 |
| Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters star in 1949’s then controversial race drama, “Pinky.” |
 |
| Jeanne Crain as “Pinky,” who “passed” up north, but feels the boundaries of race more overtly back home in this racial drama. |
I watched 1949’s Pinky for the first time recently and
was surprised at how strong the race drama still played, nearly 75 years later. This
was 20th Century Fox and Elia Kazan’s follow up to the socially conscious Gentleman’s Agreement.
I avoided this movie
for years because the notion of Jeanne Crain passing for white as Pinky seemed absurd. Crain always struck
me as the ultimate white bread actress. There was talk of fellow Fox star Linda
Darnell as Pinky—this I could actually
see. With her exotic features, and very dark eyes and hair, you could believe
Darnell as passing for white. Pinky’s character was a hard case, and Linda’s
later roles tapped into her tough side. But Fox honcho Darryl F. Zanuck
didn’t like Darnell and wanted Jeanne Crain, much to director Elia Kazan’s
disappointment.
 |
| Among the 20th Century Fox stars, Linda Darnell might have made a good “Pinky.” |
 |
| Dorothy Dandridge around ’49. A possible “Pinky?” |
Some people have said
that Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge should have played Pinky. Could either actress have passed for white with movie
audiences back in ‘49? Perhaps, but it’s debatable. There were other
considerations, too. Lena was over 30 when Pinky
was made, and the title character was fresh out of nursing school. Dorothy had
only done episodic bit parts at this point—but Dandridge’s unknown status might
have worked. Sadly, in some states there might have been an issue with a black
actress in love scenes with a white actor. Unlike Julie in 1953’s Showboat, a role Lena Horne wanted, Pinky’s
passing for white wasn’t a surprise. Still, the actress cast as Pinky had to
convince audiences that she could “pass.” Would that have been the case if Horne,
Hollywood’s lone black movie star, had been cast? It can be argued both ways
forever.
 |
| Lena Horne in ’49, who was interested in playing “Pinky.” She was in her early ’30s, older than the others mentioned, and at another studio. |
This all makes me
think of Fredi Washington, who won acclaim for the 1934 version of Imitation of Life. She played Louise
Beavers daughter Peola, who passes for white. In real life, Fredi refused to
pass, even though she easily could have. Washington was proud of her ethnic
background, but it cost Fredi a film career.
 |
| Fredi Washington, a mixed race actress who played a girl passing for white, in the original “Imitation of Life,” 15 years earlier than “Pinky.” |
I was surprised how
straightforward the film and Jeanne Crain were in telling Pinky’s story. Though
filmed on the Fox lot, the movie feels realistic. When Pinky returns from the
north as a nursing school graduate, her southern home on the black side of town
is not quaintly rustic, just ramshackle. Jeanne Crain doesn’t play movie “unglamorous,”
like stars that cheated when they were “serious.” Crain’s Pinky wears appropriate
clothes, a pulled-back hairdo, and very simple makeup. Jeanne’s acting is
direct and straightforward, with no winks to the audience that she’s just
acting. Crain’s character is defensive and ambivalent about coming back home at
all. As Pinky can easily pass for white, it would be much easier for her to
cheat and stay up North. But the headstrong nurse doesn’t retreat.
 |
| Jeanne Crain’s “Pinky” is glad to see Ethel Waters’ Grandma Dicey, but ambivalent about being back down South. |
Elia Kazan wanted to
make the film down south and felt that filming on the back lot lacked
grit. Well, of course he’s right about the authentic heat, dirt, and
impoverished locales. But 1967’s In the
Heat of the Night was mostly made in Sparta, Illinois NOT Sparta,
Mississippi, because Hollywood didn’t dare go to southern locations with a
black star in a race picture. How would Kazan have made Pinky down south back in 1949, with a black star like Dandridge or
Horne?
 |
| A toned down Jeanne Crain as “Pinky,” pondering the poverty her Grandma Dicey lives in, with her employer Miss Em’s mansion looms in the background. |
Kazan took over for
crusty John Ford on a weekend’s notice. The story’s power is certainly in Kazan’s
style as a director. Looking back, Kazan chose to disrespect screenwriters
Dudley Nichols and Phillip Dunne, who weren’t exactly hacks. And I’m sure Kazan
worked hard to encourage Jeanne Crain, but his quotes make it sound like he cajoled
a performance out of a non-actress. That annoys me because it’s a director’s oldest
ego trip. Peter Bogdanovich later said the same about Cher in Mask. Both actresses worked with other
talented directors and did very well, thank you. While Crain may not be ideally
cast, you feel the jolt when other characters find out she’s black. Jeanne does
not play her character “nice,” so her detractors in the movie find her uppity.
I thought she played her character straight up and intelligently. There’s plenty
of evidence in Hollywood’s history that you can’t get a great performance from
a no-talent actor. Crain was just 24 when she played Pinky, actually close to
the character’s age. In real life, she had just had a baby two weeks prior to
shooting, so this film wasn’t a cakewalk for Crain.
 |
| “Pinky” gets a refresher as what it’s like to be black in her hometown, as part of a police pick up over a money altercation. The look on Nina Mae McKinney, as the local woman at left, like she’s seen it all before. |
Cid Ricketts Sumner’s
source novel for Pinky was titled Quality. Sumner wrote another book, Tammy out of Time, which became the
basis for the extremely popular Tammy
series of movies and TV. What was viewed as a cop out in Pinky, aside from casting a white actress, was the more upbeat
ending. In the film, Pinky turns Miss Em’s mansion into a black nursing school.
In the book, Pinky does inherit the property, but local KKK retaliate by
burning down the house. That grim thought actually crossed my mind when watching
this, as that’s probably what would have happened in real life. It’s
disappointing but understandable that the studio wanted uplift, after
presenting a strong film on racial intolerance. It was still a step forward to
have the mixed race character turn down a marriage proposal that required her
to pass for white—no romantic ending.
 |
| One look from Ethel Waters as Grandma Dicey speaks volumes, from 1949’s “Pinky.” |
Pinky’s supporting cast is terrific. Crain has two great Ethels to work
with. Ethel Waters as grandma Dicey is warm and empathetic, but in regard to
Pinky’s past about passing, Dicey is very plain-spoken. While Waters’ Aunt
Dicey is respected in the community, she’s still patronized by whites at the
trial. Ethel Waters’ strength often shows in her stone cold silence. Ethel
Barrymore, while cast in her usual grande dame screen persona, still gives the
character more of an edge than usual, in this unsentimental portrayal.
 |
| “Pinky” nurses Miss Em in her final days, at Grandma Dicey’s request. The two strong-willed women forge a bond after butting heads. |
As Miss Em’s cousin
Melba Wooley, Evelyn Varden strongly portrays what feels like a relative of
Sister Woman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!
Melba is not only racist, but she also reeks of mendacity, as Cat’s Big Daddy would bellow. For people
that feel Wooley is one-dimensional, try watching some YouTube videos of modern
day racists in action. Not much has changed in their self-righteous ignorance. Evelyn
Varden later played another memorably named character, Monica Breedlove, the
upstairs neighbor in 1956’s The Bad Seed.
 |
| “Pinky” bristles at meeting Miss Em’s racist cousin by marriage, Melba Wooley. Crain is quite good in these scenes with Evelyn Varden, who’s a hissable villain. |
Remember that Pinky was made nearly three quarters of
a century ago and not to judge it by today’s standards. It was one of the first
pictures to deal with race as a main plot, not to mention the complexity of
passing. For 1949 audiences, accepting Pinky
as film fare was a first step. Indeed, Pinky
was 20th Century Fox’s highest-grossing drama of the year.
Nearly a decade later, 20th Century Fox made an interracial drama, Island in the Sun. Frankly, Pinky is more powerful! Here’s my look at “Island” here:
https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/07/island-in-sun-1957.html
 |
| “Pinky” was shown with this disclaimer back in 1949. |
 |
| As Jeanne Crain’s “Pinky” tells her white fiancee that she is black, passing for white, William Lundigan steps forward, creating a dark shadow over her entire face. Intentional or coincidence? |
