Imitation of Life (1959) is an American melodrama film directed by Douglas Sirk, produced by Ross Hunter and released by Universal International.

Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same title (the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934).

The cast also features Robert Alda, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner, Juanita Moore, and Dan O'Herlihy, in alphabetical order.

Kohner and Moore each received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Supporting Actress for their performances.

In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected Imitation of Life (1959) for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Losing track of her young daughter Susie at a crowded Coney Island beach, she asks a stranger, Steve Archer, to help her find the girl.

Lora becomes a star of stage comedies, with Allen Loomis as her agent and David Edwards as her chief playwright, and lover.

Although Lora had earlier begun a relationship with Steve, whom she met at Coney Island, their courtship falls apart because he does not support the demands of her career.

Lora's concentration on her career limits her time with her daughter Susie, who turns to Annie for emotional comfort.

Eleven years later, Lora is a highly regarded Broadway star living in a luxurious home near New York City.

After rejecting David's latest script, and his marriage proposal, Lora takes a role in a dramatic play, to great success.

Just before the procession sets off, Sarah Jane arrives, pushing through the crowd of mourners to throw herself on her mother's casket.

Lora takes Sarah Jane to her limousine to join her, Susie, and Steve as the procession slowly travels through a city street.

[7] In the 1950s there was increased activism in the Civil Rights Movement, with milestones such as the Brown v. Board of Education US Supreme Court case, and the Montgomery bus boycott gaining national attention.

Producer Ross Hunter also was cannily aware that these plot changes would enable Lana Turner to model an array of glamorous costumes and real jewels, something that would appeal to a female audience.

Lana Turner's wardrobe for Imitation of Life cost over $1.078 million, making it one of the most expensive in cinema history to that time.

Her mother was actress Lupita Tovar, born in Mexico, and her father was Paul Kohner, a Czech-Jewish immigrant.

Noted Black gospel singer Mahalia Jackson received "presenting" billing for her one scene, performing a version of "Trouble of the World" at Annie's funeral service.

Emanuel Levy has written "One of the four masterpieces directed in the 1950s, the visually lush, meticulously designed and powerfully acted Imitation of Life was the jewel in Sirk's crown, ending his Hollywood's career before he returned to his native Germany.

Writing in 1997, Rob Nelson said, Basically, we're left to intuit that the black characters (and the movie) are themselves products of '50s-era racism – which explains the film's perspective, but hardly makes it less dizzying.

Du Bois's notion of black American double-consciousness, critic Molly Haskell once described Imitation's double-vision: "The mixed-race girl's agonizing quest for her identity is not seen from her point of view as much as it is mockingly reflected in the fun house mirrors of the culture from which she is hopelessly alienated.

The site's consensus reads, "Douglas Sirk enriches this lush remake of Imitation of Life with racial commentary and a sharp edge, yielding a challenging melodrama with the power to devastate.