Sapphire (film)
Encyclopedia
Sapphire is a 1959 British
crime drama. It focused on racism in London toward immigrants from the West Indies. The film was directed by Basil Dearden
, and stars Nigel Patrick
, Earl Cameron
and Yvonne Mitchell
. It received the BAFTA Award for Best Film
and screenwriter Janet Green won a 1960 Edgar Award
from the Mystery Writers of America
for Best Foreign Film Screenplay. It was a progressive movie for its time.
Earl Cameron who played the part of Dr Robbins her brother would appear two years later in another English film dealing with racial issues, the 1961 film Flame in the Streets
.
Dearden and Green later also collaborated on another 'social problem' film, Victim, although this one was focused on blackmail of gay men before the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 provided limited decriminalisation of male homosexuality.
. Although she appears to be white, her brother (Earl Cameron
) arrives at the police station to give evidence and he is black. It then becomes evident to the police officers that this girl has been passing for white. This film reveals the underlying insecurities and fears of ordinary people that exist towards another race.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
crime drama. It focused on racism in London toward immigrants from the West Indies. The film was directed by Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden was an English film director.-Life and career:Dearden was born at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. He graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean...
, and stars Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick
Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
, Earl Cameron
Earl Cameron (actor)
Earl Cameron, CBE is a Bermudian actor. He is known as one of the first black actors to break the "colour bar" in the United Kingdom, along with Cy Grant...
and Yvonne Mitchell
Yvonne Mitchell
Yvonne Mitchell was an English stage, television and film actor. She was born Yvonne Frances Joseph, but in 1946 changed her name by deed poll to Yvonne Mitchell . Her mother's maiden name was Mitchell. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s...
. It received the BAFTA Award for Best Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
and screenwriter Janet Green won a 1960 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for Best Foreign Film Screenplay. It was a progressive movie for its time.
Earl Cameron who played the part of Dr Robbins her brother would appear two years later in another English film dealing with racial issues, the 1961 film Flame in the Streets
Flame in the Streets
Flame in the Streets is a 1961 British drama film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Brenda De Banzie, Earl Cameron and Johnny Sekka.-Synopsis:...
.
Dearden and Green later also collaborated on another 'social problem' film, Victim, although this one was focused on blackmail of gay men before the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 provided limited decriminalisation of male homosexuality.
Plot
The film is about a pregnant girl found stabbed on Hampstead HeathHampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
. Although she appears to be white, her brother (Earl Cameron
Earl Cameron
Earl Cameron may refer to:* Earl Cameron , Canadian television personality* Earl Cameron , British actor...
) arrives at the police station to give evidence and he is black. It then becomes evident to the police officers that this girl has been passing for white. This film reveals the underlying insecurities and fears of ordinary people that exist towards another race.
Cast
- Nigel PatrickNigel PatrickNigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...
as Superintendent Robert Hazard - Michael CraigMichael Craig (actor)Michael Craig is a British actor, known for his work in film and television in both the United Kingdom and Australia. Craig was born in Poona, Maharashtra, British India, the son of Donald Gregson, a captain in the 3rd Indian Cavalry. He came to England with his family when aged three, and went to...
as Inspector Phil Learoyd - Yvonne MitchellYvonne MitchellYvonne Mitchell was an English stage, television and film actor. She was born Yvonne Frances Joseph, but in 1946 changed her name by deed poll to Yvonne Mitchell . Her mother's maiden name was Mitchell. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s...
as Mildred - Paul MassiePaul MassiePaul Massie was a Canadian actor and academic. He later became a theater professor at the University of South Florida in the 1970s...
as David Harris - Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
as Ted Harris - Olga LindoOlga Lindo-Filmography:* The Shadow Between * Royal Cavalcade * Dark World * The Last Journey * A Romance in Flanders * Luck of the Navy * The Stars Look Down * What Men Live By...
as Mrs. Harris - Earl CameronEarl Cameron (actor)Earl Cameron, CBE is a Bermudian actor. He is known as one of the first black actors to break the "colour bar" in the United Kingdom, along with Cy Grant...
as Dr. Robbins - Gordon HeathGordon HeathGordon Heath was an African-American actor and musician who appeared in feature film Animal Farm, and the British made for TV movie Othello, directed by Tony Richardson. Together with his lover Lee Payant, he ran a Left Bank café called L'Abbaye later in his life...
as Paul Slade - Jocelyn Britton as Patsy
- Harry BairdHarry Baird (actor)Harry Baird was a Guyana-born British actor who came to prominence in the 1960s.Baird was born in Georgetown, British Guiana and was educated in Canada and England. He was given his film break in 1954 as a boxer named Jamaica in the Carol Reed film A Kid for Two Farthings...
as Johnnie Fiddle - Orlando MartinsOrlando MartinsOrlando Martins was a pioneering black actor in film and on stage. In the late 1940s, he was one of England's most prominent and leading black actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed among England's top 15 favorite actors.-Life:...
as Barman - Rupert DaviesRupert DaviesRupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
as Jack Ferris - Yvonne Buckingham as Sapphire Robbins