Sapphire (1959)

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Basil Dearden directed some dandy films--and a set of them are available through Criterion and frankly, all are quite impressive. With films like "Victim", "The League of Gentlemen" and "Sapphire", it's one of the best collections I've seen from this company.The film begins with the discovery of a dead woman in the park. However, this turns out to be anything but a routine case when the police investigate. First, it turns out the lady was pregnant. Second, it turns out that although she appeared quite Caucasian, she was black and posing as a white woman. While this sort of plot might seem pretty routine today, back in 1959 it was absolutely daring--and the sort of picture Hollywood NEVER would have done. I not only appreciate the daring subject matter, but also the amazingly unflinching way it approached racism. In fact, I am not even sure that they could make a movie like this today--given the bluntness of the language--but that is what makes this movie great. Racism IS horrible and the language they use make it seem horrible.The bottom line is that the film is amazingly good. The film is free of clichés and is very well written. I also appreciate the wonderful job Nigel Patrick did in playing the chief inspector--one of the only seemingly sane people in the film! Well worth seeing and amazingly brave. It's not surprising then that the film won the BAFTA (sort of like the British version of the Oscar) for Best Picture.

..and when, and from where--will I ever see it again? I was 24, and saw it in Chicago. It astonished me with its understatement, its true-to-life behavior, its laying bare of the prejudice I saw around me every day.I had already seen "Dead of Night"--in which Dearden directed the frame, and the first episode ("Room for just one inside, Sir!")--and had found these parts of the film nearly as impressive as the Cavalcanti (Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist tortured by his dummy...or..not?).I got "Victim" about 2 years ago, and it's one of my favorite films.Dearden seems singularly lacking in humor...until you realize--there's nothing really funny going on, is there? Surely, there's a VHS tape somewhere....

My summary does double duty as a description of the eponymous character, a very light-skinned West Indian girl 'passing' for white and the film itself, a low-key exploration of racial tension in pre-Swinging Sixties England. In terms of police-based drama we were still in the era of Dixin Of Dock Green with the more realistic Z Cars and The Sweeney still to come so that Nigel Patrick's Inspector comes across as a gentleman detecting as something of a hobby, an exact counterpart, in fact, of Raffles, the gentleman crook. The teenagers are unbelievably polite, dress conventionally and are unable to field a single tattoo, piercing, stud or pin in a college full whilst the prejudice is recorded mutely rather than trumpeted. Despite the odd and obligatory red herrings the real killer is not difficult to spot and the motive is all too plausible. Patrick takes the acting honours as one would expect with Michael Craig contributing his usual hundredweight of balsa wood but all in all it is both interesting and satisfying.

A very brave movie shot barely a year after the quite shocking interracial violence in Notting Hill,"Sapphire" gives a true picture of the prejudices and ignorance on both sides of the racial divide. The casual racism of both communities may be horrific to 21st century audiences.The very fact that the cinema was allowed to portray such attitudes graphically illustrates how much freedom was given to art in the so - called "repressed" 1950s,in contrast to how proscribed it has become in this the first decade of these "enlightened" times. As usual,the police - merely of course a microcosm of society - get some stick for reflecting the views of the community they come from. Sapphire is a pale - skinned West Indian girl "Passing for white",or a "Lilyskin" as she is referred to in this film. Nowadays the term "Coconut" might be used in an equally abusive sense.The film begins with the the discovery of her body.The police are convinced that the solution to her murder lies within the black community,and,once this idea has taken root,are unable to see the case in any other light,adopting a kind of tunnel vision where they tailor the facts to fit their theories, a situation that prevails in many investigations to this day and has - in the past - led to several miscarriages of justice.Fortunately they do eventually switch tack and find the murderer amongst Sapphire's white fiancé's family.Mr M.Craig proved in this and the later "Life for Ruth",that he was a lot more than a lightweight second - string.He keeps a lid on his more overt racism under the more sophisticated eye of his superior(the versatile Mr N.Patrick) who moves carefully between the outraged blacks and the outraged whites,well aware of the tightrope he is walking. At the core of the film is the perceived suspicion of the whites at the myth of Black Sexuality.Hands may now be raised in horror that such stereotypical beliefs but it would be idle to deny their existence. Many years ago when I was in the Met I had ,as a partner,a very sharp and beautiful black woman.One night - one of many spent de - stressing in an East London pub - I,rather the worst I fear,for drink,pushed a fifth or sixth vodka in front of her and ventured,"Well Marlene,what do you think about The Myth of Black Sexuality?"She fixed me with a sardonic eye and said straight - faced,"What myth?". So it would appear to be a matter of embarrassment to some and pride to others . It certainly caused the unfortunate Sapphire to be murdered,and nearly half a century later,is still the cause of discomfort and suspicion between the races.The only difference in that respect between now and 1959 is that debate on the matter is not encouraged.