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1967
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GUESS
WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
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STARRING:KATHERINE
HEPBURN,SIDNEY POITIER,SPENCER TRACY,ROY GLENN,KATHERINE HOUGHTON,CECIL
KELLAWAY,BEAH RICHARDS,ISABELL SANFORD
WRITTEN
BY WILLIAM ROSE
PRODUCED
BY STANLEY KRAMER
DIRECTED
BY STANLEY KRAMER
GENRE:COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE
RATED:AUSTRALIA:PG/UK:PG/USA:APPROVED
RUNNING
TIME:108 MIN
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Guess
Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 racial drama released during
a time when interracial marriage was banned in 16 southern states
within America. The film was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer,
one of Hollywood's most fervent liberals who specialized in creating
conscience raising films such as The Defiant Ones and
Inherit the Wind. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
follows in the same Kramer tradition, and while its stance on race
in America should be applauded for its (at that time) progressive
nature, Kramer's insistence in drenching the film with an over abundance
of sixties hipster culture has not helped the film stand the test
of time, while its pretentious liberal back slapping conveys a smugly
elitist tinge throughout.
The film focuses on upper class San Francisco couple Matt Drayton
(Spencer Tracy) the owner of a popular progressive newspaper, and
his wife Christina (Katherine Hepburn) who owns an art gallery.
When their only daughter Joey (a miscast and over the top Katherine
Houghton) surprises her parents with the news that she is to marry
African American doctor John Wade Prentice (Sidney Poitier), Joey
is surprised by how her supposedly liberal parents are taken back
by the news, (Hepburn's reaction is priceless, and Tracy's is even
better). Even their black maid Tillie (Isabel Sanford) disapproves
of the marriage, since she believes Dr. Prentice is a conman out for
Joey's money.
While the annoyingly bubbly and arrogantly naïve Joey does not
understand why her parents - who raised her not to judge people by
the colour of their skin or their beliefs - are hesitant in granting
their blessing, Dr. Prentice understands where they are coming from:
interracial marriage in those days carried with it dangerous and even
deadly consequences.
To make matters worse, the ultimate plot device in the form of an
ultimatum is given to the Drayton's by Dr. Prentice: they must give
their decision by 10 o'clock that night before he and Joey fly to
Geneva where they will live for the next 3 months. Of course it never
crossed anyone's mind that a decision on their marriage could be made
after that 3 months is up, and does it not strike as odd that two
seemingly rational people would not want to at least know each other
more than 10 days before getting hitched? Anyway, I digress.
Christina supports her daughter's decision, yet Matt - to everyone's
surprise - does not. His stance is hardened even further when he meets
Dr. Prentice's father (Roy Glenn), who also opposes the marriage and
drives home the films message that it is and always have been old
men who halt progress. Hell, even the most Irish Catholic of Irish
Catholic priest's in the form of Cecil Kellaway's Monsignor Ryan -
a dear friend to the irreligious family - cannot persuade Matt otherwise
with his pearls of wisdom. (Truth be told, I was shocked to find a
pro-Liberal Hollywood which did not resort to anti-Catholicism. Must
have been the JFK factor at the time).
At this point is when the film begins to live up to its potential
as an emotionally packed look at race relations, thanks to some powerfully
written dialogue by William Rose (which culminates in a sterling speech
by Tracy that closes the film) and incredible performances by its
three leads. In fact, both of these factors were what have kept the
film afloat over the last 4 decades.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner marks the ninth -and final -collaboration
between Hepburn and Tracy, who would pass away shortly after completing
this film. His last performance proved to be an equally touching and
highly energetic one, and Hepburn counters with an equally powerful
and emotionally deep turn.
Yet the unsung hero here is Sidney Poitier, who provides grace, humour,
and passion in spades. It would be a career defining year for Poitier,
who also excelled in the much more powerful statement on American
racism, In the Heat of the Night.
As a film for its time, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a strong
indictment on racism in America. Yet 40 years on, it fails to get
the blood running and the brain stirring even in our much more enlightened
times. There is something counter productive in watching a group of
rich people complain about the hardships of the world whilst living
in a mansion with a million dollar view. Take the same story to the
grit of the streets where real oppression - race, class, and religious
- lives and breathes, and a much gutsier and realistic film on these
issues will be apparent. As it stands, this is an entertaining yet
fantastical opinion piece which Hollywood adored as it scored numerous
Oscars. |
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