''I Passed for White'' is a 1960 film directed and adapted for the screen by Fred M. Wilcox from a novel of the same name by Reba Lee "as told to" Mary Hastings Bradley. The film stars Sonya Wilde and

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: '' Mr. Novak'', '' The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', '' Doc Elliot'', ...

and features

Jimmy Lydon James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s. Early life Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 3 ...

, Patricia Michon, and Isabel Cooley. It was released by Allied Artists on March 18, 1960.

Plot

Bernice Lee ( Sonya Wilde) is a young woman of mixed African and European ancestry, living in Chicago with her family, and she is mistaken for a fully white woman by a white man, who tries to hit on her repeatedly. Her brother, more obviously of mixed heritage, fights off the man. Bernice's grandmother consoles her when she confides her troubles. After a failed attempt at looking for employment as a black woman, she decides to leave town. She begins to use the name Lila Brownell and live as a white woman. On the plane to New York City, she meets and eventually marries the man of her dreams – Rick Leyton (

) – and fails to mention her African ancestry, an important omission as

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 1 ...

is not a constitutional right in 1960. Rick and his wealthy family and friends are white. Her white friend Sally (Patricia Michon) and black maid Bertha (Isabel Cooley) both advise her not to tell him. She becomes pregnant, and fears the child will have black features or coloring – and gets a book to read about this unlikely possibility, which she hides. Rick eventually discovers it, and their maid claims the book belongs to her. Lila goes into premature labor and has a stillborn child, but cries out "Is the baby black?" after she awakens from anesthesia. This leads Rick to suspect that his wife has been unfaithful. Eventually, she and her husband divorce without Bernice's having revealed her true name or past. She then returns to her family in Chicago and her original identity. The ending is an example of the tragic mulatto trope.

Cast

* Sonya Wilde as Bernice Lee / Lila Brownell *

as Rick Leyton *Patricia Michon as Sally Roberts *Elizabeth Council as Ann Leyton *Griffin Crafts as Mr. Leyton *Isabel Cooley as Bertha *

as Jay Morgan *

Thomas Browne Henry Thomas Browne Henry (November 7, 1907 – June 30, 1980) was an American character actor known for many guest appearances on television and in films. He was active with the Pasadena Community Playhouse and was the older brother of actor ...

as Dr. Merritt *Max Mellinger as Mr. Gordon *Phyllis Cole as nurse * Calvin Jackson as Eddie, in Dance School *Lon Ballantyne as Chuck *Temple Hatton as Eddie, Friend of Bernice *Freita Shaw as Gram * Vampira as Poet Gleen *

Edmund Hashim Edmund Hashim, also credited as Ed Hashim (June 2, 1933 – July 2, 1974) was an American actor. He was known for '' Hellfighters'' (1968), ''The Green Hornet'' (1967), several different roles in ''Gunsmoke'' (1966-1969), ''Giacobbe ed Esau'' (19 ...

as Club Patron *

Ray Kellogg Edgar Ray Kellogg (November 15, 1905 – July 5, 1976) was an American special effects artist and film director from Iowa. Career During World War II, Kellogg was a US Navy Lieutenant with the O.S.S. Field Photographing Branch where he beca ...

as bartender

Production

A white actress was cast as the producers felt many white audience members would not want to see an inter-racial relationship between two actors on the screen.

Reception

Eugene Archer of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' stated that it was "low-budget" and used "tabloid

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotio ...

"; he concluded that it was "Amateurishly written, directed and played". Although similar in story arc, Janine Bradbury of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated that it "failed to match the success of '' Imitation of Life''."

References

Notes

External links