Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

jarrodmcdonald-1 The characters are all carefully presented and the story is simple yet complex in this though- provoking film. But while Jeanne Crain is a fabulous actress, she is perhaps wrong for this part. Her Irish heritage cannot be concealed by the black-and-white cinematography, because her bone structure and eyes are very distinctly non-African in appearance.Apparently, Gene Tierney was first considered for the part, and so was Linda Darnell. But this role requires a real-life mulatto actress. Perhaps having a white actress in the lead helped Fox tell the story without a black, or partially black woman, kissing a white man-- in the film, Pinky kisses her fiancé, played by William Lundigan. Despite the uneven casting of the lead, the rest of the players are well selected. Improving on the supporting actresses would not be necessary. The two Ethels are perfect: Ethel Waters as the grandmother; and Ethel Barrymore as the old southern belle.

barrun I just do not get it. As much as I tried to like and understand this film called "Pinky", I just, after watching most of it along with a very good "narration", couldn't consign myself to the fact that Jeanne Crain looks anything even remotely like a black person. NO WAY! I have seen or have known black people that have a definite look of "Caucasian" in them BUT NO WAY does Mrs. Crain have an inkling of it! Hence I don't like and can't watch this film because of the "falseness" of it. What were the producers, Zanuck included, thinking? MInd you, I am a filmmaker myself and admire Kazan extremely, especially for films like "Streetcar" and "Waterfront", and I realize his momentum, power, and notoriety back then BUT still, I can't appreciate this film because of the "miss" casting of the role!

Holdjerhorses I've never wanted to watch "Pinky" because of my own prejudices.Jeanne Crain? Beautiful but mediocre actress. (The weak link, so I thought, in "A Letter to Three Wives.") A film about racial predicaments circa 1949, falling between "Imitation of Life" (Claudette Colbert, 1934) and Lana Turner's (1959) and Douglas Sirk's classic glossy tearjerker of the same title? Who cares about "Pinky?" Turns out (now that I've seen it), like most prejudices, I was wrong about everything.It's all in the story and the script, as usual."Pinky" bypasses every sudsy cliché of "Imitation of Life" in either incarnation and proceeds directly to the heart of characters far more real, and a story far more incisive, deeply conceived and developed, than Edna Ferber or Ross Hunter ever imagined.The wonderful revelation of "Pinky," among many, is that Jeanne Crain could act.Elia Kazan's acute direction elevates Crain and everybody else. Ethel Waters, Ethel Barrymore, William Lundigan? The supporting players? Flawless.Shot and lit on sound stages, "Pinky" looks completely artificial by today's naturalistic standards. In its day, the studio stylization wasn't given a second thought. Painted cycloramas, fake Spanish moss, brilliant "mood" lighting, "classic" cinematography and all.Yet you're almost immediately lost and involved in the plot, which NEVER takes you where you expect.The entrance of Ethel Barrymore's character, for her brief duration in the story, is quietly amazing. Hers is the pivotal role upon which all else hinges. She realistically underplays every moment – only once ever leaving her deathbed.Even prone, as an actress, Barrymore makes mincemeat of the rest. Not a false note nor strained effect, nothing overwrought, no begging for sympathy . . . just the character. Listen to the simple naturalistic throwaway variety in her breathing and inflections! Same for Ethel Waters. Utter, believable simplicity and economy, always in character. Watch her eyes. (Offscreen and offstage, she could be a something of a monster, according to those who worked with her, though she always piously crossed herself before entering from the wings.) William Lundigan and every other supporting actor rises to the occasion.But it's Jeanne Crain who is the revelation. She was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award for this performance.Yes, she's beautiful. Yes, she's constantly artificially lit. Yes, she's photographed from all the right angles. But within those cinematic constraints of the times, she gives a truly honest, strong, intelligent and forceful performance as Pinky.As Ethel Waters' granddaughter, that's next to genetically impossible and implausible for Jeanne Crain. But she does it. You forget the "star" artifice in five minutes and she steadfastly carries the film. (Compare this to her somewhat "actory" though still delightful portrayal in "Letter to Three Wives.") "Pinky's" plot turns out to be far richer and more nuanced than the expected, "She passed for white," claptrap (still tear-duct manipulative and effective) of either version of "Imitation of Life."And no film explores to more devastating emotional effect the tragedy of race prejudice in the south than, "To Kill a Mockingbird." But "Pinky" is the adult, intelligent and perhaps best plotted, if not best scripted, of them all, because it eschews sensational interracial rape and murder ("Mockingbird") for more mundane but still heartbreaking human relationships and realistic consequences, given the period.It's a shame Jeanne Crain was never given an equal script or director to fulfill her talents.But there's "Pinky," and any actress would be proud.

MartinHafer Although Twentieth-Century Fox's "Gentlemen's Agreement" won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director in 1947, "Pinky" (also by Fox and director Elia Kazan) is a message film that seems to have better withstood the test of time and is, in my opinion, a more watchable film--and probably a lot more daring in its day.Pinky is a young nursing school graduate played by Jeanne Crain. After spending the last three years up North studying, she has come home to visit with her grandmother (Ethel Waters)...a Black woman. It seems that for the last three years, the very white-skinned Crain has been posing as White...and you certainly can't blame her in light of the second-class status (or less) afforded to Black-Americans at the time.The first day she goes into town, she is arrested (though she was doing nothing illegal), given a "talkin' to" by the Judge and almost raped on the way home! In light of this, you can certainly understand her wanting to leave as soon as possible and get away from this hellish Southern town. However, something intervenes. Grandma wants Pinky to stay a bit and take care of their neighbor, Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore). Pinky could care less, though, if and when Miss Em dies--as she's just another despicable White lady. Grandma shames Pinky into staying and helping Miss Em to die--after all, if she doesn't help, Grandma promises to knock her silly! All Pinky can remember are bad things about Miss Em, though Grandma's recollections are far different--telling Pinky that Miss Em is a good woman and they owe her for her past kindness. Pinky doesn't believe it, but doesn't want to disappoint Grandma or get whooped, so she goes to Miss Em's mansion to care for her. Surprisingly, after a very rocky start, the two women develop respect for each other.Some time later, Miss Em dies and the full extent to which she cared for Pinky is now apparent. Just before dying, Miss Em left her estate to Pinky! The problem, however, is that Miss Em's closest relative is an evil and selfish lady, Melba (Evelyn Varden--who was great playing horrible women in this film and others like "The Bad Seed"), contests the will. In addition, Melba is a racist and does what she can to stir up resentment in the community. What will Pinky do? Can she get a fair shake in this terrible town? Is it worth staying and fighting for what is rightfully hers? Tune in and see.I loved the film because it dared to talk about racism. The way many White-Americans treated Blacks was disgraceful and was finally being addressed by Hollywood in films like this and "Intruder in the Dust" (also 1949). Other related topics such as interracial marriage, bitterness within Black-America due to racism and rape were also brought into the film--making it a very, very daring film. I am sure it did not play in many towns in the US and had to have been met with hostility by some. However, because the acting, direction and script were all top-notch, it managed to counter the pin-heads out there, as it's hard to see the film and not be led to see the evil and injustice that was rampant in some parts of the country.A must-see and a unique and powerful film.