I Passed for White
(1960)

Director: Fred M. Wilcox

Key Cast: Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, Patricia Michon, Isabel Cooley, Elizabeth Council, Lon Ballantyne

Rating: Not Rated

Genre(s): Drama

"I Passed for White" is based on a true story.

This movie is based on a book named "I Passed for White" that was written by Mary Hastings Bradley. The story was told to her by a woman who used the name Reba Lee which was not her real name.

A light-skinned Black woman decides to leave her family and life in Chicago and live as a White woman. She meets and marries a wealthy and attractive White man who does not know her real racial identity. When she becomes pregnant, she gets scared because the baby may come out darker-skinned and will force her to expose her real identity. What will she do?

• "I Passed for White" was controversial because the role of the light-skinned Black woman was played by a White actress. African-Americans, especially in Hollywood, were upset that an African-American woman wasn't chosen for this role. Part of the reason the studio didn't cast a Black woman is because during this time many studios feared that White Americans would not want to see an on-screen relationship between a real Black woman and White man. Thus, they told the story but avoided any controversy by casting a White actress.

   Dorothy Dandridge had been cast in a romantic role with White actor in the Top 100 Black Classic Movie "Island in the Sun" in 1957 (which was three years before "I Passed for White" was released). But this movie experienced a lot of controversy and Dandridge was not allowed to kiss the White actor on screen.

Buy "I Passed for White" on DVD
"I Passed for White" is based on the true
story of an African-American woman who
lived life as a White woman. After she
becomes pregnant, she gets scared
because she wonders if her baby will
look African-American and thus expose
the lie she has been living.

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