A Patch of Blue (Widescreen)

Elizabeth Hartman, in an exquisitely poignant performance for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, plays the part of Selina D'Arcy, an eighteen year old blind girl who lives an isolated and impoverished, almost Dickensian, existence. She lives with her abusive mother, Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters), who moonlights as a prostitute, and her drunken, though somewhat well-meaning, grandfather, whom she calls Ole Pa (Wallace Ford). Uneducated, having never gone to school, Selina spends her time stringing beads to earn some money for the family, cleaning up after her mother and grandfather, and being at the receiving end of constant physical abuse and verbal invectives heaped upon her by her mother. Hers is, indeed, a draconian existence.

One day, she prevails upon her grandfather to drop her off in the park, where she proceeds to sit under a tree, stringing her beads. There, she meets a kindly, well-educated business man, Gordon Ralphe (Sidney Poitier), who takes an interest in her and her quick appreciation for any kindness done to her. She responds to Gordon's kindness as if she were a flower turning its face to the sun for continued warmth. He, in turn, is touched by her eager interest in even the most mundane of matters. They continue to meet under that tree as often as possible, and a relationship develops.

Under Gordon's tutelage, Selina begins to blossom. Some of her disclosures to him about her life fill him with horror and a determination to do something constructive about it. While he goes about trying to improve her quality of life, their relationship deepens, despite the warnings of Gordon's brother. After all, Selina is white, uneducated, and comes from a trashy, dysfunctional family, while Gordon is black, well-educated, and from a good family.

Selina, sure that what she feels is love, is less restrained than Gordon about her feelings, though their budding romance culminates in nothing more than a chaste kiss. When Rose-Ann finds out whom Selina has been meeting, however, matters come to a head, and Gordon comes to the rescue. A modern day knight in shining armor, however, Gordon does the selfless thing in the end.

This is a wonderful movie in which the two main protagonists, Gordon and Selina, judge each other by the content of their respective character and not by the color of their skin. Though controversial at the time, this film may seem a little dated by today's standards. Yet, some of its themes are as fresh today as when it was filmed. The notion of selflessness and putting the needs of another before one's own remains timeless. This is a concept, however, rarely seen in today's films.

Although this was Ms. Hartman's debut film, she deservedly received an Academy Award nomination for her sensitive portrayal of Selina. Unfortunately, her career never really took off after this film the way one would have expected after a performance of this caliber. She appeared only in a few notable films, such as, "The Group", "You're a Big Boy Now", and "Beguiled", before descending into virtual obscurity. I was saddened to hear that she committed suicide in the late nineteen eighties at the age of forty-five, a tragic figure in the end, leaving behind this beautiful performance for posterity.


aways my favourite movie   August 17, 2003
jedda (AUSTRALIA)
I read with sadness other comments that this movie is outdated............oh really...surprise surprise....it was made in the 60's I think.

This movie above any I have seen since, speaks so clearly of sensitivity, gentle compassion and passionate love. The self-sacrificing love that we know so little about these days...

DARE I SAY IT? is this what TRUE LOVE IS.....TO LOVE AND THEN LET GO for the LIFE of the other......

Gordon loved so tenderly and Serina became aware so gently that she was lovable..AND loved........

How is it possible that one could miss this view of the film is beyond me.........

I have been "in-love" with Sidney ever since .... he has such skill as an actor and has broadened my horizons so immensely with his portrayal of Gordon

Thank GOD for this medium which gives me an opportunity to say to SIDNEY FANS what I have wanted to say to him for 35 years....

"THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME .....esp. in this film"

one very devouted fan from MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA


A Ray of Sunshine in a Life of Darkness   August 5, 2003
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.
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.
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.
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.