Widow Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) and her two-year-old daughter Jessie (Juanita Quigley) are having a rough morning.
Jessie demands her “quack quack” (her rubber duck) and doesn’t want to go to the day nursery.
She must: Her mother is continuing her husband’s business, selling heavy cans of maple syrup door to door, and making very little money.
Black housekeeper Delilah Johnson (Louise Beavers) has also had a bad morning.
She misread an advertisement and came to the wrong house—Bea’s.
Trying to reach her duck, Jessie falls fully clothed into the bathtub, and Bea runs upstairs.
When she returns, Delilah has fixed breakfast.
Delilah explains that no one wants a housekeeper with a child, and introduces her daughter Peola (Sebie Hendricks), whose fair complexion conceals her ancestry.
Bea can’t begin to afford help, so Delilah offers to keep house in exchange for room and board.
The four quickly become like family.
They all particularly enjoy Delilah's pancakes, made from a secret family recipe.

Bea uses her business wiles to get a storefront and living quarters on the boardwalk refurbished on credit, and they open a pancake restaurant where Delilah and  Bea cook in the front window. (
Signage indicates that they are on the Jersey Shore in Pleasantville.
A title card mentioning Atlantic City was removed.
See below.)

Five years later, they are debt-free.
The little girls are good friends, but one day Jessie (Marilyn Knowlden) calls Peola (Dorothy Black) "black."
Peola runs into the apartment declaring that she is not black, won’t be black, and that it is her mother who makes her black.
Cradling her weeping daughter, Delilah tells Bea that this is simply the truth, and Peola has to learn to live with it.
Peola’s father, a light-skinned African American, had the same struggle, and it broke him.
Delilah receives another blow when she finds out that Peola has been “passing” at school.

One day, Elmer Smith (Ned Sparks), a hungry passerby, offers Bea a two-word idea in exchange for a meal: "Box it [the flour]."
Bea hires him, and they set up the hugely successful "Delilah’s Pancake Flour" business.
Delilah refuses to sign the incorporation papers, and when Bea tells her that she can now afford her own home, Delilah is crushed.
She does not want to break up the family.
So the two friends continue to live together, and Bea puts Delilah’s share in the bank.

Ten years pass.
Both women are wealthy and share a mansion in New York City.
Delilah becomes a mainstay of the African-American community, supporting many lodges and charitable organizations and her church, but we do not learn the extent of this until her death.
She tries to give Peola every advantage, including sending her to a fine Negro college in the South, but Peola runs away.

Meanwhile, Elmer arranges for Bea to meet a handsome ichthyologist, Stephen Archer (Warren William); they hit it off immediately and plan to marry.
Then eighteen-year-old Jessie (Rochelle Hudson) comes home on college vacation, and during the five days it takes for Bea and Delilah to find Peola, she falls in love with Stephen.

Peola (Fredi Washington) has taken a job in a segregated restaurant, serving white customers only, in Virginia.
When her mother and Bea find her, she denies Delilah.

Peola finally tells her mother that she is going away, never to return, so she can pass as a white woman—and if they meet on the street, her mother must not speak to her.
Delilah is heartbroken and takes to her bed, murmuring Peola's name and forgiving her before eventually succumbing to heartbreak.

Delilah has the grand funeral she always wanted, with marching bands and a horse-drawn white silk hearse, and all the lodges processing in a slow march.
The coffin is carried from the church to the hearse through the saber arch of an honor guard, and a remorseful, sobbing Peola rushes to embrace it, begging her dead mother to forgive her.
Bea and Jessie gather her into their arms and take her into the car with them.

Peola decides to return to college.
Bea asks Stephen to wait, promising to come to him after Jessie is ov
Widow Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) and her two-year-old daughter Jessie (Juanita Quigley) are having a rough morning. Jessie demands her “quack quack” (her rubber duck) and doesn’t want to go to the day nursery. She must: Her mother is continuing her husband’s business, selling heavy cans of maple syrup door to door, and making very little money. Black housekeeper Delilah Johnson (Louise Beavers) has also had a bad morning. She misread an advertisement and came to the wrong house—Bea’s. Trying to reach her duck, Jessie falls fully clothed into the bathtub, and Bea runs upstairs. When she returns, Delilah has fixed breakfast. Delilah explains that no one wants a housekeeper with a child, and introduces her daughter Peola (Sebie Hendricks), whose fair complexion conceals her ancestry. Bea can’t begin to afford help, so Delilah offers to keep house in exchange for room and board. The four quickly become like family. They all particularly enjoy Delilah's pancakes, made from a secret family recipe.
Bea uses her business wiles to get a storefront and living quarters on the boardwalk refurbished on credit, and they open a pancake restaurant where Delilah and  Bea cook in the front window. (Signage indicates that they are on the Jersey Shore in Pleasantville. A title card mentioning Atlantic City was removed. See below.)
Five years later, they are debt-free. The little girls are good friends, but one day Jessie (Marilyn Knowlden) calls Peola (Dorothy Black) "black." Peola runs into the apartment declaring that she is not black, won’t be black, and that it is her mother who makes her black. Cradling her weeping daughter, Delilah tells Bea that this is simply the truth, and Peola has to learn to live with it. Peola’s father, a light-skinned African American, had the same struggle, and it broke him. Delilah receives another blow when she finds out that Peola has been “passing” at school.
One day, Elmer Smith (Ned Sparks), a hungry passerby, offers Bea a two-word idea in exchange for a meal: "Box it [the flour]." Bea hires him, and they set up the hugely successful "Delilah’s Pancake Flour" business. Delilah refuses to sign the incorporation papers, and when Bea tells her that she can now afford her own home, Delilah is crushed. She does not want to break up the family. So the two friends continue to live together, and Bea puts Delilah’s share in the bank.
Ten years pass. Both women are wealthy and share a mansion in New York City. Delilah becomes a mainstay of the African-American community, supporting many lodges and charitable organizations and her church, but we do not learn the extent of this until her death. She tries to give Peola every advantage, including sending her to a fine Negro college in the South, but Peola runs away.
Meanwhile, Elmer arranges for Bea to meet a handsome ichthyologist, Stephen Archer (Warren William); they hit it off immediately and plan to marry. Then eighteen-year-old Jessie (Rochelle Hudson) comes home on college vacation, and during the five days it takes for Bea and Delilah to find Peola, she falls in love with Stephen.
Peola (Fredi Washington) has taken a job in a segregated restaurant, serving white customers only, in Virginia. When her mother and Bea find her, she denies Delilah.
Peola finally tells her mother that she is going away, never to return, so she can pass as a white woman—and if they meet on the street, her mother must not speak to her. Delilah is heartbroken and takes to her bed, murmuring Peola's name and forgiving her before eventually succumbing to heartbreak.
Delilah has the grand funeral she always wanted, with marching bands and a horse-drawn white silk hearse, and all the lodges processing in a slow march. The coffin is carried from the church to the hearse through the saber arch of an honor guard, and a remorseful, sobbing Peola rushes to embrace it, begging her dead mother to forgive her. Bea and Jessie gather her into their arms and take her into the car with them.
Peola decides to return to college. Bea asks Stephen to wait, promising to come to him after Jessie is ov
Imitation of Life (1934 film)