Moviecut—Sapphire

Effectively uses the conventions of a standard murder mystery to reveal racial prejudice in 1950s London. Some of the performances by black characters are a bit exaggerated, but Earl Cameron is fine as the brother of the murder victim.

I first saw the movie Sapphire on the Million Dollar Movie one night and I fell in love with it. I"m one for a good mystery movie and this is the one. From start to finish and when the movie did end I wanted more. The movie's ending will surprise you. The cast was excellent and actors Nigel Patrick Earl Cameron and Yvonne Mitchell were just great. I finally purchased this movie from one of those hard to find videos company on VHS. This movie needs to be released on DVD!!!! The racism in Sapphire was very brutal and honest. Here you had the tragic mulatto who is murdered I think of Imitation of Life where Susan Kohner's Sarah Jane is passing for white to the point she gets beaten up by her secret white lover, she was lucky!!!!!!!

I saw this movie (for the first time) when cable TV was new to Birmingham, Alabama. It was aired on a channel out of Chicago. Throughout the years, I have tried unsuccessfully to find a copy. Then...about three months ago, I found a collector with a copy in mint-condition. It has been well worth the money I spent. I watch it at least once a week. The cast worked very well together and the soundtrack is still hypnotic. The subject matter is addressed with a level of cinematic respect that makes the viewer sit up and take notice: no cursing and no lewd scenes...just raw and compelling acting. Like a bottle of old wine, Sapphire gets better and better as it ages. I'm hoping that no one will insult those of us who truly love this film by screening a cheesy re-make. That would be an insulting.

The real problem with television broadcasting is that the better movies of the last century are held from the viewers. SAPPHIRE could be shown as a double bill with AN INSPECTOR CALLS. There are not enough movie buffs to push some of these classics so that they can be shown to today's audiences ..which would really appreciate them.

A young woman is killed. Detectives Nigel Patrick and Michael Craig search for her killer in this deliberate police procedural. What's distinctive about it is that the murder victim is Black. Basil Dearden's movie was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release, and more than sixty years later, it's easy to see why. In a Britain in which "Wogs begin at Calais" and people who hailed from Wales were looked on as a lesser breed, Blacks in British cinema were even rarer than in mainstream American movies; they didn't even have train porter and servant roles. So the investigators' journey, taking them into the subculture in London, with its vibrant night life, and smiling, fake subservience, remains a bit of a shocker today. even after a half century of Blaxploitation flicks. It also makes the point that policemen aren't instruments of justice. In the end, all they can do is be dustmen, restoring a thin veneer of civilization to a broken world.

this is one of the most underappreciated films of all times. it is a superbly acted and directed film with a very intelligent and well crafted screenplay. the "twist" is revealed just at the right moment and is not played for any exploitative reason but still resonates throughout the course of the film. i have the video of this film, which is not listed anywhere and just got the poster, that is how much i love this film. if you are looking for a stupid bang bang movie don't bother, if you're looking for a goofy feel good movie, go elsewhere, but if you appreciate well-crafted film making this is your movie.

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.