Guess Who Came for Dinner is a 1967 American drama comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and features Hepburn's nephew Katharine Houghton.
The film is one of several time movies to describe interracial marriages in a positive light, since racial marriages have historically been illegal in most states of the United States, and are still illegal in 17 states - mostly Southern states - until June 12, 1967, six months before the film was released, about two weeks after Tracy filmed her last scene (and two days after her death), when the anti-marriage law was attacked by the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia . Oscar-nominated nomination films composed by Frank De Vol.
The film is best known for being the ninth and final partner of Tracy and Hepburn, with the filming ending just 17 days before Tracy's death. Hepburn never saw the finished film, saying that Tracy's memories were too painful. The film was released in December 1967, six months after his death. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation on the National Register of Film United States by the Library of Congress as "culture, history, or aesthetically significant".
Video Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Plot
Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton) without an early notice of returning from Hawaii vacation caused a furor when she brought her new fiancé to her childhood home in San Francisco in 1967. She was John Prentice (Sidney Poitier): a widow, a black doctor. Parents Joanna - Matt Drayton (Spencer Tracy) newspaper publisher and his wife, the owner of the art gallery Christina Drayton (Katharine Hepburn) - are well-known liberals who have embraced the idea of ​​racial equality. Although they tried to hide it, Joanna's parents and especially her father were initially upset that she was planning to marry a black man. Black aide Draytons, Tillie (Isabel Sanford), even more horrified, suspected that John was trying to "overcome himself" by marrying a white woman.
Joanna was unaware of her parents' reaction. They were nervous about his engagement with John, because they never thought his choice would be black, and more so than John's decision that if Joanna's parents did not receive the engagement that day, she would end it.
Adding to the situation was that Joanna, initially intending to join John in a few weeks in Geneva for a planned wedding ceremony, had changed her mind to go after dinner on a flight to New York City and then proceed to Europe. He also invited John's parents (Roy E. Glenn and Beah Richards) for dinner, so they can all be acquainted. Because of this invitation, what is meant to be a steak dinner sits for two turns into a dinner party that meets with in-laws. Furthermore, John is forced to reveal that he has not told his parents about his intention to marry a white woman.
Matt Monsignor's golf friend Mike Ryan (Cecil Kellaway), a Catholic priest, stopped by after Matt had previously canceled his golf. After learning about John, he shared Joanna's enthusiasm for a pending marriage and told her father. However, Matt says he can not give the couple a blessing: he's afraid Joanna will be hurt by the prejudices that will surely face John and her. Meanwhile, one of Christina's employees in her gallery, Hilary (Virginia Christine), who had met John and Joanna earlier in the day, stopped at the Draytons' home to express her disagreement over the relationship, and though Christina herself was still unsure of it. his own feelings about the matter, he is very offended at Hilary racism that he fired her on the spot. Later, while dressing for dinner, Christina shares with Matt her support for Joanna, even if it means having to fight her husband.
Drayton's house cocktails resemble a game of music chairs, as different sets of parental characters share their views on the situation, with mothers generally expressing more confidence in their children than fathers. In general, parents have stated that more than a few hours are needed for the right decision, but John's mother brings up his idea of ​​what those people are missing about his situation: passion. When the older Prentice told John that he was making a big mistake, John said that his father considered himself a black man, while John considered himself a man. Mrs Prentice told Matt that her husband and her, who were getting older, had forgotten what it was like to have a romantic passion. If they remember, they will see that in their children is more important than any racial issue.
After thinking about the situation, and his conversation with Mrs. Prentice in particular, Matt calls everyone to make announcements. He says that no matter what other people think about John and Joanna getting married; the important thing is they love each other. The movie ends with two families and Monsignor Ryan ends up sitting for dinner.
Maps Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Cast
Production
Production list
According to Kramer, Rose and he deliberately compiled the film to eliminate ethnic stereotypical prejudices. The young doctor, a typical role for the young Sidney Poitier, was purposely made perfect idealist, so the only possible objections to marrying Joanna were her race, or the fact that she only knew him for 10 days; the character has graduated from top school, started an innovative medical initiative in Africa, refused to have premarital sex with her fiancé despite her wishes, and left money in an open container at her future father-in-law's desk in payment for her long distance phone call. Nothing is made of a 14 year difference in their age. Kramer and Rose complete the movie script in five weeks.
Kramer stated later that principal principals strongly believed in the premise that they agreed to act on the project even before seeing the manuscript. Production was set for January 1967 and ended on May 24, 1967. Spencer Tracy was in poor health, and the insurance company refused to cover it. Kramer and Hepburn put their salary in escrow so that if he dies, the shoot can be completed with another actor. According to Kramer, "You never checked insurance until a few weeks before the drawing started. [Even] with all the drinking and illnesses, Tracy always qualified for insurance before, so no one thought it would be a problem in this case. get insurance for Spence, the situation looks desperate, then we find a way to handle it, Kate and I give our own salary to compensate for the lack of insurance companies for Spence we are allowed to continue. "
The filming schedule was changed to accommodate Tracy's failed health. All of Tracy's scenes and photos were filmed between 9:00 and noon each day to give her enough time to rest. For example, most of the Tracy dialogue scenes were filmed in such a way that during close-ups of other characters, the stand-in replaced them.
Tracy's failed health is more serious than most people realize. According to Poitier: "Spencer's disease is dominating everything I know his health is very bad and many people who know what the situation does not believe we will finish the movie, that is, that Tracy will be able to finish the movie." People close to us know it is worse than they Kate took him to and from the filming location.He assured with [Stanley] Kramer that the clock was right for what he could do, and what he could not do differently every day.There were days when he can not do anything.There are days when he's great, and I get a chance to know what it's like to work with Tracy. "
A Tracy sculpture carved by Hepburn himself was used as a buffer, on a bookshelf behind the desk where Sidney Poitier made his phone call. Tracy died two weeks after she finished her work in the film.
Hepburn significantly helped dispose of his nephew, Katharine Houghton, for the role of Joey Drayton. About this, Hepburn states: "There is a beautiful part for Kathy [Houghton], my nephew [...] She will play Spencer and my son I love it She is beautiful and she obviously has family resemblance. "
According to Hepburn, Joey Drayton's role will be one of Houghton's first major roles as a young actress. "Part of my daughter," Kate said, "is that difficult.An unknown young actress needs more opportunities to win the sympathy of the audience or else too much must depend on her youth, innocence and beauty She has one speech which was good for winning the audience, but it was cut off, instead he only talked to his father about the difference between the principles he taught and the way he behaved. "
Poitier often finds himself as a star and as a result, slightly bound tongue, in the presence of Hepburn and Tracy, which he considers a "giant" as far as acting is concerned. However, Poitier has reportedly found a way to overcome his nervousness. "When I went to play with Tracy and Hepburn I could not remember a word, and finally Stanley Kramer said to me, 'What are we going to do?' I said, 'Stanley, send those two guys home, I'll play against two empty chairs I do not want them here because I can not handle such a company.' He sent them home.I played the scene at close range with two empty seats as the dialogue coach read Mr. Tracy and Miss Hepburn's sentences from the camera. "
Given the rigid nature of racism in the United States during the film's production period, Poitier felt he was "under close watch" by Tracy and Hepburn during their first dinner meeting before production. However, he managed to win it quickly. Due to the close history of Tracy and Hepburn with Kramers, Poitier quoted that Hepburn and Tracy came to him "the kind of tribute they have to Kramer, and they have to say to themselves (and I'm sure they do), this boy should be okay enough , because Stanley is crazy about working with her ".
Release
The film premiered in theaters on January 1, 1968. The film falls into the comedy drama genre. The film was released on VHS on December 12, 1987, on the 20th anniversary of the original release. The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2001.
Reception
Guess Who Came for Dinner was a box-office hit in 1968 across the United States, including in the Southern states where it is traditionally assumed that some white film audiences would like to see any movie with black leads. The success of the film challenges that assumption in film marketing. Despite this success, including many film award nominations, Frank Rich of the New York Times wrote in November 2008 that the film is often labeled as a date amongst liberals. Another major point of contention is the fact that the character of Poitier, the golden son-in-law of the future, has no shortcomings and a resume of good deeds. Many people feel that the dynamics between Draytons and Poitier characters will surely result in a happy movie that ends after the ending because the Poitier character is so perfect, respectable, fun, and deserving. Some people say that Prentice is "too white" not to be accepted by Draytons.
The release of the film in the US gave Poitier his third box-office success in six months in 1967, all of which put the race of Poitier characters in question. The film earned a total of $ 56.7 million.
In a 1986 film review by The New York Times, Lawrence Van Gelder wrote: "the suspicions that arise are the films created today the makers will come to solve many more outspoken problems with problems however still, this remains a skillful comedy and - most importantly - a compliment to the power of love. "
Variant version
The original version of the movie that premiered in theaters in 1968 contained a moment in which Tillie responded to the question "Guess who's coming for dinner now?" with one-sarcastic phrase: "Reverend Martin Luther King?" After the King's assassination on April 4, 1968, this line was removed from the film, so in August 1968, almost all theatrical performances of the film had eliminated this line. As early as 1969, the line was restored to many but not all prints, and the lines were preserved in versions of VHS and DVD movies, as well.
The plot explores a theme similar to Ted Willis's 1958 Summer Hot Summer drama.
Awards and honors
Win
The film won two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards:
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Actress (Katharine Hepburn)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
- 1968: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in Main Role (Spencer Tracy)
- 1968: BAFTA Award for Best Actress in Main Role (Katharine Hepburn)
- 1968: David di Donatello for Best Foreign Producer (Stanley Kramer)
- 1968: David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor (Spencer Tracy)
- 1968: David at Donatello for Best Foreign Actress (Katharine Hepburn)
Nominated
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Picture
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Director
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Actor (Spencer Tracy)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Cecil Kellaway)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Beah Richards)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Robert Clatworthy and Frank Tuttle)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Film Editing (Robert C. Jones)
- 1967: Academy Award for Best Original Score (Frank De Vol)
Recognition of the American Film Society
- 100 Years AFI... 100 Movies - # 99
- AFI 100 Years... 100 Passions - # 58
- AFI 100 Years... 100 Quotes Movies:
- "You think of yourself as a colored man, I consider myself a man." - Nominated
- AFI 100 Years... 100 Cheers - # 35
- 100 Years AFI... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated
Remake
Stanley Kramer produced and directed an unsuccessful 30-minute television pilot for ABC-TV under the same title and premise in 1975.
In 2003, comedian Daniele Luttazzi published his screenplay TabÃÆ'¹ , a parody almost similar to the film. In the variations, the lovers involved are 40 (he) and 12 (he), and are brothers and sisters.
The 2005 film Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac is a loose remake that is styled as a comedy rather than a drama, with an inverted racial role: dark-skinned parents are astonished when their daughter brings home a white man young whom he chose to marry. Speaking of the film, Bernie Mac told USA Today in 2003, "Interracial dating is not that significant anymore." In the article, the authors quoted that during the time in which the original film was filmed, "intermarriage marriages are considered risky." Casting for a Mac remake of the movie began in November 2003. Mac says of the script, "They want to make it into a comedy, but I will not respect Spencer, Katharine or Sidney."
Irish writer Roddy Doyle wrote a short story with the same title about an Irish girl who brought home an immigrant from Nigeria, published in 2008 in The Deportees collection.
The plot is very similar to another film, Crossroads, created by Canadian director Don Haldane a decade earlier in 1957. In this film, a young white woman in Toronto shocked her mother with her black fiancee.
The film is referenced in a 1988 episode of Suzanne's Designing Women's sitcom , which mistakenly calls it, "There Are Some Blacks Coming For Dinner."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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