"A Patch of Blue"

There was a lot of filming in MacArthur Park and on the streets of the Westlake neighborhood in Guy Green's "A Patch of Blue" (MGM, 1965). Sidney Poitier stars as a young guy who befriends an isolated and unschooled blind girl played by Elizabeth Hartman. Here we get a shot of the Lake Theatre, 2118 W. 7th St., as Hartman is figuring out what a parking meter is.

The girl's abusive mother is played by Shelley Winters. The drunken grandfather is played by Wallace Ford. Earlier we got a brief distance view of the Westlake Theatre, 638 S. Alvarado St., as Hartman and the grandfather were walking to the park.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Lake Theatre for more information and a few photos. The theatre space is now used for retail. The pages on the Westlake Theatre, the big house in the neighborhood, have dozens of photos of that 1926 vintage movie palace. The theatre has been eternally awaiting redevelopment.

A look at the Alvarado, later known as the Park Theatre, 710 S. Alvarado. They're running "The Americanization of Emily." Hartman is getting some instructions on how to cross an intersection.  The theatre building is still there, but now a down-market retail establishment. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Alvarado Theatre for several vintage photos.

Another shot of the Lake appearing later in the film. We're looking west along 7th St. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor John Bosley for spotting the theatres in the film.

On IMDb: "A Patch of Blue"