A Patch of Blue

Composite Score: 85.5

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford, Ivan Dixon, Elisabeth Fraser, and John Qualen

Director: Guy Green

Writer: Guy Green

Genres: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: Unrated

Box Office: $6.75 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                A Patch of Blue is Guy Green’s film adaptation of Elizabeth Kata’s novel Be Ready with Bells and Drums about a black man who befriends a blind white girl in the 1960s and seeks to improve her position by providing an escape from her abusive home life. The film stars Elizabeth Hartman as the blind Selina D’Arcey and Sidney Poitier as her newfound friend Gordon Ralfe. They are joined by Shelley Winters as Selina’s abusive and racist mother Rose-ann and Wallace Ford as Selina’s grandfather Ole Pa. The film’s innovative positive portrayal of interracial friendship (and romance, however brief) and the provision of agency to a visually impaired person help it to stand out among the crowd of 1960s dramas. It garnered Oscar nominations for Best Original Score, Best Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, and Best Lead Actress (Hartman) and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Winters) and remains a highly celebrated film to this day.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                If racism, ableism, physical abuse, verbal abuse, and/or sexual abuse are triggers for your particular traumas, this is a film to be cautious of. It contains all of these things in a redemptive story of overcoming and triumphing in spite of them, but all of it features to some extent or another, and (especially for a film from the 1960s) it can make for a difficult watch, full of blow-ups and tension that feel incredibly real and human. While I believe that the film’s message of inclusion, tolerance, and acceptance is incredibly powerful and necessary, to get there takes witnessing acts of exclusion, bigotry, and rejection, which can be harder for some audiences than others to process. Be aware when you approach this particular film of what it is that you are getting into.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                While A Patch of Blue is certainly important because of its messaging and themes, it would be nothing without the performances that make it happen and the score that underpins the whole thing. I rarely write about scores because of how often they feel like part of the film’s scenery or setting or production design, but in the case of A Patch of Blue, Jerry Goldsmith’s (Star Trek) score tells as much of the story as the characters on screen do. It moves with simple piano for most of the runtime, but the longing and loneliness that the music is able to convey matches the sense of isolation that the film’s main characters feel, elevating their plight and reinforcing their need for connection to the audience.

                Likewise, the performances from all four of the film’s main characters create such an engaging and real world that the situation becomes immediately impactful, conveying its full weight to those watching. Wallace Ford has the least to do of the foursome, but his performance as Ole Pa is important nonetheless, needing to show the audience a level of care and carelessness to make sense of the situation in which Selina finds herself. He portrays the trapped nature of alcoholics with just the right amount of sympathy to remind the audience that he too is a victim while also being a perpetrator of abuse. Poitier was the other of the four to not garner an Oscar nomination for his performance, and that’s an unbelievable snub in my opinion, given the actual nominees for lead or supporting actor that year. Poitier gives a truly heartfelt and anguished performance as Gordon, personifying that longing for acceptance within a bigoted and racist society that makes the film such a success. Hartman’s leading performance as Selina is the most human and tragic, delivering revelation after revelation of her own ignorance and victimhood with a stoicism and naivete that breaks the heart of not just Gordon but the audience as well. It’s a deeply moving performance that would be the best of the film if not for her foil in Shelley Winters. Winters plays the antagonistic Rose-ann with a level of vitriol rarely seen in classic films. She is a loathsome character that still manages to elicit some sympathy (a massive feat) because of how much she is also a victim of her own poverty and ignorance.

                A Patch of Blue delivers its much-needed message of tolerance through the powerful performances of its four central characters and the musical score that plays behind all their actions, reminding us of the human need for acceptance, which earns this film a spot on the list. Its heavy subject matter can be difficult for some to watch, but those who can make do will find a powerful film of overcoming at its core. You can currently rent this film on most streaming platforms if you’re looking to check it out.