A Patch of Blue (1965)

There is so much going on in this movie. It's about the struggles of being blind in a sighted world. It's about the challenge of being black in a white world. It's about abuse and alcoholism. It's a romance of sorts. It's interesting social commentary. Fifty years later it runs the risk of being dated - because society has changed so much - and yet it didn't feel dated. It felt relevant. It got a reaction out of me. It's an absolutely marvellous movie; almost flawless. I came across it basically by accident, noted that it starred Sidney Poitier and thought I'd take a chance on it. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Mostly, this movie works because of the spectacular performances from basically all the members of the cast. I watched the movie because of Poitier's name - and he was superb - but the real standout of this movie was Elizabeth Hartman. As Selina D'Arcy she plays a young, friendless, naive and lonely blind woman who's basically trapped in an apartment with her abusive mother and an alcoholic grandfather. Hartman makes Selina wonderfully vulnerable - a sad character; one you can't help but feel protective toward, even just watching her on the screen. One day Selina gets to go to the park - against her mother's wishes. And she meets Gordon, played by Poitier. They become friends - very close friends, in a very innocent way. Gordon bonds with her, also protective toward her and generous to her and kind to her, and with absolutely no ulterior motive at all. It's a relationship between two vulnerable people - a black man and a blind woman. Selina doesn't know Gordon is black, and he doesn't tell her, but that means that even though she can't see, she sees him for what he is - kind, generous, sensitive. "Beautiful" she tells him eventually, even after she's discovered that he's black. She falls in love with him. He loves her in return - whether he was "in love" with her is left as an open question. In some ways his feelings come across as more fraternal, or even paternal, and eventually Gordon sets himself to the task of getting her out of her mother's apartment and into a special school. The movie doesn't have a "happily ever after" ending. We're left not knowing what would become of their relationship - but the relationship between them was fascinating to watch as it developed. They shared a tremendous chemistry, and both put on spectacular performances. This was actually Hartman's acting debut. She was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress - deservedly so, and it's hard to believe based on this performance that she never really made it big in Hollywood. Perhaps her brilliant performance as the troubled Selina was a by-product of the fact that she was herself a very tormented young woman who suffered from severe depression and eventually committed suicide at the age of 43.

Poitier was his usual excellent self as Gordon, and Shelley Winters put on an outstanding performance as Selina's mother Rose-Ann. Rose- Ann was abusive toward Selina, treated her more like a servant than a daughter with a barely disguised contempt. My sense from the dialogue is that she was a prostitute, although I don't think that was stated outright. Toward the end of the movie, before Gordon helps Selina escape before Rose-Ann moved them with a friend to a new apartment, the impression was that Rose-Ann was going to use Selina as part of her business - presumably wanting to turn her in

Fmovies: This film is sad and effective,touching and indelible. Elizabeth Hartman is very sympathetic in this role as a blind teenager, growing up in a borderline white-trash home, with an alcoholic grandfather,and promiscuous down-at-heel mother,capably portrayed by Shelley Winters.

Sidney Poitier delivers another effective performance here,as a sympathetic friend to Selena (Hartman) who tries to help better her life,even as his brother,a med student tells him to forget it, Selena is a hopeless case from "a human trash heap".

The performances are touching and understated as one feels what it may be like to live as a disabled blind woman. Hartman is trampled and pushed to the ground simply because street people have no time to help her. The world is a cold place, but Poitier offers his friendship and compassion as a small patch of blue in Selena's otherwise dark world. Highly recommended.9/10.

A very well-cast film version of Elizabeth Kata's novel. Jerry Goldsmith's score blends beautifully with the film's poignancy. Outstanding debut by the late Elizabeth Hartman; she is unforgettable as the blind Selina D'Arcy. Poitier is terrific as the insightful Gordon, and Shelley Winters gives a blistering portrayal as Selina's abusive, bigoted mother (Winters won Best Supporting Oscar).

A Patch of Blue fmovies. What a surprise. It had been a long time since I saw such an honest, sensitively-made film, and it really brings to mind that old statement "They don't make 'em like they used to." How refreshing to see a film that handles potentially mawkish, TV movie-of-the-week style material (blind white girl falls in love with sighted black man) with sophistication, grace and lack of sentimentality. These are real humans that emerge out of the script, and the central performances of Sidney Poitier and the sadly forgotten Elizabeth Hartman take the tender screenplay and deliver beautiful, deeply touching performances. It is, simply put, a joy to watch them perform together.

Credit must also be given to a young Jerry Goldsmith's sweet, delicate score, and Robert Burks' (Hitchcock's favorite DP) rich black and white cinematography. Almost impossible to find in its original widescreen format, still very worthwhile rental material.

Shelley Winters's platinum-haired, overweight, foul-mouthed Roseanne D'arcy is as much fun to watch as her pouty, midwestern Charlotte Haze in Lolita. As sharp and horrible as a root canal, she marches around the tiny apartment she shares with her daughter and father, ordering Selina about like an indentured servant: "Where's my dinner?" she bellows like a foghorn. Classic. The fight scene between she and her father is not to be missed, as the one-liners fly back and forth like knives. When the neighbors try to intervene, Shelley launches into them like the assault on Normandy, gleefully turning husband against wife.

Sidney Poitier is wonderful as always, as Gordon. As an actor, Poitier can do no wrong; he glides into the room with that curious mixture of animal magnetism and precise diction, sizing up a situation with the efficiency of an accountant. His Gordon Ralfe is realistic and fatherly toward Selina, even as he tries to ignore the underlying romantic tension between Selina and himself.

Elizabeth Hartman's Selina is so fragile that she looks as though she will break any moment. I have a hunch that much of her excellent performance is mined from her real-life depression, if her IMDb biography is accurate.

This is an excellent film, and highly recommended.

I recently saw "A Patch of Blue" and simply had to comment on it. This beautiful, intelligent, heartbreaking film tells the story of Selina (Elizabeth Hartman), a young blind woman who is isolated from the outside world by her vulgar, abusive mother (Shelley Winters, who won her second Oscar for this role). Selina is naive and rather complacent about her dark, lonely world, until she meets a compassionate businessman named Gordon (the always magnificent Sidney Poitier). Gordon shows Selina exciting experiences in the real world which we normally take for granted, such as pineapple juice and a fun trip to the supermarket. Selina sees Gordon as smart, kind, caring, and tolerant (an important word in the movie), but sadly, all others can see is the fact that Gordon is black. Can love conquer all, or will cold, hard reality plummet these two back to earth? I don't think I've ever seen actors so effortlessly handle material that is normally seen as sentimental and sappy, even though it can and WILL make you cry. What makes the film more tragic today is that Elizabeth Hartman took her own life at the age of just 43. The ending is a true heartbreaker, but it also leaves you with an optimistic feeling for Selina and Gordon's futures. In his autobiography, Sidney Poitier admits that of all his films, "A Patch of Blue" holds a unique and special place in his heart. It touched him that much, and it will do the same for you. Please have some Kleenex handy and let yourself see "A Patch of Blue".