A Patch of Blue (MGM) (1965)

SHELLEY EATS UP Bla-MOUTH ROLES Talking to Shelley Winters is like trying to carry on a conversation with a swarm of bees. Anyone who has the good fortune to sit through lunch with her would agree that she is one of the most likeable, wacky actresses in Hollywood. Arriving from the set of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s “A Patch of Blue,” Miss Winters charged into the studio commissary looking like World War ITI, or as she put it—‘‘A disaster area.” She pointed to her frizzled blonde hair, black at the roots, and an over-painted make-up job. “Whenever producers need a loudmouthed type they call me,’ Shelley declared, not without a touch of professional pride. “Give me the choice between a glamour-puss and a character part and I’ll lunge at the latter every time. Not that I don’t like to look pretty and sweet, like any other woman. But those cutey roles just do not enhance a career.” Miss Winters, some fifteen pounds over her normal weight, stabbed at some hearts of celery and sipped weak chicken soup. “T put on the extra poundage to look right as a fat, loud dame,” she explained, “because no matter how much padding they put on you, it doesn’t Shelley Winters in her role as the garish, loud-mouthed mother of a teen-age daughter in’ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s ‘A Fatch of Blue.” An Academy Award-winner, Miss Winters stars with another “Oscar’’winner, Sidney Poitier. Still 1837-64 A Patch of Blue Mat 1-D come off convincingly on the screen. But I’ll have to take it off fast for my next role,” In “A Patch of Blue,” loquacious Shelley plays a nasty tenement mother, who spends every spare moment making life miserable for her blind daughter, portrayed by talented young screen newcomer Elizabeth Hartman. The picture is a poignant study of a blind girl who “sees” life for the first time through the eyes of a new-found friend, Sidney Poitier. The extroverted star sniffed at a bowl of stewed tomatoes. “Smells good —it must be fattening,” she said, and shoved it away. “You know, it just might be fun to play a goody two-shoes for a change, after all. At least, you wouldn’t have to starve to death.” With that she pounded the table and promptly spilled a cup of coffee over herself. Fortunately her movie wardrobe was already so seedy that the stains were unnoticable. There are times when Miss Winters wonders why she always winds up with “heavy” parts. “Could it be because everyone else wants to play the heroine? But to be honest, I haven’t played a sweet young thing for so long, I don’t know if it would be easier or tougher than what I am doing now.” MAKING QF A FILM | se se By GUY GREEN About a year ago in London, my wife had been browsing in the Strand book shops. One day she handed me a half-dollar paperback with the command to read it. She thought it would make a fine movie. I patted her on the head and went on with whatever I was doing. But she persisted and I read “Be Ready with Bells and Drums” by Elizabeth Kata. I was hooked and bought an option on the book. I had similar responses to two previous subjects: “The Angry Silence” and “The Mark.” I again felt a sense of purpose, a sincerity in the writing, a truth in the characterizations, and strong dramatic forces working within the framework of credible everyday events, The book had simplicity and great emotional values. It also had something to say. I could see it all in terms of film. I sensed already what I was going to do. This first impulse is a_tremendous and exciting thing for a director. From it all else will spring, and he must cling to this fleeting vision through all subsequent disappointments and frustrations if the finished work it to have a unity and purpose. Project Launched Luckily I found a supporter in producer Pandro S. Berman, who was also excited by the possibilities of the book. I told him that I though of Sidney Poitier as the ideal star of the film. Pandro brought us together and we eventually launched the project at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under its movie title, fittingly supplied by my wife, of NEIMAN) LOND ABILO LE It Rained — From Below Metro-GoldynMayer employed novel rain-making equipment for summer squall scenes of “A Patch of Blue.” Because outdoor sequences with Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters and Elizabeth Hartman prohibited use of the overhead pipes conventionally used to create rain in movies, two mechanical “fire fighters’? were acquired to produce the desired climatic effect. The machines, designed for the Forestry Department, spread water over a vast area and are driven by wind to bring about a gusty atmosphere, The next step was the screen play. I’ve always wanted a writer who really understood me, so with Pandro’s blessing I undertook the job myself, The first draft came easily. I stayed very close to the book and found some exciting visual equivalents for the printed page. I’m not a great stylist, but perhaps this is not so important. To write film you must think film, If you are a director writing his own screen play, then the written words are only a temporary bridge between the mental image and the celluloid one. The script is a complex series of notes to remind the director of what he has to say and to convey to the actors, apart from dialogue, the general trend of the story. Mostly, however, a director works from someone else’s screen play. In this case, of course, it is necessary for the writer to be much more explicit and to communicate all his ideas and feelings through his writing. But even then, for full understanding the director should work with the writer on the final draft. All films are ultimately written in celluloid with a camera. The story of A PATCH OF BLUE is about a negro and a blind girl and their relationship over the period of about a week. Even as I completed the first draft, I was overtaken by the changing aspect of the color problem in America. To present a truer and more contemporary picture would entail a considerable rewrite. I thought of that first vision and wondered if it would survive a new approach or if it would be obliterated by “improvement.” However, after discussions with Pandro Berman and Sidney Poitier, I embarked on a major rewrite. The result allayed my fears. I believe we have gained strength in characterization. We have a much more entertaining script and the story has become much warmer and truer of today. Now that we had a script and a fine star, another matter was claiming my attention. Who would play Selina, the blind girl, opposite Poitier ? We wrote a list of possibilities and then promptly tore it up because I needed a girl who had no _ previous image. Agents and casting directors looked at me sideways when I explained what I wanted. She had to look about eighteen. Definitely not a glamour girl, but still fascinating and attractive and, of course, be an actress capable of playing a long and exacting role. Providence sent me Elizabeth Hartman from Youngstown, Ohio, I believe I found the ideal Selina. With the fortunate addition of Shelley Winters and Wallace Ford, the main casting was completed. I can only hope that the final realization of A PATCH OF BLUE will prove rewarding to those who see it. Guy Green Mat !/-A Sidney Poitier, who has befriended Elizabeth Hartman, protects the helpless blind girl from her irate mother (Shelley Winters) in this scene from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s ‘‘A Patch of Blue.” Miss Hartman, an exciting new discovery, makes her screen debut in the poignant drama with Academy Award-winning stars Poitier and Miss Winters. Guy Green directed. Still 1837-50 A Patch of Blue Mat 2-E “SEES” NATURE'S WONDERS Sidney Poitier, who has befriended a lonely blind girl (Elizabeth Hartman), describes what a caterpillar looks like in one of the poignant scenes of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s ‘‘A Patch of Blue.”’ Miss Hartman, a brilliantly talented acting newcomer, makes her screen debut in the new attraction, which stars two Academy Award-winners, Poitier and Shelley Winters. Still 1837-3 A Patch of Blue Mat 2-A SIDNEY POITIER ASSERTS WINNING AN “OSCAR” MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE “Tt’?s been a long road to this moment.” These were the only words Sidney Poitier could muster when, in 1964, he was presented the most coveted of all acting awards, the “Oscar.” Where Poitier stands today, no Negro has been before, excepting the late Hattie McDaniel, who won an Academy Award for her supporting performance in “Gone with the Wind.” This brilliant young actor makes his latest appearance in Metro-GoldwynMayer's “A Patch of Blue,” in which he portrays a man whose compassion for a blind white girl helps her to see the world for the first time through his eyes. The picture also stars Shelley Winters, with newcomer Elizabeth Hartman playing the blind heroine. In 1943, a barefooted Sidney Poitier left his Bahama family to come to the United States, where he got his first glimpse of running water, electric lights and automobiles. Today he is universally acknowledged as the finest Negro actor of the American theatre. The Turning Point Can one factor be responsible for catapulting a career to such heights? Poitier replies to the loaded question without hesitation. “The Oscar I received is the greatest single thing that has happened to me since I started my acting career,” he asserts. “Doors have been opened to me that I never expected. I no longer have to search for a role, Perhaps even more important, I now can say ‘no’ to mediocre parts and I’ve said ‘no’ for the past year since ‘Lillies of the Field.’ ” On his return to Hollywood for “A Patch of Blue,” Poitier commented on his absence from the motion picture scene. “T finally got around to doing some of the things I have always wanted to do, go places I’ve wanted to go. I had always dreamed of a trip to Europe and the Orient, so I decided to get out and take advantage of the opportunity to see some of the world. “Oriental religions and philosophies, such as Zen Buddhism and Confucianism, have long interested me and what better way to find out about them than being right on the spot? So I visited India and Lebanon, as well as Europe. I even made it back to my native Bahamas. You should have seen the welcome I received in Nassau. I saw friends I had not seen in twenty-five years, “Several producers had scripts they wanted me to read, but I figured if they wanted me badly enough they could wait a year or so. And sure enough, after I got back from this trip the offers were still there. I would probably have never had the chance if I hadn’t received that Oscar.” Poitier’s great demand is exemplified by the fact. that “A Patch of Blue” is the first of six scheduled films for the actor. Sidney Poitier, Academy Awardwinner for his performance in “Lillies of the Field,” offers another brilliant and moving performance in the new Metro Goldwyn-Mayer drama, “A Patch of Blue.” A Patch of Blue Still Sidney Poitier—1625 Mat 1-A His long climb up the laddler of success has been rocky since his early youth on Cat Island. His occupations ranged from dock hand to dishwasher to parking attendant before he became a trial student in the American Negro Theatre in New York. This apprenticeship landed him several jobs in road companies and by 1949 he was signed for his first movie, “No Way Out.” This led to other roles, including the lead in the stage and screen versions of “Raisin in the Sun” for which he won an Oscar nomination. 3