Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)

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Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)

6/10

Starring

Spencer Tracy

Sidney Poitier

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton

Directed by Stanley Kramer

The first interracial movie i think i saw and enjoyed was the 2005 film Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher and the late Bernie Mac. Although here the racial roles are reversed; Guess Whois loosely based on this movie, but it is done in a comic tone rather than the drama tone that this Poitier version took.

This is a nice movie by its own right one that i think many should see. The acting of Hepburn is masterful, and touching.

The movie is about an interracial couple, Dr. John Wayde Prentice (Sidney Poitier, Black) and Joanna “Joey” Drayton (Katharine Houghton, White). At that time interracial marriage was more like a taboo, and Joanna’s family were really worried for their daughter. John’s parents too were worried about the future that their child and possible grandchildren would have by their son marring a white girl, and the whole movie revolved round both families trying to resolve their differences.

The funny thing that happened during filming is Sidney Poitier becoming a bit tongue tied when he had to be in the presence of both Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, the starstruck effect of their presence got to him, as he was standing in front of people he considered to be giants when acting is concerned.

The film is notable for being the ninth and final on-screen pairing of Tracy and Hepburn (at that time they were live in partners, with Tracy never divorcing his first wife) because after filming was done Spencer Tracy died 17 days later.

Hepburn is said to have never seen the completed film, saying the memories of Tracy were too painful.

Well, this is the first Spencer Tracy film I got to see, so I may not be the best judge of how great his acting was compared to the others, but as said above Katharine Hepburn was in a class of her own all through the movie, at times I was wondering if she was crying because of what was happening or because of the fact that her lover is dying.

The movie was a commercial and critical success winning two Academy Awards for Best Actress (Katharine Hepburn) and Best Writing (Original Screenplay).

Sidney Poitier’s acting in this movie is not as grand as the one I saw him dish out in, In the Heat of the Night (1967), but regardless this is a good movie for all to see also.