Blue Patch is a 1965 American drama directed by Guy Green about the relationship between black men (played by Sidney Poitier) and a blind white teenager (played by Elizabeth Hartman), and problems that disrupt their relationship when they fall in love in a racially divided country. Created in 1965 against the backdrop of a growing civil rights movement, the film explores racism from the perspective of "love is blind."
Shelley Winters won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, her second win of the award, after her 1959 triumph for The Diary of Anne Frank. It is also the ultimate screen display for veteran Wallace Ford actor.
Poitier and Hartman kiss scenes were cut from the film when the movie was screened in cinemas in the southern United States. The scene is intact in the DVD version. According to DVD audio commentary, it was Guy Green's decision that A Patch of Blue was filmed in black and white, even though colors were available.
The film was adapted by Guy Green from the book 1961 Prepare with Bells and Drums by Australian writer Elizabeth Kata. The book later won the Writers Guild of America award. The plot is slightly different from the movie because it has a less optimistic ending. In addition to winning Best Supporting Actress for Winters, the film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actress in Main Role (Elizabeth Hartman), Decorative Art Direction-Set Best (Black-White) (George Davis, Urie McCleary, Henry Grace, Charles S. Thompson ), Best Cinematography (Black-White) and Best Music (Original Musical Score). Hartman, 22 at the time, was nominated for the youngest Best Actress, a record he held for ten years before 20-year-old Isabelle Adjani broke his record in 1975.
Video A Patch of Blue
Plot
Selina D'Arcey is a blind girl who lives in a town apartment with her prostitute mother, Rose-Ann and Ole Pa's grandfather. He weaves the beads to supplement his family's income and spends most of his time doing tasks. His mother is rude and Ole Pa is an alcoholic. Selina has no friends, seldom left the apartment, and never received an education.
Selina convinces her grandfather to take her to the park, where she meets with Gordon Ralfe, a soft-spoken black man who works the night shift at the office. The two quickly became friends, meeting in the park almost every day. Gordon finds out that he was blinded at the age of five when Rose-Ann threw chemicals at him while trying to beat her husband, and also that he was raped by one of Rose-Ann's girlfriends.
Rose-Ann's friend, Sadie, is also a prostitute, and while lamenting the loss of her youth, she realizes that Selina can be useful in their business. Next, Rose-Ann and Sadie decide to move to a better apartment, leaving Ole Pa and forcing Selina into prostitution.
Meanwhile, Gordon has contacted the school for the blind, who are ready to take Selina. As Rose-Ann comes out, Selina runs off to the park and, with great difficulty, meets Gordon. She tells Gordon about Rose-Ann's plan, and she assures him that she's leaving for school in a few days. Finding Selina missing from the apartment, Rose-Ann brings Ole Pa to the park and confronts Gordon. Despite Rose-Ann's resistance, Gordon manages to take Selina away, and Ole Pa stops Rose-Ann chasing after them, telling her that Selina is not a child anymore.
At Gordon's house, Selina asks Gordon to marry her, where Gordon replies that there are many kinds of love, and he will then realize that their relationship will not work. Selina tells him that she loves him, and knows that he's black, and that's fine for him. He then tells her that they will wait a year to find out if their love will lead to marriage. Meanwhile, a bus arrives to pick Selina for her trip to school, and the two friends say goodbye. Gordon wanted to give Selina the music box her grandmother gave her, but the bus was gone, so she went back to her apartment.
Maps A Patch of Blue
Cast
- Sidney Poitier as Gordon Ralfe
- Shelley Winters as Rose-Ann D'Arcey
- Elizabeth Hartman as Selina D'Arcey
- Wallace Ford as Ole Pa
- Ivan Dixon as Mark Ralfe
- Elisabeth Fraser as Sadie
- John Qualen as Mr. Faber
- Kelly Flynn as Yanek Faber
- Debi Storm as Selina, age 5
- Renata Vanni as Mrs. Favaloro
- Saverio LoMedico as Mr. Favaloro
- Casey Merriman as Casey M
Soundtrack
Soundtrack for A Patch of Blue compiled and performed by Jerry Goldsmith. This earned her the second Academy Award nomination Goldsmith for Best Original Score after her score to Freud in 1962. It was also one of the 250 nominations nominated for 25 top rated American Film American films. Scores have been released three times on CDs; in 1991 through Mainstream Records (with scores for Mark and Lisa by Mark Lawrence), in 1992 via the Tsunami Record (with his score to Patton ), and an additional version in 1997 through Intrada Records.
"A Cinderella named Elizabeth"
The filmmakers also made brief on Hartman's choice to play a major role. The short one, called "A Cinderella named Elizabeth," focuses on her status as an unknown actress from the middle American town of Youngstown, Ohio, and includes segments of her screen tests and related "personality tests", in which the actress filmed while being herself and answering questions about everyday topics like his apparel tastes. In short also shows he visited the Braille Institute of America to watch the blind man trained to do handwork - similar to the beadwork that his character performed in the film - and to perform the duties of everyday life and self-care, of the kind whose Character Poitier taught Selina to do it.
Reception
Critical reception
Blue Patch has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Awards and honor
The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in this list:
- 2002: AFI 100 Years... 100 Passions - Nominated
- 2005: 100 Years AFI Film Score - Nominated
box office
The film proved to be the most successful in Poitier's career, which proved a favorable development considering he agreed to cut salaries in exchange for 10% of the film's gross revenues. In addition, the film makes Poitier a major national film star with excellent business in southern cities like Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte.
See also
- The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954-68) in popular culture
- List of American films of 1965
References
External links
- Blue Patch in the American Film Movie Catalog
- Blue Patch on IMDb
- Blue Patch in the TCM Movie Database
- Blue Patch in AllMovie
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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