MovieChat Forums > Imitation of Life (1934) Discussion > JESSIE

JESSIE

posted 9 years ago by snsurone
4 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie for the first time this week, and I honestly expected the adult Jessie to be an early version of Veda Pierce.
Yet Jessie was a sweet, lovely girl, and it certainly wasn't for material gain that she fell in love with her mother's fiancé.
It just happened.

Bea was wise to send Stephen away; while he was no Monte Beregon, his presence in both women's lives would definitely have been a handicap.

Maybe in the future, if Jessie fell in love with a boy her own age, Bea and Stephen could reconnect.

[–] kmc-4 9 years ago

I honestly expected the adult Jessie to be an early version of Veda Pierce.

Oh, no! She was never a conniving little brat like Veda was! And the only time she got demanding was when she was 2 and wanted her "quack quack." The teen version of Jessie was just smitten with an older gentleman. It happens, and her mom did what was best for her daughter in breaking that relationship off, at least for that time.

Maybe in the future, if Jessie fell in love with a boy her own age, Bea and Stephen could reconnect.

That's what I was hoping, too. It would be nice if they could be together again one day.

[–] snsurone 9 years ago

I guess I was thinking of the daughter in the Douglas Sirk remake, who was pretty much a bee-yotch.
Definitely not like Rochelle Hudson's lovely girl.

[–] lynnrnsd 9 years ago

I just don't get how she was so clueless that this handsome guy that showed up introducing himself as "a friend of your mother's" wasn't her boyfriend. The only thing I can think of was that maybe since Bea hadn't had any relationships to that point, Jesse just didn't think of her that way.

[–] chrichrichri (184) 7 years ago

Bea hadn't had any relationships, it was work work work for her - and suddenly she introduces a man to her daughter saying how much wonderful time she spends with him.

For me, the adult Jessie was the weakest part of the movie.