Pinky (film)

Last updated
Pinky
Pinky 1949 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Elia Kazan
Written by
Based onQuality
by Cid Ricketts Sumner
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring
Cinematography Joseph MacDonald
Edited by Harmon Jones
Music by Alfred Newman
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • September 29, 1949 (1949-09-29)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.8 million (rentals) [1]

Pinky is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elia Kazan and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay was adapted by Philip Dunne and Dudley Nichols based on Cid Ricketts Sumner's 1946 novel Quality. It stars Jeanne Crain as the title character, a young light-skinned black woman who passes for white. It also stars Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters and William Lundigan.

Contents

Pinky was released in the United States on September 29, 1949 by 20th Century-Fox. It generated considerable controversy because of its subject of race relations and the casting of Crain to play a black woman. It was nonetheless a critical and commercial success, and earned Crain, Barrymore and Waters Academy Award nominations.

Plot

Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters Pinky 1949.gif
Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters

Pinky Johnson returns to the South to visit Dicey, the illiterate black laundress grandmother who raised her. Pinky confesses to Dicey that she passed for white while studying to be a nurse in the North. She had also fallen in love with a white man, Dr. Thomas Adams, who knows nothing about her black heritage.

Pinky is harassed by racist local law enforcement while attempting to reclaim money owed to her grandmother. Two white men try to sexually assault her. Dr. Canady, a black physician, asks Pinky to train black nursing students, but Pinky plans to return to the North.

Dicey asks Pinky to stay temporarily to care for her ailing, elderly white friend and neighbor Miss Em. Pinky has always disliked Miss Em and considers her another of the many bigots in the area. Pinky relents and agrees to tend Miss Em after learning that when Dicey had pneumonia, Miss Em cared for her. Pinky nurses the strong-willed Miss Em, but does not hide her resentment. However, as they spend time together, she grows to like and respect her patient.

Miss Em bequeaths Pinky her stately house and property when she dies, but greedy relative Melba Wooley challenges the will. Everyone advises Pinky that she has no chance of winning, but she begs Miss Em's old friend, retired judge Walker, to defend her in court. With great reluctance, he agrees to take the case. Pinky washes clothes by hand when her grandmother is sick in order to pay court expenses. At the trial, despite hostile white spectators and the absence of Dr. Adams, the only defense witness, presiding judge Shoreham unexpectedly rules in Pinky's favor. When Pinky thanks her attorney, he coldly informs her that justice was served, but not the interests of the community.

Tom, who has arrived from the North after tracking Pinky down, wants her to sell the inherited property, resume her masquerade as a white woman, marry him and leave the South, but she refuses, firmly believing that Miss Em intended her to use the house and property for some purpose, and Tom leaves. Pinky establishes a clinic and nursery school staffed by Dr. Canady's black nursing students on the property.

Cast

Production

John Ford was originally hired to direct the film but was replaced after one week because producer Darryl F. Zanuck was unhappy with the dailies. [2]

Both Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge were interested in playing the role of Pinky. [3] [4] In the end, Jeanne Crain was chosen. Elia Kazan, who assumed directing duties when John Ford was fired, was unhappy with the casting choice, and later said, "Jeanne Crain was a sweet girl, but she was like a Sunday school teacher. I did my best with her, but she didn't have any fire. The only good thing about her was that it went so far in the direction of no temperament that you felt Pinky was floating through all of her experiences without reacting to them, which is what 'passing' is." [5]

Banning and Supreme Court ruling

Pinky enjoyed wide success in the southern United States, but was banned by the city of Marshall, Texas, for its subject matter. In Marshall, W. L. Gelling managed the segregated Paramount Theater, where blacks were restricted to the balcony. Gelling booked Pinky for exhibition in February 1950, a year in which the First Amendment did not protect movies, subsequent to Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio (1915).

Marshall's city commission "reactivated" the Board of Censors, established by a 1921 ordinance, and designated five members who demanded the submission of the picture for approval. They disapproved its showing, stating that it was "prejudicial to the best interests of the citizens of the City of Marshall." Gelling exhibited the film anyway and was charged with a misdemeanor. Three board members testified that they objected to the picture because it depicted a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she was a Negro, a white man kissing and embracing a Negro woman and two white ruffians assaulting Pinky after she tells them that she is colored.

Gelling was convicted and fined $200. He appealed the conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case of W. L. Gelling v. State of Texas 343 U.S. 960 (1952), the Court then overturned Gelling's conviction based on the free-speech protections given to movies in the recently decided case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson (1952).

In a concurring opinion, Justice William O. Douglas wrote that the Marshall city ordinance was unconstitutional as it represented prior restraint on free speech. "The evil of prior restraint, condemned...by Burstyn v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495, 72 S.Ct. 777, in the case of motion pictures, is present here in flagrant form. If a board of censors can tell the American people what it is in their best interests to see or to read or to hear...then thought is regimented, authority substituted for liberty, and the great purpose of the First Amendment to keep uncontrolled the freedom of expression defeated." In his own concurring opinion, Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote, "This ordinance offends the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment on the score of indefiniteness." [6]

Box-office performance

Pinky was 20th Century-Fox's second-most-successful film of 1949 (after I Was a Male War Bride ) and the year's sixth-highest-grossing. [1]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)Result
1950 Academy Awards Best Actress Jeanne Crain Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Ethel Barrymore Nominated
Ethel Waters Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Written Film Concerning American Scene Philip Dunne and Dudley Nichols Nominated

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>A Letter to Three Wives</i> 1949 film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

A Letter to Three Wives is a 1949 American romantic drama that tells the story of a woman who sends a letter to three women, saying she has left town with one of their husbands without revealing which one. It stars Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Paul Douglas, Kirk Douglas, and Jeffrey Lynn. Thelma Ritter as "Sadie" and Celeste Holm have key supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Waters</span> American vocalist and actress (1896–1977)

Ethel Waters was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her notable recordings include "Dinah", "Stormy Weather", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Heat Wave", "Supper Time", "Am I Blue?", "Cabin in the Sky", "I'm Coming Virginia", and her version of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Waters was the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award, the first African American to star on her own television show, and the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Crain</span> American actress (1925–2003)

Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in Pinky (1949). She also starred in the films In the Meantime, Darling (1944), State Fair (1945), Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Centennial Summer (1946), Margie (1946), Apartment for Peggy (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), People Will Talk (1951), Man Without a Star (1955), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), and The Joker Is Wild (1957).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Barrymore</span> American actress (1879–1959)

Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarded as "The First Lady of the American Theatre". She received four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, winning for None but the Lonely Heart (1944).

<i>Portrait of Jennie</i> 1948 film by William Dieterle

Portrait of Jennie is a 1948 American supernatural film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy Awards, it won an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Joseph H. August was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography - Black and White.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juanita Moore</span> American film, TV, and stage actress (1915–2013)

Juanita Moore was an American film, television, and stage actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Carlson (actor)</span> American actor, director, and screenwriter (1912–77)

Richard Dutoit Carlson was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blossom Rock</span> American actress (1895–1978)

Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald, also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. Her younger sister was screen actress and singer Jeanette MacDonald. Rock is probably best known for her role as "Grandmama" on the 1960s macabre/black comedy sitcom The Addams Family.

<i>The Little Princess</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Walter Lang, William A. Seiter

The Little Princess is a 1939 American drama film directed by Walter Lang. The screenplay by Ethel Hill and Walter Ferris is loosely based on the 1905 novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film was the first Shirley Temple movie to be filmed completely in Technicolor. It was also her last major success as a child star. This film was the third of three in which Shirley Temple and Cesar Romero appeared together, following Wee Willie Winkie (1937) and Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937).

<i>Just Around the Corner</i> (1938 film) 1938 US musical comedy film by Irving Cummings

Just Around the Corner is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Cummings, and written by Ethel Hill, Darrell Ware and J. P. McEvoy, based on the novel Lucky Penny by Paul Gerard Smith. The film stars Shirley Temple as young Penny Hale, who must cope with the consequences after her architect father is forced by circumstances to accept a job as a janitor. It was the fourth and last cinematic song and dance pairing of Temple and Bill Robinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lundigan</span> American actor (1914–1975)

William Paul Lundigan was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include Dodge City (1939), The Fighting 69th (1940), The Sea Hawk (1940), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Dishonored Lady (1947), Pinky (1949), Love Nest (1951) with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill (1951), I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) and Inferno (1953).

The Model and the Marriage Broker is a 1951 American romantic comedy film about a marriage broker. Though Jeanne Crain is top billed, the movie revolves around Thelma Ritter's character, in a rare leading role for Ritter. Scott Brady also stars. The film is directed by George Cukor and produced by Charles Brackett. At the 24th Academy Awards, it received a nomination in the category of Best Costume Design for Charles LeMaire and Renié. The award, however, went to Edith Head for her work in A Place in the Sun.

I'll Get By is a 1950 American comedy musical film directed by Richard Sale, and starring June Haver, Gloria DeHaven and William Lundigan.

<i>In the Meantime, Darling</i> 1944 film by Otto Preminger

In the Meantime, Darling is a 1944 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy war bride who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during World War II.

<i>The Shocking Miss Pilgrim</i> 1947 film by George Seaton

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim is a 1947 American musical comedy film in Technicolor written and directed by George Seaton and starring Betty Grable and Dick Haymes.

<i>Its a Big Country</i> 1951 film

It's a Big Country: An American Anthology is a 1951 American anthology film consisting of eight segments by seven directors: Richard Thorpe, John Sturges, Charles Vidor, Don Weis, Clarence Brown, William A. Wellman and Don Hartman.

<i>Night Song</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by John Cromwell

Night Song is a 1948 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Dana Andrews, Merle Oberon and Ethel Barrymore.

<i>Take Care of My Little Girl</i> 1951 film by Jean Negulesco

Take Care of My Little Girl is a 1951 drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Mitzi Gaynor and Jean Peters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa Canady</span> Medical doctor specializing in neurosurgery

Alexa Irene Canady is a retired American medical doctor specializing in pediatric neurosurgery. She was born in Lansing, Michigan and earned both her bachelors and medical degree from the University of Michigan. After completing her residency at the University of Minnesota in 1981, she became the first black woman to become a neurosurgeon. This came after Ruth Kerr Jakoby became the first American woman to be board certified in neurosurgery in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio</span>

Ethel Barrymore was an American actress of stage, screen and radio. She came from a family of actors; she was the middle child of Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and had two brothers, Lionel and John. Reluctant to pursue her parents' career, the loss of financial support following the death of Louisa Lane Drew, caused Barrymore to give up her dream of becoming a concert pianist and instead earn a living on the stage. Barrymore's first Broadway role, alongside her uncle John Drew, Jr., was in The Imprudent Young Couple (1895). She soon found success, particularly after an invitation from William Gillette to appear on stage in his 1897 London production of Secret Service. Barrymore was soon popular with English society, and she had a number of romantic suitors, including Laurence Irving, the dramatist. His father, Henry Irving, cast her in The Bells (1897) and Peter the Great (1898).

References

  1. 1 2 Top 20 Films of 1949 by Domestic Revenue
  2. ↑ DVD, Pinky, commentary track by Kenneth Geist.
  3. ↑ Bourne, Stephen (2007). Ethel Waters: Stormy Weather. Scarecrow Press. pp.  72. ISBN   978-0-810-85902-9.
  4. ↑ Squires, Catherine (2009). African Americans and the Media. Vol. 9. Polity. p. 112. ISBN   978-0-745-64034-1.
  5. ↑ Bourne 2007, pp.74–75
  6. ↑ "Gelling v. State of Texas, 343 U.S. 960 (1952)" . Retrieved 2007-08-22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.