Pinky (film)
| Pinky | |
|---|---|
 1949 Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | Elia Kazan |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by | Philip Dunne Dudley Nichols |
| Starring | Jeanne Crain Ethel Barrymore Ethel Waters Nina Mae McKinney William Lundigan |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Joseph MacDonald |
| Editing by | Harmon Jones |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 1949 |
| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Pinky is a 1949 American drama film adapted from the Cid Ricketts Sumner novel by Philip Dunne and Dudley Nichols and was directed by Elia Kazan. 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.[1] Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge were considered for the lead role, however, Zanuck chose to cast a white actress instead. Released by Twentieth Century Fox, the film starred Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, and Nina Mae McKinney.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Patricia "Pinky" Johnson (Jeanne Crain) returns to the South to Dicey (Ethel Waters), 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 white Dr. Thomas Adams (William Lundigan), who knows nothing about her Black heritage.
Pinky is subjected to racism by local law enforcement while attempting to reclaim money owed to her grandmother, later two white men attempt to sexually assault her. Dr. Canady (Kenny Washington), a black physician, asks Pinky to train black students who want to become nurses, but Pinky tells him she plans to leave her hometown to return north.
Dicey asks her to stay temporarily to care for her ailing and elderly white friend and neighbor, Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore). Pinky has always disliked Miss Em and lumps her with the other bigots in the area. Pinky relents and agrees to care for Miss Em after learning that she had personally cared for Dicey when she had pneumonia. Pinky nurses the strong-willed Miss Em, but does not hide her resentment. As they spend time together, they grow to respect and like each other.
Miss Em bequeaths Pinky her stately house and property when she dies, but on her death, greedy relatives of the deceased woman challenge her will. Everyone advises Pinky that she has no chance of winning, but something she herself does not fully comprehend makes her go on. Pinky begs an old friend of Miss Em's to represent her as her attorney. Pinky washes clothes by hand when her grandmother is unable to in order to pay the court fees. At the trial, crowded with biased white spectators, the judge unexpectedly rules in Pinky's favor.
Tom, who has tracked 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, believing that Miss Em intended her to use the house and property for some purpose. In the end, Pinky establishes "Miss Em's Clinic and Nursery School".
[edit] Cast
- Jeanne Crain as Patricia "Pinky" Johnson
- Ethel Barrymore as Miss Em
- Ethel Waters as Dicey Johnson
- William Lundigan as Dr. Thomas Adams
- Basil Ruysdael as Judge Walker, Miss Em's friend and Pinky's lawyer
- Kenny Washington as Dr. Canady, the local doctor
- Nina Mae McKinney as Rozelia, Jake Walters' girlfriend
- Griff Barnett as Dr. Joe McGill
- Frederick O'Neal as Jake Walters, a black man who kept the money Dicey gave him to send to Pinky
- Evelyn Varden as Melba Wooley, Miss Em's greedy cousin
- Raymond Greenleaf as Judge Shoreham
- Arthur Hunnicutt (uncredited) as the sheriff who rousts Pinky when he discovers she is black
[edit] Critical reception
The film enjoyed wide success in the southern United States, but was banned by the city of Marshall, Texas for its subject matter. There, W. L. Gelling managed the segregated Paramount Theater, where blacks were forced to sit in the balcony. Gelling booked Pinky for exhibition in February 1950, a year in which the First Amendment did not protect movies (Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio). The City Commission of Marshall “reactivated” the Board of Censors, established by a 1921 ordinance, and designated five new members who demanded the submission of the picture for approval. The board disapproved its showing, stating in writing its “unanimous opinion that the said film is prejudicial to the best interests of the citizens of the City of Marshall.” Gelling nonetheless exhibited the film and was charged with a misdemeanor. Three members of the Board of Censors testified that they objected to the picture because it depicts (1) a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she is a Negro, (2) a white man kissing and embracing a Negro woman, (3) two white ruffians assaulting Pinky after she has told them she is colored. Gelling was convicted and fined $200. He appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Gelling filed his appeal, the Court decided the landmark free speech case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson that extended First Amendment protection to films. The Court then overturned Gelling’s conviction.[2]
[edit] Award nominations
Pinky was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jeanne Crain), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ethel Barrymore) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ethel Waters).
[edit] References
- ^ DVD, Pinky, commentary track by Kenneth Geist.
- ^ "Gelling v. State of Texas, 343 U.S. 960 (1952)". http://supreme.justia.com/us/343/960/case.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
[edit] External links
- Pinky at the Internet Movie Database
|
||||||||||||||
