A Patch of Blue (1965)

Sadly Over-hyped

one of my absolute favorites!

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

A Patch of Blue is directed by Guy Green, is written by Guy Green, is based on the novel by Elizabeth Kata, has music by Jerry Goldsmith and stars Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Hartman and Shelley Winters.A Patch of Blue is one of the saddest and yet uplifting films I've ever seen. Selina has suffered so much and her mother is endlessly cruel to her and treats her like a servant instead of her daughter. Despite the injury which blinded her, her sexual assault and the way she is treated Selina remains kind and gentle, she isn't nasty or bitter like her mother.Selina (Elizabeth Hartman)is a blind teenager who lives in a small apartment with her mother Rose-Ann(Shelley Winters)and her grandfather ole pa(Wallace Ford). Rose-Ann is nasty and cruel to her daughter and makes her do all the house work. Selina can manage very well around the apartment considering her impairment but struggles when she is outside. Her grandfather often takes her to the local park and leaves her there while he goes drinking.While she is in the park one day she meets kind office worker Gordon Ralfe(Sidney Poitier). Gordon befriends her and teaches her how manage to get around outside by herself, as the two spend more time together Selina falls in love with him unaware that he is a black man. Gordon comes to realise she is developing romantic feelings for him and he knows that given the time they live in, such a relationship would be dangerous for them and would sadly make them hated by some people. Selina isn't aware of racism and doesn't understand why some people are hated because of their skin colour.This is such a sad film, your heart breaks for Selina so many times and you admire the fact that her difficult life hasn't broken her emotionally, she remains positive despite her past. Both Poitier and Hartman are superb and their shared scenes together are so genuine, you believe their friendship. Poitier is very good as the outgoing Gordon who can't comprehend Selina's life and seeks to change it for her. He portrays this mans kindness so well and also how sad he is when he learns what Selina has suffered.Hartman is unforgettable as Selina and she was nominated for the best actress Oscar, sadly she lost and that is a real shame because her performance is so strong. Hartman tragically committed suicide in 1987, a sad loss of such a talented actress.Shelley Winters won the best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of the mother from hell. Rose-Ann is tough talking and vulgar and Winters portrays her so convincingly that she is scary.Jerry Goldsmith's score is beautiful and sounds like a lullaby.

What was there about Sidney Poitier. What was it that made him a standout star among Black and White audiences, at a time when almost nobody else achieved that. This film was not among his first, but it was one of those (also, like "Lilies Of The Field" and "To Sir, With Love") that began to establish him as a true movie star, although I would say it took "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" to cement his position among the top tier of actors. And deservedly so. It's very difficult to be critical of his performance here.This was probably Elizabeth Hartman's most honored performance in her short career. It's got to be a challenge to portray a blind person as convincingly as she does here...and without flaw.Shelly Winters has a thankless role here, and I'm not sure quite how to react to it. Some here have said that in this role she is one-dimensional, and that may be true. A little better is Wallace Ford as the grandfather...an alcholic to perfection. And, it's interesting to see Ivan Dixon in something other than "Hogan's Heroes".I can't say that this is one of my favorite films, but it is one that impresses me. Thank God for Sidney Poitier!

A young blind girl (Elizabeth Hartman) finds out the truth about who is really blind in this social drama where color schemes mean nothing to her, even though she was raised by an extremely racist mother. She doesn't know green, only blue as the color of the sky, one of her few memories of when she had vision. Her world with hateful mama Shelley Winters is made a little nicer when a kind black man (Sidney Poitier) befriends her in the park. Portier's worldly young man is the perfect example of a heart as big as all outdoors.Sometimes certain movies touch you so deeply that memories of them resonate as a childhood into adulthood. This is one of them for me, one of the few adult movies my parents had me watch as a child to teach me the absurdities of racism and what it was really all about. I also remembered, more sweetly, the oddly shaped cannister of pineapple juice Poitier gave to Hartman, as well as the beads she strung together to make a living, and the joy he brought to her by just spending most of his free time with her. I also distinctly remembered the evil character Winters portrayed, a far cry from some of the obnoxious but basically decent characters she had already created. One of the best actresses of the 50's and 60's who bravely unleashed the soul of a woman who should never have been a mother, Winters would remain the epitome of the mother from hell, only equaled recently by Monique in "Precious". She is basically "Mommie Dearest" on acid.Veteran actor Wallace Ford is excellent in the pathetic role of Winters' drunken father, a man who obviously hates his daughter so much yet has little compassion for the granddaughter who adores him. If Winters wasn't blowzy enough, there's Elisabeth Fraser as her equally nasty friend. Those two women together are a double dose of hatred, a 60's version of Hitler and Mussolini. With 30's veteran stars Ann Sothern and Joan Blondell playing nicer versions of these types of characters, it is very interesting to see the antithesis of them here.Hartman's explosion out of frustration is a chilling scene, as is the fight scene when Winters sees Poitier and Hartman together. She gets into a fight with Hartman that leads into a throwing match with Ford that has a humorous and ironic conclusion. The public reaction to Winters' confrontation with Poitier in the park is priceless. While I would have preferred that the relationship between Poitier and Hartman be one of understanding devoted friends, I came to accept Hartman's growing love for Poitier (and vice versa) as one they couldn't control.

This movie is one of my all-time favorites. I first saw it back in the 1960s and have been haunted by it ever since. Just amazingly beautiful story, well acted and directed. Sidney Portier is such an amazing man and actor and this is his best film in my opinion, followed closely by To Sir With Love and Lillies of the Field.Shelley Winters portrayal of the hussy mother deserved an Oscar. She was really mean in this movie. Old Pa was perfectly cast. Elizabeth Hartman simply gave the performance of a lifetime in her role as Selina.The bittersweet story will grip you from beginning to end. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.