The Nerve

That Glimmer and Glitter in Old Black and White

I still don’t know how it is that classic black and white movies hold my fascination so firmly, but once again I’ve found myself watching some old standbys in my dull, usually sleepless moments of summer. Tonight’s viewing is a double feature: A Patch of Blue starring Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman and On the Waterfront starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. If you’re trying to figure out the deeply significant tie between the two films, I honestly didn’t pick them because of one special reason other than the fact that the second movie was starting on TCM just as the first one wrapped up on my DVR.

A Patch of Blue features the first on-screen kiss between a black man and a white woman. I loved it, though I sometimes found Hartman’s “Selina” almost too exuberant over discovering the world outside her alcoholic grandfather’s apartment. Hartman’s emotional breakdown when she finds herself unable to find her way to the park and subsequently Poitier’s character, Gordon, was as real as real can get on screen to me. And I loved hating Shelley Winters’ loose, abusive mother character, Roseann. If we want to dive into some deep analysis, I loved the importance of the setting of the park, a Garden of Eden for Selina where she first stumbles upon Gordon, where he shows her the world, and eventually where Roseann seeks to destroy their relationship and any independence Selina has been dying to have.

In On the Waterfront, Marlon Brando is the bad boy that many squeaky clean girls like me just can’t help but be attracted to over and over again. It’s no surprise that Eva Marie Saint’s character is drawn to him as well, and her sweet yet dooming naivete echoes of Hartman’s “Selina” in A Patch of Blue. But, back to Brando. You can hear the same accent on episodes of The Jersey Shore, but Brando is the kind of melding machismo and heart together for a swoon-worthy performance. I’m only about halfway through the film, but I like what I see so far, especially from Brando. What? I can’t help it.

If he were my age…he could have been a contender.

But what is it about these movies that has me under their spell? Certainly, there’s none of the trappings of today’s cinema: hd, 3d…hell, they don’t even have technicolor. Perhaps it’s just that magical ability to make a movie want it should be: a story and a piece of literature. No explosions needed except the ones going off behind your eyes.