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a+patch+of+blue | Year: 1965 Directed: - Guy Green Actors/Actresses: - Sidney Poitier - Shelley Winters - Elizabeth Hartman A Journey Of Discovery An amazing Sidney Poitier makes the most of his role as Gordon, a gentle spirit who comes to the aid of Selina (played by Elizabeth Hartman), a young blind woman who spends her days sitting in the park stringing beads onto cheap imitation pearl necklaces for a meager living. As the story develops, Gordon comes to the realization that, as much as it may feel right, he cannot be with Selina, while the blind girl continues to be drawn closer and closer to this man who has introduced her to the world outside ... one vastly different from the one-room flat she shares with her abusive mother (Shelley Winters) and her drunken grandfather. The film intelligently deals with the prospect of not only an interracial romance but also dabbles with the subject of significant age differences between two people clearly drawn romantically to one another. There's is a romance much like ROMEO & JULIET ... two souls coming from vastly different worlds, wanting to be together, but forced apart by circumstances beyond control. A wonderful journey of discovery for those willing to take the trip ... A Ray of Sunshine in a Life of Darkness Warner Brothers produced A Patch of Blue in 1965, which was a black and white dramatic film set in California, starring such greats as Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, and Wallace Ford. This film was quite racy for its time, as the movie's plot was centered on a budding relationship between a black man and a white teenage woman, which in those days was unheard of. <BR>Selina D'Arcy (Hartman), an 18-year old blind white girl, lives an isolated, Cinderella-like existence with her foul-mouthed mother Roseanne (Winters) and drunken grandfather, "Ol' Pa" (Ford). Selina wants nothing more than to listen to the radio and occasionally string beads in the park. It is there that she meets handsome black businessman Gordon Ralfe (Poitier) who sizes up her plight. As Gordon conveniently continues to run into Selina at the park and their relationship grows. He is delighted that he can teach Selina such everyday things as relying on her sense of smell, calling the pay phone operator, and pushing "Walk" just to listen to the traffic stop. <BR>It is easy to see why Shelly Winters won an Oscar for her portrayal of Selina's drunken and abusive prostitute mother. As a viewer, I cringed with Selina every time her mother went on one of her tirades. I still wonder why Elizabeth Hartman only received an Oscar nomination for her performance, because she truly portrayed the essence of her character. <BR>I give this film a four-star rating because I felt that the film accurately portrayed a 1965 interracial romance and addressed the subject of significant age differences between two people clearly drawn romantically to one another. The film could be disturbing at times because it showed just how bleak life can be for a blind girl living in poverty with a truly dysfunctional family. Ending different in original book I agree with most reviewers that this was an excellent film, which I have watched over and over again. All the acting is wonderful and deserving of many awards. As is true with many movies I really like, I searched out the original book on which the movie was based. It ran very true to form, they did an excellent job of adapting the book to the movie, but the happy racial ending in the movie was a change from the more realistic one in the book. Gordon arranges for Selena to go to school, but she breaks off her friendship with him when she finds out she is black. Blackness is horrible to her because she is blind and that's all she sees, plus it's the way she was raised. But all in all, one of my favorite movies. Buy A Patch Of Blue at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on A Patch Of Blue Search with the Priority Search Engine on A Patch Of Blue This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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