When I heard
that the actress Juanita Moore had died, I had just finished watching an
episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that
I wanted to see because Theresa Harris was in it. Both Moore and Harris were
gifted black actresses in the Golden Age of segregated Hollywood. Both were
often relegated to playing maids (Harris played a maid in the Hitchcock episode – but did have some
lines) and various other servants. But Moore, after appearing in films for
nearly twenty years, gained broader acclaim and recognition when she was
nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1959’s version of Imitation of Life.
That’s a
title that probably held a lot of meaning for black actresses in Hollywood in
the 30s, 40s and 50s. After all, the original 1934 version had provided a large
and prominent part for the actress Louise Beavers, who had already made dozens
of screen appearances. But, prominent role or not, after that, Beavers was relegated
to the only roles (often uncredited) available for black actresses – such as “Lily
– Cook #3” in 1939’s Made for Each Other,
or “Woman Talking to Police” in 1940’s Primrose
Path. Beavers played, by my count, a “Maid” around forty times, and
characters named “Mammy” at least five times. Still, as Hattie McDaniel (who
played dozens of maids herself) said, “I’d rather play a maid than be one.”
Imitation of life, indeed.
In a sort of
inverted echo of McDaniel’s quote, Moore was quoted as saying, “The Oscar
prestige was fine, but I worked more before I was nominated. Casting directors
think an Oscar nominee is suddenly in another category. They couldn’t possibly
ask you to do one or two days’ work. You wouldn’t accept it. And I’m sure I
would.”
In other
words, Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar,
but kept working, taking those small, one or two day gigs. Twenty years later, when
Juanita Moore was just nominated,
Hollywood had evolved enough to know they couldn’t recognize her talent and
then keep shuffling her into bit parts. But it hadn’t (and I would argue still
hasn’t) evolved enough so that there were actually meaningful roles to offer a
mature woman of color. Hollywood, for
the most part, was past the “Mammy” period, and thus Moore was able to find
numerous roles playing “Momma” instead.
Still, Moore
did keep working, taking small parts in films and doing guest spots on TV
shows. In 1968 she was featured in Jules Dassin’s black cast remake of 1935’s The Informer, titled Uptight, which was a harbinger of things
to come.
She finally
came into her own, in terms of billing and more prominent parts, during the
Blaxploitation Era of the 1970s. She had
roles in the 1973 classic, The Mack,
as well as Fox Style (also 1973), the
black western Thomasine & Bushrod (1974)
and the cult horror hit Abby (1974),
a black cast knock-off of The Exorcist (1973).
After starting in films during World War II, Moore’s last credit, a guest spot
on the TV show Judging Amy in 2001,
took her career into the 21st century. Her life and her work spanned
a great deal of change in the country, and within the film industry.
Her career,
low key as it might have often been, placed her in some classic films, such as Cabin in the Sky (1943); the
controversial race picture Pinky (1949);
the all-star Women’s Prison (1955);
two minor classics starring Glenn Ford, Affair
in Trinidad (1952) and Ransom! (1956);
and the Technicolor musical masterpiece The
Girl Can’t Help It (1956). Making a living as an actor is never easy. For
Moore to have had the career she did, when she did, is extremely noteworthy. I
hope she was proud of her work. It doubtlessly meant a great deal to a great
many people.
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this remembrance. Though I am generally more conscious of music than film, I like the chance to hear about how various kinds of artists have impacted their fans and culture in general. I especially appreciate your mini-history of women of color in film. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI wish that the mainstream coverage of Juanita Moore's passing had been a lot closer to this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI just read the Juanita Moore obit/article in the Guardian out of the U.K., and was struck by how theirs had the same structure and tone as what I wrote. I'm not saying they copied me, but I'm just sayin'...
ReplyDelete