I watched this movie when I was a young girl with my mother, as I did Imitation of Life, and Pinky. I have always loved this movie and have tried to find it. if anyone has information please let me know. One of the lines that stuck in my mind as a child is the part when the boy's father I believe (I'm 53 now), was looking for answers and was giving this advice, (paraphrased), Come back later and you'll find her hear, you can always tell the lilypads...put a dime in the jukebox and watch their feet..if it starts moving, then you know she's passing. I never forgot that moment in the film. He was describing the black women who would come to the club and try to pick up men or pass, or just have a good time, but gave themselves away when they heard a beat. In other words Black folks always had to move when they heard a beat. I never looked at it as racist but my mother would fuss at the TV and I knew he'd said something wrong. Please help me find this wonderful masterpiece.

British cinema in the 50s saw an explosion of realistic "kitchen sink" dramas that tried to explore the problems the post war generation faced. "Cosh Boy" (1952) dealt with kids running wild, "Violent Playground" (1957) with juvenile delinquency and the problems associated with high rise housing estates. Even though Janet Green's list of screenplay credits are short, each of them can take their place among the best British films of the 50s and 60s (except "Midnight Lace"). They usually featured strong story lines, often about minorities ("Life for Ruth", also with Michael Craig dealt with Jehovah's Witnesses, "Victim" was about homosexuality)."Sapphire" must have caused a sensation when it was first released. It deals with racism in all forms, white against black, black against black (one of Sapphire's former boyfriends says "My father would never allow me to marry Sapphire - she is only half black!!!").The film begins with the startling discovery of the body of a young arts student. When her brother comes down to identify the body, Sup. Hazard (Nigel Patrick) realises that Sapphire is black!!! From then on Hazard encounters racism at every turning. His partner (Michael Craig) says "these spades should be sent home to their own country". The landlady, is very protective of Sapphire but when she learns of the girl's heritage she is horrified. Sapphire's friend then gives the landlady a piece of her mind but when the landlady retorts with "When you introduced Sapphire to your parents - did you tell them she was coloured" there is silence. "Well I am not the only one who is racist" - that is extremely true in this film.Sapphire is pregnant (something else that would have shocked 50s audiences) and engaged to David (Paul Massie) whose family is a caulderon of racial tension. The mother is nice, the father (Bernard Miles) is an racist and the daughter, as a constable says "she's her father all over again". David is introverted and under the father's thumb. Yvonne Mitchell is riveting as Mildred, whose bottled up racism explodes in a scene that catches everyone by surprise (maybe not Sup. Hazard). She is married to a merchant seaman and has twin daughters, who she is very ambitious for. She is very jealous of the love she perceives Sapphire and David have for each other. Unfortunately, Sapphire is "passing for white" so the happiness is not going to last.Highly recommended.

My summary does double duty as a description of the eponymous character, a very light-skinned West Indian girl 'passing' for white and the film itself, a low-key exploration of racial tension in pre-Swinging Sixties England. In terms of police-based drama we were still in the era of Dixin Of Dock Green with the more realistic Z Cars and The Sweeney still to come so that Nigel Patrick's Inspector comes across as a gentleman detecting as something of a hobby, an exact counterpart, in fact, of Raffles, the gentleman crook. The teenagers are unbelievably polite, dress conventionally and are unable to field a single tattoo, piercing, stud or pin in a college full whilst the prejudice is recorded mutely rather than trumpeted. Despite the odd and obligatory red herrings the real killer is not difficult to spot and the motive is all too plausible. Patrick takes the acting honours as one would expect with Michael Craig contributing his usual hundredweight of balsa wood but all in all it is both interesting and satisfying.

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.