Imitation of LifeDouglas Sirk (Claus Detler Sierck) was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1900. He made nine films before fleeing Nazi Germany, eventually coming to America. His best known films, made during the 1950sall of them melodramaswere Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, The Tarnished Angels, Written on the Wind, and Imitation of Life (made in 1958, released in 1959). Because of the special stamp he put on his melodramas, Sirk's best works transcend the