Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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!

skiddoo Before I saw this movie I thought Pinky should have been played by a Black actress but after watching it I think seeing a White treated like a Black made a much bigger impact on White audiences that were used to, one might say calloused to, Blacks being treated badly. Poor Tom. He loved her but he just didn't get it. Pinky's life was totally outside his frame of reference and he didn't even consider that if they had children it might make his tidy plans blow up in his face.I think this movie has a subtle grasp of race relations that was a credit to the writing, acting, and directing.I wonder what happened to the characters in the oncoming civil rights struggle. The movie necessarily doesn't have a happily ever after ending because it is set firmly in reality and we know too much about future events. Today's audiences might find it ominous that only one White person, the doctor, was even marginally on her side. It would be extremely easy for a small mob to destroy everything. The ending shot with Pinky by the signpost made me feel how alone she was despite being surrounded by people.

funkyfry While not a bad film by any means, Kazan's "Pinky" is guilty of over-reaching. There are simply too many elements in the dramatic stew. Pinky (Jeanne Crain) returns home from a long period of education and travel to stay with her kindly grandmother (Ethel Waters). While Pinky finds the Southern hospitality unbearable for one of her skin color, her granny convinces her to stay so that she can nurse the ornery local matriarch Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore) back to health. When Miss Em leaves Pinky her property, a bitter legal struggle ensues.The biggest problem with the film is the absurd casting of Jeanne Crain as the young protagonist. While I'm not against cross-racial casting and I don't consider it inherently wrong or in poor taste, I do think this was a film that could not work with that type of casting. It's simply impossible to take Jeanne Crain seriously when she's shouting things like "I'm a Negro!" or when she's talking about "my people." The two great Ethels try their best of course to lift the basic melodrama into some kind of rarefied Broadway territory, and halfway succeed. But the story itself is problematic in my opinion. We can't get any real sympathy for the boyfriend (William Lundigan), because he's such a stuffed shirt and he wants Pinky to continue playing white. Worse of all is the fact that the conclusion, where Pinky starts a nursing school, is ridiculously obvious halfway through the film yet it's treated as a great revelation.While raised to a certain point by the good performances and solid direction by Kazan, the film is mired in its own self-seriousness. The look of the film is cheap and stage-bound, recycling the manor house from "Gone With the Wind" and never opening up to anything cinematic. The best thing that can really be said for it, is that it taught Kazan some lessons about directing actors that he probably put to better use in subsequent films.

wes-connors Well-mannered nurse Jeanne Crain (as Patricia "Pinky" Johnson) returns to her poor "Black" neighborhood, in Mississippi. There, she is welcomed by washerwoman grandmother Ethel Waters (as Granny). The pair are confronted by racism both outside and inside their home. Most importantly, it is revealed that Ms. Crain has been "passing" as "White". Moreover, Crain has become engaged to Caucasian doctor William Lundigan (as Thomas Adams). While working at home, to support Crain's nursing education, Ms. Waters has grown close to ailing Ethel Barrymore (as Miss Em). At first, Crain does not understand or accept the friendship between Waters, a former slave, and Ms. Barrymore, a former plantation owner. But, for her grandmother, Crain agrees to become Barrymore's nurse."Pinky" is a nerve-rattling classic.Probably, the most obvious "debate" point was the casting of Crain in the title role. Crain was definitely "pink" enough (or, white-looking); but, her general "movie star" persona makes the casting decision seem risky. Yet, Crain, under Elia Kazan's direction, triumphs. There are so many ways Crain could have fallen into acting traps - she could have used mannerisms, make-up, and/or other stereotypical devices to "camp" up the "Black" - but, she avoids each trap. Crain performs the role with a great amount of dignity. She was deservedly honored with an "Academy Award" nomination.Barrymore and Waters also perform well (as you might expect).We are never, in the film, given a clear statement of facts regarding the heritage of Crain's "Pinky". My guess is that she is related, by blood, to both Waters and Barrymore. An attempted rape of Crain's character accounts, arguably, for her pink appearance; this might have occurred in more than one generation. It's also possible that a loving "mixed race" relationship was part of either Ethel's past. Making the "Black/White" history more clear would have only gotten the film into more trouble."Pinky" was quickly censored, and headed for the US Supreme Court.One of the Board of Censors' objections was, "a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she is a Negro." However, Mr. Lundigan's "Thomas" is only willing to retain his love under certain conditions; and, this leads to a sharp, less "Hollywood"-styled ending. The Supreme Court was correct. Some of the film's best scenes show the way Crain is treated after other characters learn she is not white. ********* Pinky (9/29/49) Elia Kazan ~ Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, William Lundigan