Ben Mankiewicz Intro - Imitation Of Life (1934)

Imitation of Life (1934) - (Trailer for "Colored" Audiences)

A preview for Imitation of Life (1934) intended for theatres with segregated non-white audiences.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) We're Going Into Business

Claudette Colbert as syrup seller Bea presses a boardwalk landlord (Clarence Hummel Wilson) for a lease then announces her hare-brained scheme to her un-salaried housekeeper Delilah (Louise Beavers), bringing their fatherless daughters and meeting the painter (Henry Armetta), in the original Imitation Of Life, 1934.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) I Wanna Be White

First scene for Fredi Washington as the mature Peola, with candor from the original Fannie Hurst novel, extraordinary for Hollywood, expressing anxiety about her race to her mother, Louise Beavers, at a party celebrating the pancake-mix business she co-founded (with Claudette Colbert, the hostess), in Imitation Of Life, 1934.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) The Pancake Queen

At the 10th anniversary party for her pancake-mix empire, Claudette Colbert as Bea has noted the arrival of handsome Warren William as Archer, as it turns out induced to attend by her wiseacre marketing genius Elmer (Ned Sparks), in Imitation Of Life, 1934, from the Fannie Hurst novel.

Imitation Of Life (1934) -- (Movie Clip) I Didn't Advertise

Joining the intimate opening scene in which widow Bea (Claudette Colbert) bathes her child (Juanita Quigley, billed as “Baby Jane”), and the introduction of disoriented Louise Beavers as Delilah, in the first screen adaptation of the Fannie Hurst novel, Imitation Of Life, 1934.