Jeanne Crain as ‘Pinky’ 1949

 

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 20^th 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?