You can find my review for the 1959 version by clicking on my name.<br /><br />I am not a fan of the Douglas Sirk remake of Imitation of Life (1959). It was the third film from that director I saw, and I felt that he was trying to play it straight, make a prestige picture, denying the insanity of classics such as Written on the Wind. Seeing the 1934 version of this film, I only find my opinion of the 1959 version reinforced. Sirk barely changed anything. He doesn't crank it up a notch. He changes the main white character's profession (Claudette Colbert, 1934, and Lana Turner, 1959). In the older version, she (with the help of her black maid (Louise Beavers, 1934, Juanita Moore, 1959)), establishes a pancake restaurant. One day, a customer (character actor Ned Sparks) suggests that they start selling the pancake mix in boxes, which will (and does) make them rich. In the 1959 version, Lana Turner, as I remember, is an actress of some sort. I suppose I prefer the pancake story better, because I get sick of seeing pretty women become successful actresses in movies. Weighing the two films against each other, they do come out pretty even. For example, the conflict of the young, light-skinned black girl (played by Fredi Washington in 1934, Susan Kohner in 1959) is much more fleshed out in the later version, and it just works better. Kohner is a better actress than Washington, as well. The main white character's daughter (Rochelle Hudson in 1934, Sandra Dee in 1959) works better in the earlier version, as Hudson is a better actress than Dee. Louise Beavers and Juanita Moore come out as a dead heat. They're equal. Too bad neither of them are that good. I suppose the original novel must be to blame for this; the black maid character is very poorly developed in both films (so I assume it was the same in the novel), and, in the end, they both lack focus. I suppose it comes down to the last race, Lana Turner and Claudette Colbert. Well, now here, in the films' main characters, we find a clear winner. Personally, I just don't like Lana Turner. I thought she was poor in Imitation of Life (it's the only film I've seen with her, and it makes me want to avoid others). On the other hand, Claudette Colbert doesn't have a great track record with me. However, I really thought she was great in Imitation of Life. She's utterly charming, clever, and gorgeous. Blondes are overrated anyhow. I much prefer Ms. Colbert's doe eyes. 1934 was really Colbert's year, with this, Cleopatra, and her Oscar-winning role in It Happened One Night (which I'll watch in the next couple of days, incidentally). So 1934 Imitation of Life ends up winning by a nose. Neither film is great, mind you, but both are worthwhile. 7/10.