Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967)

Joey Drayton (Katharine Houghton) brings her fiance, Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier), home to sunny San Francisco to meet her affluent parents (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn). Hilarity ensues as their liberal persuasions are now put to the test, for although the young man is an ideal choice (he's highly and internationally respected in the medical field, and he's impeccably mannered, handsome, well dressed and of a respectable California family), he's black. The film, which covers one busy day in the Drayton home, is essentially a drawing-room comedy, a series of cross-conversations between the young doctor and the girl's parents. But just when you think it can't get any worse, guess who's coming to dinner. The simple dinner is extended to include the doctor's parents, who fly up from Los Angeles for the evening, and the crusty but benevolent old Irish priest, a friend of the family.

Trivia: Spencer Tracy died 17 days after filming was completed. Katharine Hepburn had to use her salary as backing in order to make this movie because Spencer Tracy was so ill that the studio didn't think that he would make to the end of the picture. Due to Spencer Tracy's health, the cast was always working from two shooting scripts, one with Tracy, one without. Typically, Katharine Hepburn brought Tracy in the morning, they worked until she decided he was too tired, then Tracy and Hepburn left. Sidney Poitier, who already had received a Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field, was intimidated by working with two legends, and preferred to perform to empty high backed chairs. Katharine Hepburn never saw the completed movie. She said the memories of Tracy were too painful. Katharine Hepburn's character's daughter is played by Hepburn's actual niece Katharine Houghton. The three-inch bronze sculpture of Spencer Tracy featured in the film was created by Katharine Hepburn herself and was one of the items that were included in her estate auction in 2004. The bust was the most sought-after item and fetched the most money--it sold for $316,000, whereas pre-auction estimates were in the neighborhood of $3,000-$5,000. Spencer Tracy's glasses have no lenses throughout the film.

Welcome to Classic Month September. I have a backlog of old mostly classic movies and I have decided to dedicate the whole month to them. First up a little gem of a movie. I mean really, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier? What a powerful cast. Three Oscar winners that dominate the screen, and even though Poitier was intimidated, he sure held his own. One of my friends mentioned this and I agree with him...the film makers really try to make Poitier smart, gentle, well respected, well mannered, and all that to make sure the main conflict is the fact that he is black and she is not, then they make him 1) 14 years older then her, and 2) they only met 10 days ago and already want to get married. This really submarines the whole race issue because both of these points would be valid issues to a parent to want to disapprove the marriage. So, how did they confront these two points? Well, as for the age issue, nothing, they completely ignore it, I think it was only mentioned once in passing. And the 10 days, they all but ignore it, there is a little mention of it, but that is about it. I mean I understand why they did it, the age difference gives him the time to become the respected doctor, but also keeps the parents younger and if they had had more time there wouldn't be a need for the parent to have to decide in one day if they approve which would effectively eliminate the conflict. But this is all beside the point, the movie was fantastic as were Poitier, Tracy, Hepburn, and Houghton.