when imitation of life come out in 1934 and fannie hurst be at the height of her literary reputation have have her two best work this one and back street and come out back to back a both novel and movie . both story be about a woman sacrifice . one day before world war i and louise beaver come look for domestic work and get the wrong address and come knock on claudette colbert door . colbert be a recent widow with a child and louise have a child the same age . colbert can not afford any salary and but louise be willing to work cheap and just for room and board for herself and her child . this start an unusual partnership both personal and business because claudette late husband be a seller of a cooking syrup and louise make a melt in your mouth type of pancake . when pass stranger ned spark tell her one day to package the flour and this make both colbert and beaver millionaire overnight . beaver can not see it however and pass up her own household to stay with claudette . a lot of people today look at beaver character and say this be a racial stereotype that hurst be perpetrate . take the racial component out of it and i have see several people who be just like beaver in their own way . clark gable have a father who could have live quite well off his son and but couldn not deal with the hollywood lifestyle and actually tell his son they ought to resume their previous occupation a oil roughneck . stan musial when he be make big money a a baseball star have a mother who take in wash back in the little steel mill town of donora and pennsylvania where he come from and not because he wasn not willing to provide . and i have an uncle who work hard at kodak and also build up a milk delivery business of his own and at an age where he could have just relax and take it easy and he be out work at close to 80 at a tool and die plant . there be folk out there who shy away from the outward trapping of success like beaver . and there be those stubbornly over commit to a work ethic when they do not have to be . both colbert and beaver be just mom with problem daughter on their hand . daughter rochelle hudson be crush out on warren william who have his eye on colbert . but beaver have big problem . remember these girl be literally raise together with their mother in business . fredi washington see the white world and she light skin enough to pass and she want what over in that world . but her denial of heritage hurt beaver more than my word can describe . but hurst word in the novel and the screenplay betray a rare understanding of racism during her time . imitation of life get three oscar nomination include best picture . it a dated film and but that fact alone make it worth watch a a glimpse of the racial picture in america in the thirty .