Sapphire

11/2/19591h 32m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The sensational story of a girl who didn't belong. ~

Overview:

Two Scotland Yard detectives investigate the murder of a young woman of mixed race who had been passing for white. As they interview a spate of suspects -- including the girl's white boyfriend and his disapproving parents -- the detectives wade through a stubbornly entrenched sludge of racism and bigotry.

Director:

Basil Dearden

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

london, england
police
scotland yard
intrigue
murder investigation
racial prejudice
mixed race
police procedural
metropolitan police
passing for white

Cast

Nigel Patrick

~ as ~

Superintendent Robert Hazard

Michael Craig

~ as ~

Inspector Phil Learoyd

Yvonne Mitchell

~ as ~

Mildred

Paul Massie

~ as ~

David Harris

Bernard Miles

~ as ~

Ted Harris

Olga Lindo

~ as ~

Mrs. Harris

Earl Cameron

~ as ~

Dr. Robbins

Gordon Heath

~ as ~

Paul Slade

Barbara Steele

~ as ~

Student

Peter Vaughan

~ as ~

Detective Whitehead (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
When the eponymous girl is found murdered, it falls to "Supt. Hazard" (Nigel Patrick) and his sidekick "Learoyd" (Michael Craig) to get to the bottom of things. There seems a genuine sense of shock amongst her friends, her landlady and her fiancée "David" (Paul Massie) and his family but when her brother, a doctor, arrives the whole investigation takes on an whole new complexion. What now ensues in a rather unsophisticated police drama, admittedly, but the social and racial aspects of life in London in the late 1950s are writ large - a poignant and frankly rather shameful indictment of attitudes amongst people of various social classes who allow bigotry to remain an accepted part of day-to-day life - even amongst those looking into the crime. Patrick is solid here, as is the victim's would-be father-in-law Bernard Miles ("Ted") and though the denouement has shades of Agatha Christie to it, it's still quite a well paced, compelling and uncomfortable, watch.