#retroplex

If you've never seen "Imitation Of Life," you should make it your next priority. I mean, as long as your next priority doesn't involve taking insulin or calling suicide prevention.

It's been on Retroplex lately & even though I fucking own this movie, I have to watch it every damn time it's on.

Now, I'm talking the Lana Turner version here. I own the original with Claudette Colbert & it's good, but the 1959 version has more of an impact. 

Hell, it's got a heart-breaking cameo by Mahalia Jackson, for Christ's sake!

The remake kicks the nuts out of the original for that reason alone!

But here's my only problem with the flick. I regret the amount of Vaseline® they put on the lens for Lana Turner's close-ups.

Now, I know this was standard practice back then, especially for aging actresses, but shit, they make a HUGE deal about her character being an actress who's "past her prime." So, why couldn't they just ditch the lens paste to make that specific point?

Okay, this is a pretty weak regret, I realize. But it kind of pulls me out of a picture every time something like this happens. Especially when the most awesomely grounded characters don't get the same treatment.

Aw, fuck it. It's a pointless battle, I suppose. After all, even when Lana Turner was an absolute dimepiece, petroleum jelly was apparently never in short supply.