A bold, progressive movie at its time. “Sapphire” exposed the racism that existed in Britain right after the 1958 Notting Hill Race Riots and a film that was unlike any film created in the UK. A winner of the BAFTA award in 1959 for “Best Film”, Basil Dearden’s “Sapphire” is a magnificent inclusion to the latest Eclipse Series “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.
Image courtesy of © Carlton Film Distributors 1959. © 2010 All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Sapphire (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25)
RELEASE OF FILM: 1959
DURATION: 92 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Monaural, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio
COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: January 25, 2011
Directed by Basil Dearden
Written by Janet Green, Lukas Heller
Produced by Michael Relph
Executive Producer: Earl St. John
Music by Philip Green
Cinematography by Harry Waxman
Edited by John D. Guthridge
Art Direction by Carmen Dillon
Costume Design by Julie Harris
Starring:
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
Jocelyn Britton as Patsy
Harry Baird as Johnnie Fiddle
Orlando Martins as Barman
Rupert Davies as Jack Ferris
Yvonne Buckingham as Sapphire Robbins
Robert Adams as Horace Big Cigar
After mastering the mix of comedy, suspense, and horror that helped define the golden age of British cinema, Basil Dearden (along with his producing partner Michael Relph) left the legendary Ealing Studios and struck out on his own. In the late fifties and early sixties, he created a series of gripping, groundbreaking, even controversial films that dealt with racism, homophobia, and the lingering effects of World War II, noir-tinged dramas that burrowed into corners of London rarely seen on-screen. This set of elegantly crafted films brings this quintessential figure of British cinema out of the shadows.
Sapphire – A beautiful female college student is found dead in a public park; the police soon discover that her murder may have been racially motivated. Basil Dearden’s bold, direct police procedural, starring Nigel Patrick as the detective in charge of the investigation, is a devastating look at the way bigotry crosses class divides, and a snapshot of the increasingly interracial culture of England in the late fifties.
Basial Dearden, may not be one of the bigger names of classic British Cinema but in his 30 year career, the filmmaker has created 35-films.
With each film, Dearden had an emphasis on storytelling and creating an atmosphere and character but also boldly taking on sensitive issues at the time which include racism, homophobia and middle-class malaise.
And while many may not be familiar with the filmmaker and possibly know more about his son James Dearden (director of “Fatal Attraction” and “A Kiss Before Dying”), Basil Dearden along with writer and producer Michael Relph had managed to create a good number of films which many consider today as British cinema classics but unfortunately were not as accessible on video for viewers in America.
That is until now, as The Criterion Collection will be releasing “Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25”, a four DVD set which include his films “Sapphire” (1959), “The League of Gentlemen” (1960), “Victim” (1961) and “All Night Long” (1962).
This latest Eclipse series set focuses on those early sensitive films that Dearden had directed before he went on to create big-scale epics before his unfortunate death in a car accident in 1971.
In 1959, Basil Dearden would create “Sapphire” that would be a response to the 1958 Notting Hill riots in which there was violence against London’s immigrant population. Dearden and Relph were quoted as saying during the production of the film, “We plan to show this prejudice as the stupid and illogical thing it is.”
To set some context of what took place and how it relates to the film, after World War II, many people from the Caribbean migrated to Britain. Meanwhile, many of the whites were not as welcoming to the Black families that began moving into their neighborhood and fascist and racial groups were exploited to “Keep Britain White”. Among the groups were “Teddy Boys”, a group that sported Edwardian clothing which was associated with American Rock and Roll, but many of the individuals who were sporting the Teddy Boy look were part of gangs that wanted notoriety. And in 1958, they got what they wanted.
In the summer of 1958, Caucasian gangs began attacking immigrants violently and by August, a gang started pelting a Swedish woman who was married to a Jamaican man. Later that night, hundreds of Teddy Boys began attacking the houses of West Indian residents and for nearly a week, there were major disturbances and riots that continued every night. This event would be known as the “1958 Notting Hill Race Riots”.
Many in the British African-Caribbean community felt that the Metropolitan Police did not respond to their emergency calls and felt that racial attacks reported were not taken seriously.
This leads us to Basil Dearden’s 1959 film “Sapphire”.  A film that received the BAFTA Award for Best Film, an Edgar Award in 1960 for screenwriter Janet Green for “Best Foreign Film Screenplay”.
The film begins with a woman shown lying dead in the ground, she is later found by two children and their mother.
Arriving to the scene to check out the body is Superintendent Robert Hazard (played by Nigel Patrick), who is told by the investigators onscene that the young woman had died of multiple stabbings. Hazard feels that the young woman was killed elsewhere and then dumped into the park Hampstead Heath.
Hazard and his young inspector Phil Learoyd (played by Michael Craig) start to look at her belongings and inside her dress was a dancing dress. For both men, this was rather odd.
As they begin to look into the girl, named Sapphire Robbins’ past and find out that she was engaged to a young man named David Harris (played by Paul Massie), a biochemist who has recently won a scholarship. David tells them that he seen her on the day she died but that night he was studying and came back home late, as he hitched a ride a man who dropped him off near the post office. Apparently, David seems shaken up by his fiance’s death and asks for the Superintendent to contact her brother.
When the two visit her home to search her belongings, they find a cabinet locked up. Inside are clothing that are unlike her and inside was a photo of her dancing and the photo was ripped in half showing only a picture of her.
As Hazard and Learoyd start to think if David may be involved, their investigation changes when her brother arrives and are shocked that Dr. Robbins (played by Earl Cameron) is a Black man. Hazard learns from her brother that their father is white, their mother is Black and that Sapphire was a woman who didn’t have Black characteristics and thus can pass off as someone who is white.
Immediately, Superintendent Robert Hazard notices that his young inspector tends to look at a Black man with disgust but as the two discuss the case, is possible that David may have killed his fiance because she was Black and didn’t know about it? Hazard receives information that Sapphire was also pregnant.
So, the two pay a visit to David’s home and start to meet his family and for some reason, they seem a bit uptight. As Hazard tries to find out where they were that night of Sapphire’s murder, David’s father Ted said he was at a club, his sister Mildred said she was at work at the dairy store and his mother was at home. Ted tells him to check with a constable who can prove that he was there.
When Hazard brings up if they knew Sapphire was Black, the family responded they found out on Saturday (the day of her death) and said it was no big deal.
But when Hazard goes to the constable to confirm if Ted was at a club, the constable verifies it but when he was asked if he knew that Sapphire was Black, the constable is shocked because he said that Ted is a bigoted man and his daughter is like him.
Hazard receives a tip that Sapphire danced with several Black men. While one left back to Nigeria, one was still in town. They interview a wealthy Black man named Paul Slade and try to see his connection with Sapphire and he tells them that they would dance and when asked if he had any relationship with her, Slade balks that his father would not ever let him date a woman that was not all Black.
Meanwhile, Hazard and Learoyd receive new leads that Sapphire used to dance at a club where students of different color and races took part in. The students tell them that Sapphire used to dance with them, that is until she went white. They learn from another source that Sapphire used to date Black men but changed.
As Hazard and Learoyd delve into the murder of Sapphire, both wonder…could her fiance David have killed his fiance after finding out that she was Black? Or did a Black boyfriend kill her because she was marrying a white man?
As Hazard tries to keep to the facts, his young inspector tends to believe that the immigrants, especially the Blacks have caused nothing but trouble in the city and is suspecting that it is probably a Black man who had killed her.
Hazard tries to remind him that anyone of different ethnicities including white have committed crimes and reminds him of their duty.
The two continue their investigation…who killed Sapphire Robbins?
VIDEO:
“Sapphire” is presented in color (1:66:1 aspect ratio). For a 1959 film, the film does contain quite a bit of grain which I didn’t mind. In fact, for a 1959 film, on DVD, “Sapphire” looked pretty good.
Only one scene where I did spot a problem. There was only one scene in which Hazard and Learoyd were talking to a woman who owned an apartment complex in an area where Black and white immigrants live together and we see a bit of discoloration on her face as it shifts from normal skin tones to greenish skin tones. This scene was very short but that was the only moment that caught my attention.
Otherwise, for a 1959 film and a film that did not receive the Criterion Collection remastering, for an Eclipse Series film on DVD, it looked good.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Sapphire” is presented in monaural. I actually preferred to set my receiver for stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack. But dialogue is clear and didn’t hear any pops, crackle, hiss or any audio problems.
Subtitles are in English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background on the film and information about Basil Dearden and the creation of “Sapphire”.
When it comes to early films that deal with interracial relationships, It was interesting to see the connection between two 1959 films, John Cassavetes “Shadows” and Basil Dearden’s “Sapphire”. Both dealt with interracial relationships and dealt with women who have a more Caucasian look than Black features.
While one focused on racial relationships in America, “Sapphire” was rather interesting because it dealt with racism in Britain. I’m quite familiar with cases and films that dealt with racism in America but I knew nothing about what took place in the UK, nor did I know about the 1958 Notting Hill Race Riots that influenced the making of “Sapphire”.
What I enjoyed about this film is its structure but how it was bold in showing racism from normal individuals to even one of the primary police inspectors. But also seeing the reactions to those who were white and had Black friends. Also, showing a scene in which a Black man was running from a gang that was chasing him and trying to get help from white men to protect him. One calls him the “N” word and to get out, the others were a Black couple who tell them that his kind is what gives them a bad name and to see him being beaten by a gang of white youths.  I suppose I was not expecting to see so much racism featured in this film but being portrayed in a way to evoke a response from its viewers.
This was a bold, progressive film for its time.
And as the film won a BAFTA for “Best Film”, I was not surprised to find out that the film elicited many angry notices and that British cinema would become exclusively white for some time afterward. So, in many ways, watching this film and seeing what Dearden and Relph were able to accomplish, they knew they would create a film that would not be welcomed for many whites especially those who supported the violence that was taking place in Britain at the time.
It’s important to note that yes, the film is less radical if shown to people today. In fact, some comments from younger viewers were more focused on the acting of the time. But viewers who are watching this film for the first time should put themselves in the position of a viewer back then in 1959. Violent riots towards immigrants, violence towards interracial relationships… “Sapphire” was amazingly progressive for its time and I can see its importance in classic British cinema.
Whether or not you believe this should of one “Best Film”, it is an important film and worth being a notable film in Basil Dearden’s oeuvre. There is no banality to this film because nothing was like it at the time. No one was daring enough to push the button and expose how bad racism was in their country. Basil Learden did.
A wonderful inclusion to the Criterion Collection’s “Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25”.
Note: The review is for the film and not the entire DVD box set for “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.
