Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writer:

William Rose

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Spencer Tracy	...	Matt Drayton
Sidney Poitier	...	John Prentice
Katharine Hepburn	...	Christina Drayton
Katharine Houghton	...	Joey Drayton
Cecil Kellaway	...	Monsignor Ryan
Beah Richards	...	Mrs. Prentice
Roy Glenn	...	Mr. Prentice (as Roy E. Glenn Sr.)
Isabel Sanford	...	Tillie (as Isabell Sanford)
Virginia Christine	...	Hilary St. George
Alexandra Hay	...	Carhop
Barbara Randolph	...	Dorothy
D'Urville Martin	...	Frankie
Tom Heaton	...	Peter
Grace Gaynor	...	Judith
Skip Martin	...	Delivery Boy

Storyline

After a period of vacation in Hawaii, Joanna "Joey" Drayton returns to her parents' home in San Francisco bringing her fiancé, the high-qualified Dr. John Prentice, to introduce him to her mother Christina Drayton that owns an art gallery and her father Matt Drayton that is the publisher editor of the newspaper The Guardian. Joey was raised with a liberal education and intends to get married with Dr. John Prentice that is a black widower and needs to fly on that night to Geneva to work with the World Health Organization. Joey invites John's parents Mr. Prentice and Mrs. Prentice to have dinner with her family and the couple flies from Los Angeles to San Francisco without knowing that Joey is white. Christina invites also the liberal Monsignor Ryan, who is friend of her family. Along the day and night, the families discuss the problems of their son and daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

miscegenation | interracial relationship | social commentary | doctor | racism | 

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Taglines:

a love story of today

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rat mal, wer zum Essen kommt

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$56,700,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,000,000, 31 January 1970

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was instrumental in largely ending the marketing consideration of how films featuring African-American characters and themes were assumed to be likely rejected by mainstream audiences in the Southern States of the U.S. In that regard, the film was such a major widespread success throughout the entire U.S., including the South, that the marketing factor would never again be considered a major problem for any major film release.

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Goofs

The car that Tracy backs into already has a dent in the front door panel. During the accident the relative position of the two cars and the number of dents in the side panels change with each change in shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John: You know, I just had a thought. Why don't I go check into a hotel and get some rest, and you go find your folks?

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Alternate Versions

When Monsignor Ryan is added to the guest list, Joey goes to tell Tillie. Joey asks "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" and Tillie replies "Reverend Martin Luther King". Following the assassination of King, this was removed - Joey says she'll tell Tillie but we see nothing more. Several months later, this gag was restored.

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Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: Lucifer Rising (2009)

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Soundtracks

Glory of Love
(1936)
by Billy Hill
Sung by Jacqueline Fontaine at the restaurant
Sung offscreen by a chorus during opening and closing credits
Played in the score often

User Reviews

Good movie

I feel sorry for John Seal, the reviewer above, for his views on this movie, as well as his views on interracial marriage. I think this movie is excellent, I enjoyed the performances of all the actors and the message is important. Racial prejudice was common in 1967, and the very first interracial kiss on TV was still to come (it happened in 1969 on Star Trek). People needed to hear the message this movie contains, that color and race are not something that should prevent two people who love each other from marrying. I am a white American married to a Japanese female and I am proud that our children will grow up to live in a world where people have tolerance for different cultures and beliefs. It is sad to watch Spencer Tracy in this movie, knowing he died weeks after it was made. But it was nice that he could act with Katherine Hepburn, the love of his life, so close to his death. That must have made him happy.