Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was released on December 12, 1967, produced and directed by Stanley Kramer. The storyline was about a white liberal woman who engaged with a black doctor whom she met when in vacation in Hawaii and flew to her parent's home in San Francisco with her fiancé. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Spencer Tracy), Supp. Actor (Cecil Kellaway), Supp. Actress (Beah Richards), Art Direction, Editing, Adapted Score [1].
Plot
When Joanna “Joey” Drayton, a liberal raised educated white woman, came home from a period of vacation in Hawaii and brought her black fiancé, the high-qualified doctor, John Prentice to her meet parents in San Francisco. Her mother, Christina Drayton and father, Matt Drayton are wealthy liberals and must face racism coming from different races of marriage. This became a true test of their long-time beliefs : do they approve of their daughter marrying a black man. [2] Joey also invites John’s parents to the dinner, Mr and Mrs. Prentice without knowing that Joey is white, which later they strongly disapprove with their son’s relationship. Another person that was being invited to the dinner was a friend of her family, the liberal Monsignor Ryan. Through day and night, the families discusses the problem of their daughter and son. [3]
Controversy
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was become one of the films that depict an interracial marriage in a positive way, as historically the practice had been illegal in most states of the United States and still illegal in 17 states, mostly Southern States, until six months before the film was released, Jun 12, 1967. [4]
With its radical interracial romance, the film, marked the first where a white actress and a black actor kissed in a big scene. Consequently, some theaters in the South refused to show it. “Columbia Pictures, when they found out what the film was about, they didn’t want to do it. And they did everything they could to stop filming,” recalls Houghton. “They kept saying, ‘Nobody’s going to ever come and see this film. We’re going to lose millions of dollars on this film.’ [5]
References
- ↑ https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/guess-who-s-coming-to-dinner-1200421442/
- ↑ https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/guess-who-s-coming-to-dinner-1200421442/
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%27s_Coming_to_Dinner#:~:text=Guess%20Who's%20Coming%20to%20Dinner%20is%20a%201967%20American%20comedy,features%20Hepburn's%20niece%20Katharine%20Houghton
- ↑ https://apnews.com/article/b198d2db3ba148a4a9036333cd74cefd#:~:text=Houghton%20and%20co%2Dstar%20Sidney,seemed%20suspicious%20to%20the%20actors.