Pinky (1949)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Cid Ricketts Sumner (novel)
Philip Dunne (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

November 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The love story of a girl who passed for white!

Plot:

Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school...

Plot Keywords:

Will | Passing For White | Love | Doctor | South

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jeanne Crain	...	Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson
Ethel Barrymore	...	Miss Em
Ethel Waters	...	Pinky's Granny
William Lundigan	...	Dr. Thomas Adams
Basil Ruysdael	...	Judge Walker
Kenny Washington	...	Dr. Canady
Nina Mae McKinney	...	Rozelia
Griff Barnett	...	Dr. Joe McGill
Frederick O'Neal	...	Jake Walters
Evelyn Varden	...	Melba Wooley
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Judge Shoreham

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #13731) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

William Hansen's feature film debut.

Quotes:

Melba Wooley: Cousin Em, what do you mean, gettin' sick like this?
Miss Em: When you're eighty years old, you expect to be sick. Sit down.
Melba Wooley: Now, now. Naughty, naughty. Eighty years *young* is what we say.
Miss Em: I don't. It's old, and I won't have it minimized. Takes a lot of livin' to get there, and pure, cursed endurance. Eighty years young indeed!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Two Bob Mermaid (1996)

Sincere drama of racial bigotry with outstanding performances...

Elia Kazan took over the helm of PINKY when John Ford requested replacement as having no real interest in the story. He not only took over, but he did a superb job.

Personally, it took awhile for me to get over the idea of casting JEANNE CRAIN as a light-skinned black, but she does some of her best work here. Same can be said of Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore, and not surprisingly, all three actresses were nominated for Oscars. Undoubtedly, all benefited by Kazan's firm direction.

The story is essentially written to show the racial bigotry that existed (and still does) in many parts of the South. Without going into plot development, let's say the ending is a bit predictable, but the film still remains powerful and sensitive in its treatment of the subject matter.

In 1949, this was a daring film for Fox to make, risking the possibility of hurting the reputation of its most popular box-office star at that time, Jeanne Crain. But credit goes to Darryl F. Zanuck for permitting his studio to make films like THE SNAKE PIT and GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT, risky and controversial. The box-office results and critical acclaim justified the risk.

Well worth seeing, absorbing and sensitive.