A Patch of Blue

Starring:Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford, Ivan Dixon, Elisabeth Fraser, John Qualen, Kelly Flynn, Debi Storm, Renata Vanni, Saverio LoMedico, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Williams, David Richards, Tom Curtis (II), Fred Holliday, Vincent Chase (II), Gregg Martell
Director: Guy Green
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

One of the first studio films to deal with interracial romance (or even the possibility of it), A Patch of Blue was a huge hit upon its release, appealing to those looking for both social protest and a smart date movie. Sidney Poitier plays Gordon, a compassionate stranger who befriends a blind white girl named Selina (Elizabeth Hartman). Selina, the next thing to a shut-in, can only judge people by their voices, and Gordon's is unusually patient, kind. Troubles ensue when Selina's abusive mother (Shelley Winters in her second Oscar-winning performance) happens upon the pair during one of their park rendezvous. Ivan Dixon plays Poitier's militant brother, and veteran Wallace Ford appears as Selina's kindly lush of a grandfather. Jerry Goldsmith earned an Oscar nomination for his lilting piano theme, surely one of the simplest, most effective pieces of music to grace a Hollywood film. --Glenn Lovell

Description

A black man's burgeoning love affair with a blind white girl is complicated by her racist, controlling mother.

Customer Reviews:

A Patch of Blue.......2007-06-27

Poitier shines in Guy Green's tender parable about the meaning of friendship, one of the first studio films to take on the charged subject of interracial love. Leisurely paced and simply told, "Patch" is worth sticking with, as uniformly fine performances carry the audience to a satisfying finish. Actress Shelley Winters took home an Oscar that year for her unsympathetic turn as Selina's racist, harridan mother.

Highly Recommend.......2007-06-03

"Darks nothing to me. I'm always in the dark."

Selina D'Arcy (Elizabeth Hartman) is a blind young woman starving for affection and the experiences life brings. She lives in a one room apartment with her Old Pa and verbally and physically abusive mother, Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters).

When Selina was five years old her father came home to find Rose-Ann with another man. They began fighting and in the battle Rose-Ann threw a bottle at him. It missed. And hit Selina in the face, blinding her. She's been sheltered all her life both from the outside world and people. She was never taught Braille or self reliance of any kind.

Her hunger for experience, of being able to run free through the park, enjoying the grass, trees, birds and open fields overwhelms and depresses her at the same time. One day she encourages Mr. Faber, a man she strings beads into necklaces for, to take her to the park so she can work there. Her mother is against any form of happiness for Selina and even beats her because she went out. This doesn't deter Selina. Especially since she met a special friend named Gordon (Sidney Poitier) there.

Gordon and Selina develop a special friendship, meeting under the same tree every day. Gordon is intrigue by her blindness and innocence. He becomes quite protective of her and begins looking into ways to help her leave her current situation and become self sufficient. Selina is warmed by his kindness and willingness to share the world with her.

One of the best scenes in the movie is when they are sitting in the park talking and she tells him about her first and only friend she had when she was a child and how she still misses her deeply. Her mother forbade her to have any association with the girl because she was black. This is a pivotal moment because Gordon hasn't yet told Selina that he is black.

Shelley Winters delivers an amazing performance as a royal... wicked woman who is determined to keep her daughter a sheltered slave. Winters won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role. Elizabeth Hartman was nominated for best actress and actually won a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Female Newcomer" for her performance of Selina. She made an amazing effort and I found her to be believable.

A Patch of Blue is based on a novel by Australian author Elizabeth Kata. Beyond the racial taboos its deepest theme is about one person doing something good for another with no expectations in return. This 1965 film was made in black and white which adds to the character of the film and the limitations and boundaries of the actors. The ending is left open to interpretation, I assume because of the turbulent racial times it was filmed in. I really enjoyed and highly recommend it. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

Everyone needs a little compassion........2007-04-23

A Patch of Blue was a movie I saw on TCM awhile back and this film has never left my mind. Great performances, beautiful, heartbreaking story of a young, blind white girl who develops feelings for an adult, African-American man. At first, they are just friends, they meet in a park, he gives her confidence and she learns to trust a man for the very first time. They eventually fall in love, both know it's wrong and Shelly Winters gives another outstanding performance as the young girl's abusive mom. Sidney Poitier's performance is moving and quite remarkable. A Patch of Blue is everything you want from a classic film, I highly recommend this tearjerker!

a patch of blue.......2007-03-20

received the movie within a few days and the quality was excellent.

The "Broken Blossoms" of the 1960s.......2006-08-27

For those who may not "get" my title-"Broken Blossoms" was a 1919 silent classic about a miserable poor white girl from an abusive family who finds friendship and understanding from a Chinese man amidst heavy bigotry against the Chinese.

Fast forward to 1965. Elizabeth Hartman is the white girl (whose absue is compounded with her blindness), Shelly Winters is the drunk abusive parent, and Sir Sid (Poitier that is) is the caring nonwhite man who beforends her. This film is actually based on another novel, but the similarities to "Broken Blossoms" are interesting.

It says a lot about what childhood abuse does to people. The film does a good job in explaining Miss Hartman's blindness, the roots of her insecurity around people, Sir Sid's ambivalence about his friendship with the white girl, etc. A good study in character motivation.

The scenes where Shelly Winters, her drunk pappy, an her ignorant partner in prostitution abuse Miss Hartman are heart wrenching without blood and gore and only minor profanity, which may have shocked 1960s audiences. The film also subtly shows the dirty looks that Poitner and Miss Hartman receives as he guides her to through the town.

Overall, some morals to this story could be-

1) Be kind to children.
2) Ignorant and drunken sluts should not have kids
3) Friendship and kindness can and does transcend racial and cultural barriers.

Probably shocking when it was first released, I would strongly recommend showing this to a high school social studies class and talking about it afterward (sorry, that's the teacher in me). It's a great conversation starter.

DVD:

DVD

DVD: C'eravamo Tanto Amati (We All Loved Each Other So Much)

To Die For