A Patch Of Blue

A Patch of Blue (1965)
Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman in A Patch of Blue (1965)

1. What is it?

The 1965 American drama film A Patch Of Blue which was based on the novel Be Ready With Bells And Drums (Goodreads) | Be Ready With Bells And Drums (Open Library) and was directed by the director Guy Green, and starred the actor Sir Sidney Poitier as the character Gordon Ralfe and the actress Mary Elizabeth Hartman as the character Selina D’Arcey.

A Patch of Blue (1965) Official Trailer – Sidney Poitier Movie

2. What’s it about?

A kind blind uneducated abused lower class woman named Selina D’Arcey who lives in an abusive living situation with her mother and grandfather, who one day meets a man named Gordon Ralfe in the park and the two of them form a relationship as Gordon Rafle tries to help her, and the film also covers other topics like racism and race and disabilities and abuse et cetera.

This is how Warner Bros. describes this movie:

Accidentally blinded by her prostitute mother Rose-Ann (Oscar winner Shelley Winters) at the age of five, Selena D’Arcy spends the next 13 years confined in the tiny Los Angeles apartment that they share with “Ole Pa” (Wallace Ford), Selena’s grandfather.

One afternoon at the local park, Selena meets Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier), a thoughtful young office worker whose kind-hearted treatment of her results in her falling in love with him, unaware that he is black.

They continue to meet in the park every afternoon, and he teaches her how to get along in the city.

But when the cruel, domineering Rose-Ann learns of their relationship, she forbids her to have anything more to do with him because of his race.

Selena continues to meet Gordon despite Rose-Ann’s fury, who is determined to end the relationship for good.

A Patch of Blue

3. Why do you like it?

One of the reasons that I like A Patch Of Blue is because I can relate to it personally (I made a complementary post for this post called The Horror! The Horror! which will somewhat explain why), I think that it is a well focused film that does a good job keeping the focus on a few characters, I like the topics and themes that were brought up in the film, and I like how the music and characters and acting and situations and everything else complemented each other in a way that makes this film a classic that people can watch and still like and connect with all these years later.

TCM Sunday Matinee – A Patch of Blue (Intro)

4. Why would someone else like it?

If nothing else I think that others will like A Patch Of Blue for the building of the relationship between the two main characters, how it brings up various issues in a way that will hopefully make them think & see things from a different point of view than what they might be used to, and the growth of some the main characters.

I think that A Patch Of Blue is a good film and classic that is worth watching.

A PATCH OF BLUE Review

The end,

• John Jr