Sapphire
Sapphire
In 1950s London, racial hostility toward Commonwealth immigrants is openly paraded. A pregnant girl, initially assumed to be white, is murdered. As two detectives start to investigate and discover her racial origins are much more mixed, public prejudices and those of the officers themselves are exposed.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
…based on the novel Pull by Precious
Rather bold attempt to tackle racism, colorism, and prejudice as some Scotland Yard detectives attempt to track down the murderer of a biracial, white-passing woman named Sapphire. The detectives interview the various cross sections of Sapphire’s life—her boyfriend and his family, various jazz clubs where she frequenteda, the house where she rented a room—each interview providing a window into their own misconceptions and at times revealing the detectives own prejudice. Fascinating to see such an early film attempt to tackle this subject matter head on. Some of the representation isn’t great obviously, but I think the attempt is commendable and certainly ahead of its time. Solid noir mystery.