A Patch of Blue
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A Patch of Blue is a 1965 American drama film directed by Guy Green about the relationship between a black man, Gordon (played by Sidney Poitier), and a blind white female teenager, Selina (Elizabeth Hartman), and the problems that plague their relationship when they fall in love in a racially divided America. Made in 1965 against the backdrop of the growing civil rights movement, the film explores racism from the perspective of "love is blind". Shelley Winters won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in this film.
Scenes of Poitier and Hartman kissing were excised from the film when it was shown in movie theaters in the Southern United States. These scenes are intact in the DVD version. According to the DVD audio commentary, it was the decision of director Guy Green that A Patch of Blue be filmed in black-and-white, although color was available. In the 1980s, Turner Entertainment colorized the movie for broadcast on the Turner-owned cable station TNT. The colorized version was not released on VHS or DVD, and has not been broadcast since shortly after its initial showings.
The film was adapted by Guy Green from the 1961 book Be Ready with Bells and Drums by the Australian author Elizabeth Kata. The book later won a Writers Guild of America award. In addition to the Best Supporting Actress win for Winters, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Elizabeth Hartman), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black-and-White) (George Davis, Urie McCleary, Henry Grace, Charles S. Thompson), Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) and Best Music (Original Music Score).
Cast
- Sidney Poitier - Gordon Ralfe
- Shelley Winters - Rose-Ann D'Arcey
- Elizabeth Hartman - Selina D'Arcey
- Wallace Ford - Ole Pa
- Ivan Dixon - Mark Ralfe
- Elisabeth Fraser - Sadie
- John Qualen - Mr. Faber
- Kelly Flynn - Yanek Faber
- Debi Storm - Selina, Age 5
- Renata Vanni - Mrs. Favaloro
- Saverio LoMedico - Mr. Favaloro
- Casey Merriman - Casey M
"A Cinderella Named Elizabeth"
The film's creators also made a short about Hartman's selection to play the starring role. The short, called "A Cinderella Named Elizabeth," focuses on her status as an unknown actress from the middle America town of Youngstown, Ohio, and includes segments from her screen test and associated "personality test," in which the actress is filmed while being herself and answering questions about everyday topics such as her taste in clothing. The short also shows her visiting the Braille Institute of America to watch blind people being trained to do handwork — similar to the beadwork her character does in the film — and to perform tasks of daily living and self-care, of the sort that Poitier's character teaches Selina to do.
