Pinky

"The poignant story of a girl who fell hopelessly in love!"

1949 1h 42m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

67%

FRESH

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 52🍅67%Rotten Tomatoes★7.2IMDB · 3,654

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school. Pinky tells her grandmother that she has been "passing" for white while at school in the North. In addition, she has fallen in love with a young white doctor, who knows nothing about her black heritage.

“The poignant story of a girl who fell hopelessly in love!”

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Cast

Jeanne Crain
Patricia "Pinky" Johnson
Ethel Barrymore
Miss Em
Ethel Waters
Dicey Johnson
William Lundigan
Dr. Thomas Adams
Basil Ruysdael
Judge Walker
Kenny Washington
Dr. Canady
Nina Mae McKinney
Rozelia
Griff Barnett
Dr. Joe McGill

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Elia Kazan
Writers: Philip Dunne, Dudley Nichols
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Elia Kazan, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harmon Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jeanne Crain and Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The poignant story of a girl who fell hopelessly in love!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0041746 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Elia Kazan directs. Joseph MacDonald behind the camera. Alfred Newman scores. Harmon Jones cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

177 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Elia Kazan, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Harmon Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jeanne Crain and Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The poignant story of a girl who fell hopelessly in love!".
7IMDB entry: tt0041746 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph MacDonald
Original score: Alfred Newman
Editing: Harmon Jones
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Pinky (1949)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 3,654 votes
MPAA: Approved
US box office: $4,200,000

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars. 3 wins & 4 nominations total

Also by

Elia Kazan

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 7/10
Jeanne Crain is the eponymousous young nurse - of mixed race - trying to get by in her grandmother's Southern town. She takes a shine to local (white) doctor "Adams" (William Lundigan) but when her ethnicity becomes better knows, however, that all goes awry. Determined to head back to the more enlightened territories in the North, she is persuaded to stay and tend to a wealthy infirm lady "Miss Em" (Ethel Barrymore). Initially frosty, the two women gradually start to respect one and other, and she also begins to earn the appreciation of her doctor "McGill" (Griff Barnett). The old lady's death and subsequent will leaves "Pinky" and the whole town in a quandary that highlights bigotry and greed in equal measure. This is a powerful story with a strong ensemble cast. I could have done with some more of Barrymore - if only to further exemplify how these two characterful women developed their relationship, but there are good contributions from Ethel Walters and Even Varden as the rather odious "Melba" to compensate a little. The production is fine, it flows well with succinct dialogue and Elia Kazan makes the most of the original Sumner novel. The racism that this reflects is writ large and makes for a powerful piece of cinema.

Production companies