IMDb > Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 22 | slideshow) Videos (see all 5)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) -- Trailer for this classic starring Sidney Poitier
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   10,604 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
William Rose (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 December 1967 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
a love story of today
Plot:
Matt and Christina Drayton are a couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 20 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
90210 2.10 "To Thine Own Self Be True" Recap
 (From TVovermind.com. 18 November 2009, 4:11 PM, PST)

PGA Honors Precious.
 (From FilmExperience. 18 November 2009, 3:18 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Surprisingly fresh for a thirty year old, and still relevant more (143 total)
US TV Schedule:

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Spencer Tracy ... Matt Drayton

Sidney Poitier ... Dr. John Wade 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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
108 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When the movie was conceived and launched by producer-director Stanley Kramer, one of Hollywood's greatest liberal movie-makers, intermarriage between African Americans and Caucasians was still illegal in 14 states. Towards the end of production, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Loving v. Virginia. The Loving decision was made on June 12, 1967, two days after the death of star Spencer Tracy, who had played a "phony" white liberal who grudgingly accepts his daughter's marriage to a black man. In Loving, the High Court unanimously ruled that anti-miscegenation marriage laws were unconstitutional. In his opinion, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." Interestingly, Kramer kept in the line of the African American father played by Roy Glenn, who tells his son played by Sidney Poitier, "In 16 or 17 states you'll be breaking the law. You'll be criminals." This was probably because Kramer realized that, despite the change in the law, the couple would still be facing a great deal of prejudice requiring a stalwart love for their marriage to survive, which was the message Tracy's character gives in an eight-minute scene that is the climax of the movie. The scene summing up the theme of the movie was the last one the dying Tracy filmed for the movie, and it was the last time he would ever appear on film. It took a week to shoot the scene and at the end, he was given a standing ovation by the crew. He died a little over a fortnight after walking off of a sound-stage for the last time. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Matt and Christina are at Mel's Drive-in, the rear view projection of the street shows it running perpendicular to the parking lot. During the actual shots of the property, the street runs parallel to it. more
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?
more
Soundtrack:
Glory of Love more

FAQ

Is it true that interracial marriage was once illegal in the United States?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Do John and Joey get married?
more
38 out of 58 people found the following comment useful.
Surprisingly fresh for a thirty year old, and still relevant, 9 May 1999
8/10
Author: Kyle Milligan (toldyaso@planeteer.com) from Toronto, Canada

Seeing this film for the first time more than thirty years after it was made, I was struck by the theme's endurance in time. It remains relevant today, even if not to the same degree. And even though I'm almost thirty years old, I can say with mixed emotions of embarrassment and vindication, that Spencer Tracy taught me a better way to tie a tie. Who's says movies don't teach you anything?

The film is dated, to be sure, by many things, from clothing to music, cars and expressions. At times the dialogue seemed a bit hokey, and others, simply brilliant. I swear, I half expected an entourage of go-go dancers to spontaneously burst through the streets of San Francisco. And if I never hear the "Story Of Love" ever again in my life, it would be too soon.

But I can't help but think that the more things change in thirty years, sometimes they remain the same. Certainly there's more examples of interracial couples today than thirty years ago, and therefore a greater degree of tolerance, but for a lot of narrow-minded individuals, it's still as controversial or "appalling" as it was thirty years ago.

Some of the lines actually had me laughing out loud, enjoying the moment as it follows into another well complimented scene. I'm speaking in particular of the scene where Katharine Hepburn fires her employee for her prejudicial views, and basically everything that follows that scene for the next five minutes.

I try my best to imagine what it would be like to be in the shoes of any character in the film, to appreciate what it might've been like for them, in that time, and while I think I can muster an inkling, I don't think my creativity is up to a challenge of that nature. And I think that ultimately, that's a good thing, and I'm grateful to those who came before.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (143 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
If it were MY Daughter...... yttimsmc11
NEED HELP!!! SERIOUSLY!!! Tiffy70103
Great Speeches in Movies kcuber
Katharine Hepburn's tears, etc. beegeebright
Sidney's behaviour towards his father Cuneo
A well meaning, but bad movie. v_goggo
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Giant The Notebook Broken Flowers La règle du jeu Monster's Ball
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.