OLD-SCHOOL WHEELING- MOVIES

This article appeared in The Phoenix on January 20, 2006...

With the recent passing of Oscar-winning actress Shelly Winters, I was reminded of one of her best films, in fact the movie she won her second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It is a 1965 film called "A Patch of Blue, and it still remains one of the finest movies to deal with the subject of disability and discrimination.

The movie stars the great Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Hartman, and Ms. Winters. The story is about an uneducated teenage blind girl (Hartman) who lives an isolated, impoverished existence, controlled by a racist, over-protective mother (Winters). The girl strings beads all day to make money for her family, cleans up in their ratty apartment, and generally leads a Cinderella life, enduring all sorts of verbal and physical abuse from her mother.

Until one day she meets a professional, well-educated black man (Poitier) in the park. They strike up a friendship, and despite racial and disability discrimination, he helps her to lead a better ;life, seeking the education, happiness and respect she deserves.

It is a wonderful film, set in the mid-60s, when both racism and prejudice against the disabled were still very much prevalent. It is refreshing in its honesty and hopefulness and it is a story of overcoming hardships. Its a story of a man and a girl, captive in their own worlds, finding escape in each other.

If you ever get a chance to rent "A Patch of Blue", or see it on TV, check it out. It may be appearing more often now, since the death of Shelly Winters.

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Also, speaking of DVDs, the documentary "Murderball" is now available to rent. It is the story of wheelchair rugby players, a great film which won outstanding reviews last year, and won acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.

You' ll find it is a very entertaining and insightful film to enjoy.

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Finally, a film called "The Ringer" came out in theaters during the holidays. It deals with the Special Olympics and the mentally impaired in a humorous way. It isn't a great film, and will probably disappear from theaters and end up on cable and DVD soon. There was some controversy about doing a comedy regarding the mentally challenged, but the Special Olympics gave their blessing to the script.

What makes the film funny yet politically correct is that the disabled athletes in the film are in on the jokes. You tend to laugh with them, not at them.

Again, it is what it is, not a great movie, but it shows that its OK to do a comedy about disabled people, as long as it is done with taste and is not degrading to those it portrays.