Sapphire

So who killed Sapphire. That's the movie's plot; however, the underlying theme is racial prejudice, a generally touchy topic at the time, even for British films. As I recall, the movie got more coverage than usual for a foreign release, at least in the LA area. The lovely Sapphire may look White, but genetically she's half-Black. Her troubles start when she "passes for White" in a London society still riven by prejudice. Engaged to the son of a reputable White family, her racial make-up causes rifts within the circle once her heritage is known. Naturally, the suspects start off with the family of her intended.

The twin threads of race and murder are skillfully woven into a difficult screenplay that nevertheless compels attention from start to finish. Credit a highly efficient performance from Nigel Patrick for holding together the disparate elements as his chief investigator works his way through London's many precincts. I like the way the screenplay portrays levels of racial dislike from both Whites and Blacks without getting too judgmental. Also, it looks like the exteriors were shot on location without any prettifying. Some of the neighborhoods in fact amount to about the last word in urban decay. Happily, director Deardon keeps things moving in unobtrusive fashion right down to the rather surprising finish. Anyway, the 90-some minutes amount to a topically compelling package that deserved its initial hoopla and still does.

Excellent film, directed by Basil Dearden, who directed Dead of Night and Victim, two marvelous movies.

Sapphire takes place in the '50s - the film was released in 1959 - in England. A young woman is found dead in a park. It turns out her name is Sapphire Robbins, and she was engaged to a young man, David Harris (Paul Massie). The autopsy shows that she was three months' pregnant, and David admits that he was the father.

When Sapphire's brother (Earl Cameron) shows up, the superintendent in charge of the case (Nigel Patrick) is surprised that he's black. Sapphire was passing. The detective wonders if the Harris family knew - - and when they knew it.

David had won a scholarship and was to go off to school - could he be saddled with a wife and child? His father (Bernard Miles) is very protective of him, and his sister (Yvonne Mitchell) is somewhat abrasive.

This is the story of underlying prejudice and assumptions about black people that were pervasive at the time, particularly when this film was made. Notting Hill race riots took place in 1958. These prejudices are expressed by the inspector on the case (Michael Craig), especially the myths of black sexuality.

Dearden liked to tackle these tough subjects, which he does very well, showing it as an underlying constant. Landladies have "white" houses, black friends dropped by Sapphire when she found out she could pass seem to understand her dropping them.

The scene at the Tulips Club is the best in the film, with pulsating bongos and wild dancing. The camera veers all over the room, showing twirling skirts, legs, black people dancing with women who appear to be white. There a man tells the superintendent no matter how white a woman is, you can tell she is actually black because she can't resist the sound of the bongos.

Very strong acting throughout, particularly by stage actress Yvonne Mitchell. One thing that shows that Dearden knew what he was doing -- people's reaction to death. When the woman in the park discovers the body, she doesn't scream. And when David learns of the death of Sapphire, he seems shell-shocked and numb. Sapphire's brother seems very calm, finally breaking down and asking, "How could anyone do this?" All very realistic, all not over the top.

A must see - it is available on Netflix and on Amazon instant video.

I was amazed by the shocking brutality of the racism in this film. In America, we are rarely presented with such casual racism; in films of the 50s, race is practically never dealt with in films, as Todd Haynes "remake" of Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows tries to make up for. And current films about the 50s present such two dimensional characters that it is easy to tell the racist villains from the open-minded heroes. In Sapphire, filmed in Britain in the 1950s, one of the most interesting characters is Michael Craig's detective, supposedly our hero, but constantly making racist remarks. His comments are always countered by the more reasonable older inspector, but this allows his gradual transformation throughout the film. Although some of the film is a bit heavy-handed, ultimately the message is sadly still relevant. 4 out of 5.

I'm watching this 60 years after it was filmed, and I'm saying to myself: "This movie might as well have been premiered yesterday!" Sure, it has that old style "whodunnit" feel to it, and sure it is dated by musical and fashion standards (and by next-to-zero traffic in Sheppard's Bush), but it is assuredly a solid piece of Cinema which at the same time tackles pressing societal issues. On another note, it struck me as an outstanding piece of "britishness", as opposed to the usual USA-style murder/mystery/thriller because of: 1) A couple of children and a woman find the dead body, but there are no hysterical shrieks; 2) Everybody is polite, even the bandits; 3) No shots are fired; ...which is also a reminder that a good thriller doesn't necessarily require action-packed sequences of gunshots and fistfights.

When a young woman's body is discovered on London's Hampstead Heath, the ensuing investigation quickly focuses on racial bigotry and hatred in 1950s Britain, exposing the prejudice amongst those under investigation AND those investigating.

Like so many other films from the 1940s and 1950s, Sapphire is yet another piece of groundbreaking British cinema now long forgotten. A little clunky and overly reliant on stereotyping by today's standards, but still a fascinating exploration of the fears and struggles inherent in a newly mixed-race society. Dearden has brought together an interesting cast here, cleverly giving matinée idol Craig a fairly unsympathetic role as a racist police officer, and being superbly served by Mitchell - her final scene is at once both compelling and distressing. Too many British cinema actors of the 40's and 50's have now been forgotten, and Mitchell is a prime example of why individual and collective reappraisals and retrospectives are long overdue.

Interesting companion piece to 1961's Flame In The Streets, then, and definitely worth catching if you can.