Pinky

Directed by Elia Kazan

Approved

1949 1h 42mDrama

7.267%72%7.1

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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.

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Cast of Pinky

Jeanne CrainPatricia "Pinky" Johnson
Ethel BarrymoreMiss Em
Ethel WatersDicey Johnson
William LundiganDr. Thomas Adams
Basil RuysdaelJudge Walker
Kenny WashingtonDr. Canady
Nina Mae McKinneyRozelia
Griff BarnettDr. Joe McGill
Frederick O'NealJake Walters
Evelyn VardenMelba Wooley
Raymond GreenleafJudge Shoreham
Fred AldrichTownsman (uncredited)
Shelby BaconBoy (uncredited)
Rene BeardTeejore (uncredited)
Arthur BerkeleyTownsman (uncredited)
Mildred BoydNurse (uncredited)
Margaret BraytonNurse (uncredited)
Paul BrinegarWestern Union Clerk (uncredited)
Noble 'Kid' ChissellMan (uncredited)
Tom ColemanTownsman (uncredited)
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Pinky Ratings & Reviews

Aditya PantSeptember 1, 2025
For a film made more than 75 years ago, this is quite a progressive film. Looking through today's lenses it might appear too simplistic but in the 1940s who was even making films on the topic of racial prejudices, let alone handling them with maturity and nuance? The lead actress couldn't do justice to a layered character like Pinky. Her performance was simply flat.

Pinky Trivia

Pinky was released on September 28, 1949.

Pinky was directed by Elia Kazan.

Pinky has a runtime of 1 hr 42 min.

Pinky was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck.

The key characters in Pinky are Patricia "Pinky" Johnson (Jeanne Crain), Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore), Dicey Johnson (Ethel Waters).

Pinky is rated Approved.

Pinky is a Drama film.

Pinky has an audience rating of 7.2 out of 10.

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