Beyond what must have been controversial subject matter in 1949, three outstanding performances further distinguish Elia Kazan's 1949 film, "Pinky." A young African-American woman returns to her small-town Southern home after completing a nursing degree in Boston. Nicknamed "Pinky" because of her extremely light skin, the young woman has passed herself as white while in the North. However, in the Southern town, where she grew up with her dark-skin grandmother, everyone knows her. Thus, "Pinky" must once again face the racial prejudice and the subsequent abuses and injustices of being a minority in the post-World War II American South.
Well portrayed by lovely Jeanne Crain, "Pinky" evolves as a character; she initially wants to quickly retreat back to the North, where she could again hide her roots and marry the handsome white doctor, played by William Lundigan. However, her sometimes brutal experiences with overt prejudice, combined with advice from her grandmother and life examples from the dying woman she nurses, mold "Pinky" into a strong-willed woman, who stands up for her rights and fights injustice. Her grandmother, Dicey Johnson, played by a subtly powerful Ethel Waters, is ashamed that "Pinky," like the Apostle Peter in the Bible, has denied who she was; Dicey tries to instill in her granddaughter the courage to be who she is. Circumstances bring "Pinky" to nurse Miss Em, who is lying on her death bed amidst the decaying splendor of an old plantation house. Unsaid, but likely, the ancestors of the wily Miss Em, played by Ethel Barrymore, were the masters and owners of Dicey's and "Pinky's" ancestors. While "Pinky" retains unpleasant memories of Miss Em and initially dislikes her, the old woman's many hidden facets and her indomitable character are slowly revealed to "Pinky."
The three actresses earned well-deserved Oscar nominations for their work under Elia Kazan's direction; Ethel Waters was only the second African-American to be nominated for an Oscar, the first being Hattie McDaniel a decade earlier. Attracted to social issues, Kazan directed the Oscar-winning "Gentleman's Agreement" two years earlier, which dealt with anti-Semitism. The year 1949 also saw the release of Mark Robson's "Home of the Brave," which dealt with racial bigotry in the military. Kazan's mix of social issues with outstanding performances and a literate script, lensed in black and white by Joseph MacDonald with a score by Alfred Newman, is an entertaining drama, whose only flaw may be a liberal tilt that is less than convincing given the period and localet.
Well portrayed by lovely Jeanne Crain, "Pinky" evolves as a character; she initially wants to quickly retreat back to the North, where she could again hide her roots and marry the handsome white doctor, played by William Lundigan. However, her sometimes brutal experiences with overt prejudice, combined with advice from her grandmother and life examples from the dying woman she nurses, mold "Pinky" into a strong-willed woman, who stands up for her rights and fights injustice. Her grandmother, Dicey Johnson, played by a subtly powerful Ethel Waters, is ashamed that "Pinky," like the Apostle Peter in the Bible, has denied who she was; Dicey tries to instill in her granddaughter the courage to be who she is. Circumstances bring "Pinky" to nurse Miss Em, who is lying on her death bed amidst the decaying splendor of an old plantation house. Unsaid, but likely, the ancestors of the wily Miss Em, played by Ethel Barrymore, were the masters and owners of Dicey's and "Pinky's" ancestors. While "Pinky" retains unpleasant memories of Miss Em and initially dislikes her, the old woman's many hidden facets and her indomitable character are slowly revealed to "Pinky."
The three actresses earned well-deserved Oscar nominations for their work under Elia Kazan's direction; Ethel Waters was only the second African-American to be nominated for an Oscar, the first being Hattie McDaniel a decade earlier. Attracted to social issues, Kazan directed the Oscar-winning "Gentleman's Agreement" two years earlier, which dealt with anti-Semitism. The year 1949 also saw the release of Mark Robson's "Home of the Brave," which dealt with racial bigotry in the military. Kazan's mix of social issues with outstanding performances and a literate script, lensed in black and white by Joseph MacDonald with a score by Alfred Newman, is an entertaining drama, whose only flaw may be a liberal tilt that is less than convincing given the period and localet.