Sapphire (1959)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Janet Green (writer)
Lukas Heller (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

2 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sapphire - Please don't tell her secret! (USA)

Plot:

In 1950s London racial hostility to Commonweath immigrants is openly paraded. A pregnant girl, initially assumed to be white...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Police | Racism | London England | Sergeant

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Nigel Patrick	...	Superintendent Robert Hazard
Michael Craig	...	Inspector Phil Learoyd
Yvonne Mitchell	...	Mildred
Paul Massie	...	David Harris
Bernard Miles	...	Ted Harris
Olga Lindo	...	Mrs. Harris
Earl Cameron	...	Dr. Robbins
Gordon Heath	...	Paul Slade
Jocelyn Britton	...	Patsy
Harry Baird	...	Johnnie Fiddle
Orlando Martins	...	Barman
Rupert Davies	...	Jack Ferris
Yvonne Buckingham	...	Sapphire Robbins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adams	...	Horace Big Cigar
Freda Bamford	...	Sgt. Cook
Philip Lowrie	...	Student
Anthony Singleton
Basil Dignam	...	Doctor Burgess (uncredited)
Fenella Fielding	...	Lingerie Shop Manageress (uncredited)
Boscoe Holder	...	Dancer in Nightclub (uncredited)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Police Constable (uncredited)
Bartlett Mullins	...	Newsagent (uncredited)
Lloyd Reckord	...	(uncredited)
John Richardson	...	Student (uncredited)
Barbara Steele	...	Student (uncredited)
Susan Stranks	...	Student (uncredited)
Peter Vaughan	...	Detective Whitehead (uncredited)

Directed by
Basil Dearden

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Janet Green		writer
Lukas Heller		additional dialogue

Produced by
Michael Relph	....	producer
Earl St. John	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Philip Green

Cinematography by
Harry Waxman

Film Editing by
John D. Guthridge

Art Direction by
Carmen Dillon

Costume Design by
Julie Harris

Makeup Department
W.T. Partleton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Douglas Peirce	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David W. Orton	....	assistant director (as David Orton)

Sound Department
Bill Daniels	....	sound recordist
Dudley Messenger	....	sound recordist
Arthur Ridout	....	sound editor
Harry Fairbairn	....	sound assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
H.A.R. Thomson	....	camera operator

Music Department
John Dankworth	....	musician: saxophone (as Johnny Dankworth)
The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra	....	music played by

Other crew
Arthur Alcott	....	production controller: Pinewood Studios
Tilly Day	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Artna Films Ltd.
• Rank Organisation, The

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1959) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)  us releasing agent

Also Known As:

Runtime:

92 min | Spain:89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Hampstead Heath, Hampstead, London, England, UK

Company:

Artna Films Ltd.

Trivia:

Dirk Bogarde was asked to play Learoyd.

Quotes:

Inspector Phil Learoyd:These spades are a load of trouble. I reckon we should send them back where they came from. We wouldn't have half this bother if they weren't here.
Superintendent Robert Hazard:Well, I suppose you're right. Just the same as we wouldn't have old ladies being clobblered by hooligans if there weren't any old ladies. So what do you do? Get rid of the hooligans or the people they bash?
[a beat]
Superintendent Robert Hazard:Look Phil, given the right atmosphere you can organize riots against anyone - Jews, Catholics, Negroes, Irish - even policemen with big feet.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in London - The Modern Babylon (2012)

Soundtrack:

Sapphire

Bold For Its Time

When a young woman's body is discovered on London's Hampstead Heath, the ensuing investigation quickly focuses on racial bigotry and hatred in 1950s Britain, exposing the prejudice amongst those under investigation AND those investigating.

Like so many other films from the 1940s and 1950s, Sapphire is yet another piece of groundbreaking British cinema now long forgotten. A little clunky and overly reliant on stereotyping by today's standards, but still a fascinating exploration of the fears and struggles inherent in a newly mixed-race society. Dearden has brought together an interesting cast here, cleverly giving matinée idol Craig a fairly unsympathetic role as a racist police officer, and being superbly served by Mitchell - her final scene is at once both compelling and distressing. Too many British cinema actors of the 40's and 50's have now been forgotten, and Mitchell is a prime example of why individual and collective reappraisals and retrospectives are long overdue.

Interesting companion piece to 1961's Flame In The Streets, then, and definitely worth catching if you can.