lasttimeisaw The story of A PATCH OF BLUE has its immediate signifier of a tale of woe, a 17-year-old white blind-girl Selina D'Arcey (Hartman), living with her heinous mother Rose-Ann (Winters) and drunkard grandpa Old Pa (Ford) in a tiny apartment, doing all the chores and extra beadwork under the tyranny of Rose-Ann, there is no light in her life, she has received no education, never ever heard of Braille, even her meagre request of going out to the park nearby to finish her beadwork has been bluntly spurned by her mother.Thankfully, Old Pa is not pure evil like Rose-Ann, he brings her out to the park, leaves her there under a tree, and would pick her up later that day on his way back, usually completely plastered. At least in the park, Selina can finally breathe some fresh air, bask under the sun and daydream that only if she could still see the world, yes, she is not born-blind, it is all because an accident at the age of 5, guess who is the perpetrator? yes, Rose-Ann, her own mother.Right in the park, she meets a kind stranger, Gordon Ralfe (Poitier), whose affable presence and obliging gestures light up Selina's spirit from her wretched domestic tangle, he helps her organise the beads to accelerate her work, offers her pineapple juice which she has never drunk before, and thoughtfully informs her where is the nearest lady room, a cordial friendship kick-starts, but little does she know, Gordon is a black man.During their regular park meetings, Gordon takes her to walk around the neighbourhood, to establish her sense of orientation, teaches her how to cross the zebra crossing, they shop together in the supermarket and cook lunch in his apartment. Gradually, Selina opens up to him about her back-story, her lack of sophistication can even make the most horrendous thing sound like a cakewalk. It shocks Gordon, and stings him to take her under his wings against all the difficulties, an ultimate plan is to save her from the grasp of Rose-Ann, before it's too late. Meanwhile their mutual affinity is burgeoning into something more tangibly affectionate, devoid of any natural reserve, Selina declares her love for him with utter candour, even, in the touching moment, she tells him she doesn't care about his skin colour. What will he do? Thankfully, Gordon is sensible enough to make the right decision which is deemed best for her benefit.Cinematographer-turned-director Guy Green has an extraordinary knack of not sensationalising these obvious pivotal points, instead, he segues the reactions smoothly on to the proceedings in a most naturalistic fashion, take the moment when Selina realises Gordon is black from Rose-Ann's inadvertent blurting, barely a second is given to show Selina's electrified realisation during the on- going squabble which evolves into a symphony of cursing and smashing between Rose-Ann, Old Pa and their neighbours. The scenario is highly dramatised, but in light of Green's discernment, the narrative never falters into something mawkish or overripe.The late Elizabeth Hartman (who woefully committed suicide in 1987 at the age of 43) was the youngest actress Oscar-nominated for BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE at that time (a record would be superseded a decade later by Isabelle Adjani in François Truffaut's THE STORY of ADELE H 1975), in her poignant debut, her rendition of a blind girl is simply sympathy-arousing, and she shows no cold-feet against a spontaneously charismatic Poitier, whose righteous sense of justice is seething with Gordon's favourite word - tolerance, they converge upon as a scintillating duo on screen, by virtue of Green's dispassionate script, their scenes together radiate warmth, tenderise and vigour. And, being not heavy-handed with the racial card, the film can find more strength in its reverberations with today's audience.Shirley Winters wins her second Oscar in her turn as Rose-Ann, she is an out-and-out white-trash monster, it is a showy role, and understandably, she would not disappoint, every time the shot cuts to the dreary apartment where Rose-Ann materialises herself along with her hapless daughter, a gnawing worry emerges from our hearts, one might wonder why in the first place, Rose-Ann is outlined as such an atrocious mother, unrepentant, self-loathing and there is not an inkling of humanity in her, is there a blatant misogyny lurking here? Otherwise, considering that there is already a gaping barrier erecting between Selina and Gordon, to ameliorate Rose-Ann's wickedness might have rendered a more truthful spin to the fictional story, that is something would be more sensible since apart from that, the movie is insistently " calm, cool and collected". Last but not the least, to name-check the prolific veteran Wallace Ford, who concludes his swan song with impactful chagrin and self-destructive acquiescence as a "flop". An epitome Hollywood "message" production garlanded with sincere niceties and unassuming Black-and-white presentation, a humdinger it is!

bobn425 have to agree with review by bgh48, this is one total fantasy Cinderella is more believable. this young woman sits in the park alone all day and nothing at all ever happens to her? she doesn't know about the public restroom, so how does she survive? she does..both bodily functions behind a tree? in public? how does she clean up? Her new friend brings her pineapple juice and she guzzles it down? how does she survive all day with nothing to drink? how is it that no law enforcement officer has ever noticed this pathetic creature sitting alone all day? since when do blind people get around by simply waving their hands in front of them? how about getting her a cane or a seeing eye dog? I could go on endlessly...this is an insane fairy tale. It made my cry too...to see something this ridiculous.

vincentlynch-moonoi 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!

tavm Continuing the reviews of African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1965 when Sidney Poitier stars as Gordon Ralfe in this movie about his mentoring a poor blind young woman whom he meets one day when she comes to the park for the first time. Her name is Selina D'Arcey (Elizabeth Hartman) and she has had to endure an abusive relationship with her mother Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters) and an alcoholic grandfather known as Old Pa (Wallace Ford). When she comes with Gordon to his apartment, his brother Mark (Ivan Dixon) warns him about the ramifications if anyone sees them though Gordon doesn't think he's that serious about her. I'll stop there and just say this was a very touching story handled sensitively by Poitier and Ms. Hartman. And Ms. Winters deserves her Oscar for making Rose-Ann such a hard woman to like though occasionally she does provide some humorous moments too. And after previously seeing Dixon as both Joseph Asagai in Poitier's A Raisin in the Sun and Duff Anderson in Nothing But a Man, he gives another fine performance here especially when he and Poitier are discussing the pros and cons of what Ms. Hartman's presence means in their apartment. One more thing I'd like to praise is Jerry Goldsmith's score. Such beautiful music! So on that note, A Patch of Blue is highly recommended.