according to Annie and Miss Lora

A few things people may not know about Miss Lora and Annie from the movie

Annie , Juanita Moore did an interview about her life , especially when she was in the movies. She was asked about the parts that stood out in the movies, especaially, Imitation of Life. According to her, the scene where Annie was dying and according to Annie, "was sincere from Miss Lora".......

.There may be a few the didn't know that Lana Turner had just recently gone thru a murder trial ( 1958) for her daughter Cheryl Crane, who stabbed her mothers lover in real life.....
Lanas life was turned upside down, not only because her daughter killed Johnny, but also, that people even suspected her of killing Johnny Stompanato..
When Annie was dying, Annie stated that Lana became so emotional that they had to sedate her and give her time to re coup from that scene
then at the church when Mahalia Jackson was singing.......Miss Lora lost it, and supposedly, after her crying scene, she had to leave the set for days to again, recoup..many thought that Lana had remorse for what happened to Johnny.....that the guilt set in and she couldn't shake it.

According to Lana Turner, she has stated in her interviews that some of the jewelry that Lana wore in the movie were presents from Johnny Sompanato...he lover.
I think the tears were genuine when it came to Miss Lora losing Annie......Annie was her strength, especially when it came to Annie raising Suzie.......she wasn't a bad mother, she just wasn't a mother to Suzie........Annie was her mother, as well as Sarah Janes...........just wanted to pass this on