.
Shelley Winters is strong in The Diary of Anne Frank, and, as others have mentioned, her willingness to let the character be abrasive is admirable. But her film, despite being such an important story, is fairly generic, and I'm not excited enough about Winters here to pick her for a not terribly special film.
Susan Kohner is excellent in Imitation of Life, playing a young woman who sadly projects her own self-loathing toward her mother, and, of course, her race as a whole. She's terrific in the scene when her boyfriend beats her, and even more powerful in her cruel final confrontation with Juanita Moore. And, of course, "That's my mother!" is one of the great, heart-wrenching finales in the movies. I wouldn't have a problem picking her except...
...I think Juanita Moore gives one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema. She's sensational in a devastating role as the mother deeply devoted to the child who fails to love her back. And dws is right, she doesn't sanctify her character either -- Annie can be stubborn in her need to feel her daughter's affection, but as the film goes on, she also comes to understand her daughter's willingness to take hold of opportunities she never could, because of her skin color. I think the Moore-Kohner relationship is one of the great portraits of the complicated bond between parent and child in all of film history, and I defy anyone not to gain a deeper understanding of the joys and struggles of parenthood through Moore's heartfelt, honest characterization. And Moore's friendship with Lana Turner is also quite beautiful -- their final scene together is one of the ultimate tear-jerking moments in any film. I am thrilled to vote for this spectacular performance, one of the best ever nominated in this category.
Not easy this time. Or maybe I'm just too confused today - like all my countrymen - to think clearly. It's like we received a big collective slap, and I didn't even sleep very well.
Ritter was in a popular movie which hasn't aged well - for once, her nomination was underserved.
Shelley Winters has a very good role in Diary of Anne Frank, and is good in it. Of course, this isn't (thank God) Anne Frank as seen by, say, Ken Russell, but Anne Frank as seen by George Stevens, so the movie is traditional, dignified but not very exciting, and is more respected than loved today. Winters is certainly an Oscar-caliber actress, but then I - like others - will have to vote for her by default in another year, so this time I am free to pick someone else.
Imitation of Life is a certified cult movie by now, and these two actresses' contribution to it so strong that most people don't even remember the Lana Turner-Sandra Dee part - it has become THEIR movie. Their roles are certainly powerful, and while Moore is definitely the better, more expert actress, Kohner has the more interesting character, and the tension, the sense of misplacement, of shame that she conveys are even more valuable if one considers how young, and new to acting, she was. Her other film appearences aren't as memorable, so I guess Douglas Sirk played an important role in shaping her performance and guiding her through it - but still, we are here to judge the result and the result is objectively good.
Hermione Baddeley may have little screen time in Room at the Top, but this is one of those cases when the Academy proved more subtle than it usually is, by honoring an impressive - though admittedly short - performance. By the way, her famous "yelling" scene isn't her final one - she has another, memorable (if silent) close-up at the end, a close-up which further makes her character the moral conscience of the movie. And the character itself, as others have pointed out, is more complex than it may seem at first sight - brilliantly written, certainly, but also very well acted by one of those wonderful character actresses the Supporting Actress Oscar must have been invented for. Plus, I've always found intriguing that in real life Baddeley, and not Simone Signoret, was the older woman Laurence Harvey had had a long relationship with. I wonder which subtext this brought to the very effective confrontation scene she has with Harvey, and how much this was intentional at least on producer James Woolf's part (he was, after all, Harvey's lover at the time and must have known).
It's between Kohner and Baddeley, definitely. I'm picking Baddeley only because I think - and hope - that many others here will go with Kohner.
Edited By ITALIANO on 1277457077
Ritter was in a popular movie which hasn't aged well - for once, her nomination was underserved.
Shelley Winters has a very good role in Diary of Anne Frank, and is good in it. Of course, this isn't (thank God) Anne Frank as seen by, say, Ken Russell, but Anne Frank as seen by George Stevens, so the movie is traditional, dignified but not very exciting, and is more respected than loved today. Winters is certainly an Oscar-caliber actress, but then I - like others - will have to vote for her by default in another year, so this time I am free to pick someone else.
Imitation of Life is a certified cult movie by now, and these two actresses' contribution to it so strong that most people don't even remember the Lana Turner-Sandra Dee part - it has become THEIR movie. Their roles are certainly powerful, and while Moore is definitely the better, more expert actress, Kohner has the more interesting character, and the tension, the sense of misplacement, of shame that she conveys are even more valuable if one considers how young, and new to acting, she was. Her other film appearences aren't as memorable, so I guess Douglas Sirk played an important role in shaping her performance and guiding her through it - but still, we are here to judge the result and the result is objectively good.
Hermione Baddeley may have little screen time in Room at the Top, but this is one of those cases when the Academy proved more subtle than it usually is, by honoring an impressive - though admittedly short - performance. By the way, her famous "yelling" scene isn't her final one - she has another, memorable (if silent) close-up at the end, a close-up which further makes her character the moral conscience of the movie. And the character itself, as others have pointed out, is more complex than it may seem at first sight - brilliantly written, certainly, but also very well acted by one of those wonderful character actresses the Supporting Actress Oscar must have been invented for. Plus, I've always found intriguing that in real life Baddeley, and not Simone Signoret, was the older woman Laurence Harvey had had a long relationship with. I wonder which subtext this brought to the very effective confrontation scene she has with Harvey, and how much this was intentional at least on producer James Woolf's part (he was, after all, Harvey's lover at the time and must have known).
It's between Kohner and Baddeley, definitely. I'm picking Baddeley only because I think - and hope - that many others here will go with Kohner.
Edited By ITALIANO on 1277457077
It's been a very long time since I watched Room at the Top but Hermione Baddeley's short, but heartfelt performance, has always remained with me. dws perfectly describes the character and performance.
Not a fan of Winters' annoying performance.....yes, maybe it was the character but I find her too broad, as usual.
Ritter was not amusing.......she'd been better before.
Kohner and Moore are both very good.
Voted for Hermione Baddeley.
My top 5:
Dorothy McGuire, A Summer Place
Hermione Baddely, Room at the Top
Susan Kohner, Imitation of Life
Juanita Moore, Imitation of Life
Jessie Royce Landis, North By Northwest
Not a fan of Winters' annoying performance.....yes, maybe it was the character but I find her too broad, as usual.
Ritter was not amusing.......she'd been better before.
Kohner and Moore are both very good.
Voted for Hermione Baddeley.
My top 5:
Dorothy McGuire, A Summer Place
Hermione Baddely, Room at the Top
Susan Kohner, Imitation of Life
Juanita Moore, Imitation of Life
Jessie Royce Landis, North By Northwest
Not much to discuss with Thelma Ritter.
Shelley Winters's performance is the best of her Oscar-nominated ones by a longshot. She mostly avoids the broadness that became her trademark. She's not afraid to make the character seem annoying and difficult to live with. She's good, and has some very good scenes--quiet, wordless sequences especially, but also the scene where she tries to negotiate after Mr. Van Daan gets caught stealing bread. But stil, of the supporting actresses in Anne Frank, I prefer Gusti Huber.
Hermione Baddeley has two and a half minutes of screentime in Room at the Top, and while I can't endorse a win, I'll say this: She gives a very vivid portrait of a woman who is a loyal friend, but who has also clearly dealt with lots of disappointment and has been used and discarded by men. She channels a lot of backstory into her performance, especially in that final scene where she yells at Laurence Harvey. In two and a half minutes, she gives us more than many actresses offer with much more screentime.
Kohner has a tricky role, having to carry the weight of a great deal of Imitation of Life's themes of identity and self-denial. It's not always successful--sometimes her anger is a bit one-dimensional--but it's always interesting, and it ultimately pretty successful. On one hand, Juanita Moore's role seems easier than Kohner's, but on the other hand, it would be awfully easy to fall headfirst into sentimentality and turn her character into a longsuffering saint. (Louise Beavers comes close to this in the 1934 version I think.) But Moore doesn't do any of that--she goes above cheap stereotyping, and her final scenes (especially the final scene with Susan Kohner) pack a major punch. She gets my vote.
Shelley Winters's performance is the best of her Oscar-nominated ones by a longshot. She mostly avoids the broadness that became her trademark. She's not afraid to make the character seem annoying and difficult to live with. She's good, and has some very good scenes--quiet, wordless sequences especially, but also the scene where she tries to negotiate after Mr. Van Daan gets caught stealing bread. But stil, of the supporting actresses in Anne Frank, I prefer Gusti Huber.
Hermione Baddeley has two and a half minutes of screentime in Room at the Top, and while I can't endorse a win, I'll say this: She gives a very vivid portrait of a woman who is a loyal friend, but who has also clearly dealt with lots of disappointment and has been used and discarded by men. She channels a lot of backstory into her performance, especially in that final scene where she yells at Laurence Harvey. In two and a half minutes, she gives us more than many actresses offer with much more screentime.
Kohner has a tricky role, having to carry the weight of a great deal of Imitation of Life's themes of identity and self-denial. It's not always successful--sometimes her anger is a bit one-dimensional--but it's always interesting, and it ultimately pretty successful. On one hand, Juanita Moore's role seems easier than Kohner's, but on the other hand, it would be awfully easy to fall headfirst into sentimentality and turn her character into a longsuffering saint. (Louise Beavers comes close to this in the 1934 version I think.) But Moore doesn't do any of that--she goes above cheap stereotyping, and her final scenes (especially the final scene with Susan Kohner) pack a major punch. She gets my vote.
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Best Supporting Actress 1959
Two of the year's nominees came of out of nowhere.
Thelma Ritter, who should have gotten her fifth nomination five years earlier for Rear Window finally achieved that record with her boozy maid in Pillow Talk. It was the least deserved of all her nods.
Hermione Baddeley had so little to do in Room at the Top that if you took a bathroom break during her big scene early on you'd wonder who the hell she was yelling "ya bastard, ya bastard" at Laurence Harvey later on.
Baddeley's slot was the one that should have gone to Dame Edith Evans, who had already won a National Board of Review award and a Golden Globe nomination for The Nun's Story. For many years she was my choice to win, but having revisited the film recently I was surprised by how few scenes she had. Unlike Baddeley's character, however, Evans' Mother Abbess hovers over the film so that you remember her as being more important to the story than she is.
Even though I don't agree with it, I like Reza's pick of Dorothy McGuire in A Summer Place. It's not a very good movie but McGuire is good in it and she's even better in This Earth Is Mine, two off-kilter supporting performances she gave between Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson at a time when she was everyone's idea of the perfect wife and mother. Of course McGuire was too much of a star at the time to have been relegated to the supporting categories so her nomination and win would have been as unrealistic as it would have been warranted.
Others I liked this year include Estelle Hemsley's Golden Globe nominated performance as Johnny Nash's grandmother in Take a Giant Step; Billie Burke, with the blessings Vincent Sherman, improvising her dialogue to a faretheewell as Paul Newman's benefactress in The Young Philadelphians and Eve Arden as James Stewart's loyal secretary in Anatomy of a Murder.
I did like the remaining three actual nominees albeit with reservations. I thought Shelley Winters was good as the whiny Mrs. Van Daan in The Dairy of Anne Frank but I always thought her win was more for highly publicized weight gain and loss than for her actual performance.
The two women in Imitation of Life were both so good that's it's difficult to choose between them.
Susan Kohner has the more flamboyant role as the light-skinned "colored" girl who passes for white but Juanita Moore is quietly heartbreaking as her mother. Both Kohner's and Moore's final scenes are gut wrenching and earn the film's reputation as the consummate tearjerker.
I actually prefer Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington's work in the original 1934 version, which was extremely daring in its day, but that in no way takes away from the performances of their successors. It's a tough choice so I'll toss a coin and go for Moore's less showy brilliance.
Thelma Ritter, who should have gotten her fifth nomination five years earlier for Rear Window finally achieved that record with her boozy maid in Pillow Talk. It was the least deserved of all her nods.
Hermione Baddeley had so little to do in Room at the Top that if you took a bathroom break during her big scene early on you'd wonder who the hell she was yelling "ya bastard, ya bastard" at Laurence Harvey later on.
Baddeley's slot was the one that should have gone to Dame Edith Evans, who had already won a National Board of Review award and a Golden Globe nomination for The Nun's Story. For many years she was my choice to win, but having revisited the film recently I was surprised by how few scenes she had. Unlike Baddeley's character, however, Evans' Mother Abbess hovers over the film so that you remember her as being more important to the story than she is.
Even though I don't agree with it, I like Reza's pick of Dorothy McGuire in A Summer Place. It's not a very good movie but McGuire is good in it and she's even better in This Earth Is Mine, two off-kilter supporting performances she gave between Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson at a time when she was everyone's idea of the perfect wife and mother. Of course McGuire was too much of a star at the time to have been relegated to the supporting categories so her nomination and win would have been as unrealistic as it would have been warranted.
Others I liked this year include Estelle Hemsley's Golden Globe nominated performance as Johnny Nash's grandmother in Take a Giant Step; Billie Burke, with the blessings Vincent Sherman, improvising her dialogue to a faretheewell as Paul Newman's benefactress in The Young Philadelphians and Eve Arden as James Stewart's loyal secretary in Anatomy of a Murder.
I did like the remaining three actual nominees albeit with reservations. I thought Shelley Winters was good as the whiny Mrs. Van Daan in The Dairy of Anne Frank but I always thought her win was more for highly publicized weight gain and loss than for her actual performance.
The two women in Imitation of Life were both so good that's it's difficult to choose between them.
Susan Kohner has the more flamboyant role as the light-skinned "colored" girl who passes for white but Juanita Moore is quietly heartbreaking as her mother. Both Kohner's and Moore's final scenes are gut wrenching and earn the film's reputation as the consummate tearjerker.
I actually prefer Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington's work in the original 1934 version, which was extremely daring in its day, but that in no way takes away from the performances of their successors. It's a tough choice so I'll toss a coin and go for Moore's less showy brilliance.