Love is Color Blind

The phrase "Love is Blind" never rings more true than in Guy Green's 1965 film A Patch of Blue. The film was very controversial since it was made during the Civil Rights Era and it depicts the romance of a black man with a blind white girl. The script for the film was taken from the 1961 book Be Ready with Bells and Drums, written by Australian author Elizabeth Kata. Color was available at the time of filming, but Guy Green chose to film it in black and white, perhaps as a statement on color and race.

The story centers around Selina D'Arcey (Elizabeth Hartman) who lives with her grandfather Ole Pa (Wallace Ford) and her prostitute mother Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters). Selina was blinded at five years old when her father came home and found her mother in bed with another man. Selina's mother Rose-Ann threw a bottle, intended to wound her husband which instead hit her daughter on the forehead, blinding her. One of the few things Selina remembers from the days when she was able to see is "a patch of blue". Selina is expected to do all of the household chores while Rose-Ann and her fellow prostitute friend Sadie (Elisabeth Fraser) make fun of the girl. Selina helps earn income for the family by stringing beads and loves to do so in the park, where she is dropped off by either Ole Pa or neighbor Mr. Faber (John Qualen). Selina's fortunes change when she meets Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier), a black man who helps teach her all of the things she can do in spite of and to overcome her blindness. She befriends Gordon and together they talk about tolerance, the different meanings of blindness, the time one of Rose-Ann's clients rapes Selina, and life altogether. Things are going great until Sadie spies that Selina is hanging out with a black man and reports back to racist Rose-Ann. Soon, Rose-Ann and Sadie conspire to set up a brothel, using Selina is the main attraction. It is up to Gordon to save Selina and help Selina save herself.

This is a very powerful movie because of its message and the sociopolitical context in which it was first released. Scenes of the movie where Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman kiss had to be edited when the film was screened in the Deep South and the topic of interracial relationships was a very heated one. Shelley Winters was not very pleased with her role as Rose-Ann and was surprised when she one the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance, the second of Winters' two Oscars. The studio also made a short film about the decision to cast relative unknown Elizabeth Hartman in such a powerful role with powerful actors, which was titled A Cinderella Named Elizabeth. Hartman went on to have successful roles in such films as The Secret of NIMH, The Group, and You're a Big Boy Now, but died tragically after jumping from a building in Pittsburgh in 1987 after suffering from psychiatric problems.

A Patch of Blue is still widely lauded for the contribution it gave to both film and society. There are multiple reviews online that you can read to learn a little more about the film. This one comes from the film page at Turner Classic Movies. This review comes from CTDFilmFest.org. Another review can be read here, thanks to filmtracks.com, and yet another can be found here courtesy of wiman.us. This truly is a remarkable film about the power of love to defy all odds.