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Pinky (1949 film)
Encyclopedia
Pinky is a 1949 American drama film
adapted from the Cid Ricketts Sumner
novel by Philip Dunne
and Dudley Nichols
and was directed by Elia Kazan
. John Ford
was originally hired to direct the film, but was replaced after one week because producer Darryl F. Zanuck
was unhappy with the dailies. Lena Horne
and Dorothy Dandridge
were considered for the lead role, however, Zanuck chose to cast a white actress instead. Released by Twentieth Century Fox, the film starred Jeanne Crain
, Ethel Barrymore
, Ethel Waters
, and Nina Mae McKinney
.
Patricia "Pinky" Johnson (Jeanne Crain
) returns to the South to Dicey (Ethel Waters
), the illiterate black laundress grandmother who raised her. Pinky confesses to Dicey that she passed
for white while studying to be a nurse in the north. She had also fallen in love with white Dr. Thomas Adams (William Lundigan
), who knows nothing about her Black
heritage.
Pinky is subjected to racism by local law enforcement while attempting to reclaim money owed to her grandmother, and later when two white men attempt to sexually assault her. Dr. Canady (Kenny Washington), a black physician, asks Pinky to train black students who want to become nurses, but Canady tells him she plans to leave her hometown to return north.
Dicey asks her to stay temporarily to care for her ailing and elderly white friend and neighbor, Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore
). Pinky has always disliked Miss Em and lumps her with the other bigots in the area. Pinky relents and agrees to care for Miss Em after learning that she had personally cared for Dicey when she had pneumonia. Pinky nurses the strong-willed Miss Em, but does not hide her resentment. As they spend time together, they grow to respect and like each other.
Miss Em bequeaths Pinky her stately house and property when she dies, but on her death, greedy relatives of the deceased woman challenge her will. Everyone advises Pinky that she has no chance of winning, but something she herself does not fully comprehend makes her go on. Pinky begs an old friend of Miss Em's to represent her as her attorney. Pinky washes clothes by hand when her grandmother is unable to in order to pay the court fees. At the trial, crowded with biased white spectators, the judge unexpectedly rules in Pinky's favor.
Tom, who has tracked Pinky down, wants her to sell the inherited property, resume her masquerade as a white woman, marry him and leave the south, but she refuses, believing that Miss Em intended her to use the house and property for some purpose. In the end, Pinky establishes "Miss Em's Clinic and Nursery School".
for its subject matter. There, W. L. Gelling managed the segregated Paramount Theater, where blacks were forced to sit in the balcony. Gelling booked Pinky for exhibition in February 1950, a year in which the First Amendment
did not protect movies (Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
). The City Commission of Marshall “reactivated” the Board of Censors, established by a 1921 ordinance, and designated five new members who demanded the submission of the picture for approval. The board disapproved its showing, stating in writing its “unanimous opinion that the said film is prejudicial to the best interests of the citizens of the City of Marshall.” Gelling nonetheless exhibited the film and was charged with a misdemeanor. Three members of the Board of Censors testified that they objected to the picture because it depicts (1) a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she is a Negro, (2) a white man kissing and embracing a Negro woman, (3) two white ruffians assaulting Pinky after she has told them she is colored. Gelling was convicted and fined $200. He appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Gelling filed his appeal, the Court decided the landmark free speech case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
that extended First Amendment
protection to films. The Court then overturned Gelling’s conviction.
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
(Jeanne Crain
), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Ethel Barrymore
) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Ethel Waters
).
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
adapted from the Cid Ricketts Sumner
Cid Ricketts Sumner
Cid Ricketts Sumner was a novelist from the United States. She also taught English at a Jackson, Mississippi high school and French at Millsaps College....
novel by Philip Dunne
Philip Dunne (writer)
Philip Dunne was a Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox crafting well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium...
and Dudley Nichols
Dudley Nichols
Dudley Nichols was an American screenwriter who first came to prominence after winning and refusing the screenwriting Oscar for The Informer in 1936....
and was directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
. John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
was originally hired to direct the film, but was replaced after one week because producer Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
was unhappy with the dailies. Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
and Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
were considered for the lead role, however, Zanuck chose to cast a white actress instead. Released by Twentieth Century Fox, the film starred Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
, Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
, Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
, and Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney was an American actress who worked internationally in theatre, film and television after getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood...
.
Plot
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
) returns to the South to Dicey (Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
), the illiterate black laundress grandmother who raised her. Pinky confesses to Dicey that she passed
Passing (racial identity)
Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group...
for white while studying to be a nurse in the north. She had also fallen in love with white Dr. Thomas Adams (William Lundigan
William Lundigan
William Lundigan was an American film actor. His films include Dodge City , The Fighting 69th , The Sea Hawk , Santa Fe Trail , Dishonored Lady , Pinky , Love Nest with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill , I'd Climb the Highest Mountain and Inferno...
), who knows nothing about her Black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
heritage.
Pinky is subjected to racism by local law enforcement while attempting to reclaim money owed to her grandmother, and later when two white men attempt to sexually assault her. Dr. Canady (Kenny Washington), a black physician, asks Pinky to train black students who want to become nurses, but Canady tells him she plans to leave her hometown to return north.
Dicey asks her to stay temporarily to care for her ailing and elderly white friend and neighbor, Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
). Pinky has always disliked Miss Em and lumps her with the other bigots in the area. Pinky relents and agrees to care for Miss Em after learning that she had personally cared for Dicey when she had pneumonia. Pinky nurses the strong-willed Miss Em, but does not hide her resentment. As they spend time together, they grow to respect and like each other.
Miss Em bequeaths Pinky her stately house and property when she dies, but on her death, greedy relatives of the deceased woman challenge her will. Everyone advises Pinky that she has no chance of winning, but something she herself does not fully comprehend makes her go on. Pinky begs an old friend of Miss Em's to represent her as her attorney. Pinky washes clothes by hand when her grandmother is unable to in order to pay the court fees. At the trial, crowded with biased white spectators, the judge unexpectedly rules in Pinky's favor.
Tom, who has tracked Pinky down, wants her to sell the inherited property, resume her masquerade as a white woman, marry him and leave the south, but she refuses, believing that Miss Em intended her to use the house and property for some purpose. In the end, Pinky establishes "Miss Em's Clinic and Nursery School".
Cast
- Jeanne CrainJeanne CrainJeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
as Patricia "Pinky" Johnson - Ethel BarrymoreEthel BarrymoreEthel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
as Miss Em - Ethel WatersEthel WatersEthel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
as Dicey Johnson - William LundiganWilliam LundiganWilliam Lundigan was an American film actor. His films include Dodge City , The Fighting 69th , The Sea Hawk , Santa Fe Trail , Dishonored Lady , Pinky , Love Nest with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill , I'd Climb the Highest Mountain and Inferno...
as Dr. Thomas Adams - Basil RuysdaelBasil RuysdaelBasil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
as Judge Walker, Miss Em's friend and Pinky's lawyer - Kenny Washington as Dr. Canady, the local doctor
- Nina Mae McKinneyNina Mae McKinneyNina Mae McKinney was an American actress who worked internationally in theatre, film and television after getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood...
as Rozelia, Jake Walters' girlfriend - Griff Barnett as Dr. Joe McGill
- Frederick O'NealFrederick O'NealFrederick O'Neal was an American actor, theater producer and television director. He founded the American Negro Theater and was the first African-American president of the Actors' Equity Association...
as Jake Walters, a black man who kept the money Dicey gave him to send to Pinky - Evelyn VardenEvelyn VardenEvelyn Varden was an American actress.Evelyn Varden had a long and distinguished career on Broadway despite starring in the ill-fated Return Engagement by Lawrence Riley...
as Melba Wooley, Miss Em's greedy cousin - Raymond Greenleaf as Judge Shoreham
- Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
(uncredited) as the sheriff who rousts Pinky when he discovers she is black
Critical reception
The film enjoyed wide success in the southern United States, but was banned by the city of Marshall, TexasMarshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in Harrison County in the northeastern corner of Texas. Marshall is a major cultural and educational center in East Texas and the tri-state area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523...
for its subject matter. There, W. L. Gelling managed the segregated Paramount Theater, where blacks were forced to sit in the balcony. Gelling booked Pinky for exhibition in February 1950, a year in which the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
did not protect movies (Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio, 236 U.S. 230 , was a court case decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1915, in which, in a 9-0 vote, the Court ruled that the free speech protection of the Ohio Constitution — which was substantially similar to the First...
). The City Commission of Marshall “reactivated” the Board of Censors, established by a 1921 ordinance, and designated five new members who demanded the submission of the picture for approval. The board disapproved its showing, stating in writing its “unanimous opinion that the said film is prejudicial to the best interests of the citizens of the City of Marshall.” Gelling nonetheless exhibited the film and was charged with a misdemeanor. Three members of the Board of Censors testified that they objected to the picture because it depicts (1) a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she is a Negro, (2) a white man kissing and embracing a Negro woman, (3) two white ruffians assaulting Pinky after she has told them she is colored. Gelling was convicted and fined $200. He appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Gelling filed his appeal, the Court decided the landmark free speech case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 , was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which largely marked the decline of motion picture censorship in the United States...
that extended First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
protection to films. The Court then overturned Gelling’s conviction.
Award nominations
Pinky was nominated for Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
).