Editing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

{{Short description|1967 film by Stanley Kramer}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
<!--no discussion or even inkling of the issue  {{lead rewrite|date=September 2017}}
 -->{{Infobox film
| name           = Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
| image          = Guess Who's Coming to Dinner poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Stanley Kramer]]
| writer         = [[William Rose (screenwriter)|William Rose]]
| producer       = Stanley Kramer
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Spencer Tracy]]
* [[Sidney Poitier]]
* [[Katharine Hepburn]]
* [[Katharine Houghton]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Sam Leavitt]]
| editing        = [[Robert C. Jones]]
| music          = [[Frank De Vol]]
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1967|12|11|New York City|1967|12|12|United States}}
| runtime        = 108 minutes<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Craddock |editor-first=Jim |url=https://archive.org/details/videohoundsgolde0000unse_u5f9/page/354/mode/2up |title=VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2005: The Complete Guide to Movies on Videocassette and DVD |location=Detroit |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |year=2004 |page=355 |isbn=978-0-7876-7470-0}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $4 million<ref name="BOM"/>
| gross          = $56.7 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0061735/ |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) |access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref>
}}
'''''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner''''' is a 1967 American [[Romance film|romantic]] [[comedy drama]] film produced and directed by [[Stanley Kramer]], and written by [[William Rose (screenwriter)|William Rose]]. It stars [[Spencer Tracy]] (in his final role), [[Sidney Poitier]], and [[Katharine Hepburn]], and features Hepburn's niece [[Katharine Houghton]].

The film was one of the few of the time to depict an [[interracial marriage]] in a positive light, as interracial marriage historically had been illegal in many states of the United States. It was still illegal in 17 states, until June 12, 1967, six months before the film was released, and scenes were filmed just before [[anti-miscegenation laws]] were struck down by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]''.

The film was the ninth and final on-screen pairing of Tracy and Hepburn. Tracy was very ill during filming but insisted on continuing. Filming of his role was completed just 17 days before his death in June 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/|title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)|date=December 12, 1967|work=IMDb|access-date=June 28, 2018|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616192451/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hepburn never saw the completed film, saying it would be too painful for her.{{sfn|Andersen|1997|p=306}} The film was released in December 1967, six months after Tracy's death.

In 2017, on its 50th anniversary, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-178/|title=2017 National Film Registry Is More Than a 'Field of Dreams'|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213180919/https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-178/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-10-13|publisher=Library of Congress|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191832/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film's [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-nominated score was composed by [[Frank De Vol]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbu/page/1018/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955–2001 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |publisher=[[Record Research]] |year=2001 |page=1018 |isbn=978-0-89820-147-5 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Plot==
In 1967, Joanna Drayton, a 23-year-old white woman, returns from her Hawaiian vacation to her parents' home in San Francisco with Dr. John Prentice, a 37-year-old black widower. The couple became engaged after a 10-day romance. Joanna's parents are Matt Drayton, a newspaper editor, and his wife, Christina, who owns an art gallery. Though the Draytons are liberal-minded, they are shocked that their daughter is engaged to a man of a different race. Christina gradually accepts the situation, but Matt objects because of the likely unhappiness and seemingly insurmountable problems the couple will face.

Unbeknownst to Joanna, John tells the Drayton parents he will withdraw from the engagement unless both Draytons give the couple their blessing. To complicate matters, John is soon scheduled to [[Geneva]], Switzerland, for three months in his work with the [[World Health Organization]]. His answer from the Draytons will determine whether Joanna follows him. Joanna invites John's parents to fly up from Los Angeles to join them for dinner that evening. John has not told them his fiancée is white. Monsignor Mike Ryan, Matt's golf buddy, arrives and tells Matt and the couple that he is supportive of the engagement.  Ryan is amused by his old liberal friend's principles fetching up against reality.  Christina tells Matt she, too, is supportive of Joanna, even if it means fighting Matt. Christina fires her bigoted art gallery manager, Hilary St. George, who nosily intrudes and voices her sympathy for Christina's situation.

John's parents, the Prentices, arrive and are shocked to discover that Joanna is white.  The two mothers agree that this was an unexpected event but support their children. The two fathers meet, expressing disapproval at this unhappy occasion. The Monsignor advises John not to withdraw, despite Matt's objections. John and his father discuss their generational differences. John's mother tells Matt that he and her husband have forgotten what it was like to fall in love, and their failure to remember true romance has clouded their thinking. John chides Matt for not having the "guts" to tell him he disapproved of the marriage. Finally, Matt reveals his decision about the engagement to the entire group. He concludes that he does remember what true romance is. He says although the pair face enormous problems, they must find a way to overcome them, and he will approve the marriage, knowing all along he had no right to stop it. The families and the Monsignor then adjourn to the dining room for dinner.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|<!--- Cast per tombstone opening credits, order and roles per closing credits scroll --->
* [[Spencer Tracy]] as Matt Drayton
* [[Sidney Poitier]] as Dr. John Wade Prentice
* [[Katharine Hepburn]] as Christina Drayton
* [[Katharine Houghton]] as Joanna "Joey" Drayton
* [[Cecil Kellaway]] as [[Monsignor]] Mike Ryan
* [[Beah Richards]] as Mrs. Mary Prentice
* [[Roy Glenn|Roy E. Glenn Sr.]] as Mr. John Prentice Sr.
* [[Isabel Sanford]] as Matilda "Tillie" Binx
* [[Virginia Christine]] as Hilary St. George
* [[Alexandra Hay]] as carhop
* [[Barbara Randolph]] as Dorothy
* [[D'Urville Martin]] as Frankie
*  Skip Martin as delivery boy
* [[Jacqueline Fontaine]] as singer in Japanese cocktail lounge (uncredited)<!-- Only credited as the performer of "The Glory of Love", not credited for her role as a singer in the cocktail lounge --><ref>{{cite web |last=Roitz |first=Janet |title="The Glory Of Love" Guess Who's Coming To Dinner 1967; A look at Jacqueline Fontaine |url=http://www.fabulousfilmsongs.com/the-glory-oflove-guess-whos-coming-to-dinner-1967-a-look-at-jacquline-fontaine/ |website=Fabulous Film Songs |access-date=19 December 2020 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117005741/http://www.fabulousfilmsongs.com/the-glory-oflove-guess-whos-coming-to-dinner-1967-a-look-at-jacquline-fontaine/}}</ref>
}}

==Influences==
It has been suggested that a pair of contemporary cases of interracial marriage influenced Rose when he was writing the film's script.

[[Peggy Cripps]], an aristocratic debutante whose father had been a British cabinet minister and whose grandfather had been [[leader of the House of Lords]], married the [[Ethnic groups of Africa|African]] anti-colonialist [[Nana (title)|Nana]] [[Joe Appiah]]. They established their home in Appiah's native [[Ghana]], where he subsequently held office as a minister and ambassador.

At around the same time, [[Lloyd's of London|Lloyd's]] underwriter [[Ruth Williams Khama|Ruth Williams]] and her husband, African aristocrat [[Kgosi]] [[Seretse Khama]], were engaged in a struggle of their own. Their union, which also occurred in the immediate aftermath of World War II, led to a storm of comment that snowballed into an international incident which saw them stripped of their chiefly titles in his homeland and exiled to Britain. They ultimately returned to Khama's native [[Botswana]] as its inaugural president and first lady.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brozan |first=Nadine |date=February 16, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/world/africa/peggy-appiah-84-author-who-bridged-two-cultures-dies.html |title=Peggy Appiah, 84, Author Who Bridged Two Cultures, Dies |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 13, 2023 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530025302/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/world/africa/peggy-appiah-84-author-who-bridged-two-cultures-dies.html |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Production==
According to Kramer, he and Rose intentionally structured the film to debunk ethnic stereotypes. The young doctor, a [[Typecasting (acting)|typical]] role for the young Sidney Poitier, was created idealistically perfect, so that the only possible objections to his marrying Joanna would be his [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], or the fact she had only known him for 10 days; the character has thus graduated from a top school, begun innovative medical initiatives in Africa, refused to have [[premarital sex]] with his fiancée despite her willingness, and leaves money in an open container on his future father-in-law's desk in payment for a [[Long-distance calling|long-distance phone call]] he has made. Kramer and Rose completed the film script in five weeks.{{sfn|Andersen|1997|p=295}}

Kramer stated later that the principal actors believed so strongly in the premise that they agreed to act in the project even before seeing the script. Production had been set for January 1967 and ended on May 24, 1967.{{sfn|Davidson|1988|pp=207, 211}} At age 67, Tracy was in poor health with [[Cardiovascular disease|heart disease]], [[diabetes]], [[Hypertension|high-blood pressure]], [[respiratory disease]], and other ailments. Aware of Tracy's declining health, insurance companies refused to cover him for the period of filming. Kramer and Hepburn put their salaries in [[escrow]] so that if he should die during the production, filming could be completed with another actor. According to Kramer, "You're never examined for insurance until a few weeks before a picture starts. [Even] with all his drinking and ailments, Tracy always qualified for insurance before, so nobody thought it would be a problem in this case. But it was. We couldn't get insurance for Spence. The situation looked desperate. So then we figured out a way of handling it. Kate and I put up our own salaries to compensate for the lack of an insurance company for Spence. And we were allowed to proceed."{{sfn|Davidson|1988|pp=207–208}}

The filming schedule was altered to accommodate Tracy's failing health.{{sfn|Davidson|1988|pp=206–209}} All of Tracy's scenes and shots were filmed between 9:00 am and noon of each day to give him adequate time to rest for the remainder of the day.{{sfn|Andersen|1997|p=295}} For example, most of Tracy's dialogue scenes were filmed in such a way that during close-ups on other characters, a stand-in was substituted for him.{{sfn|Edwards|1985|p=337}}

Tracy's failing health was more serious than most people working on the set were aware of. According to Poitier: "The illness of Spencer dominated everything. I knew his health was very poor and many of the people who knew what the situation was didn't believe we'd finish the film, that is, that Tracy would be able to finish the film. Those of us who were close knew it was worse than they thought. Kate brought him to and from the set. She worked with him on his lines. She made sure with [Stanley] Kramer that his hours were right for what he could do, and what he couldn't do was different each day. There were days when he couldn't do anything. But also there were days when he was great, and I got the chance to know what it was like working with Tracy."{{sfn|Chandler|2010|pp=231–232}}

A bust of Tracy sculpted by Hepburn herself was used as a prop, on the bookshelf behind the desk where Poitier makes his phone call.

Tracy died two weeks after he completed his work on the film.{{sfn|Andersen|1997|p=298}}

Hepburn significantly helped cast her niece, Katharine Houghton, for the role of Joey Drayton. Concerning this, Hepburn stated: "There was a lovely part for Kathy [Houghton], my niece [...] She would play Spencer's and my daughter. I loved that. She's beautiful and she definitely had a family resemblance. It was my idea."{{sfn|Chandler|2010|pp=229–237}}

According to Hepburn, the role of Joey Drayton was one of Houghton's first major roles as a young actress. "The part of my daughter," Kate said, "was a difficult one. A young unknown actress needs more opportunity to win the sympathy of the audience. Otherwise, too much has to depend on her youth, innocence, and beauty. She had one good speech to win the audience, but it was cut. Instead she only talks with her father about the differences between the principles he taught her and the way he's behaving."{{sfn|Chandler|2010|p=231}}

Poitier frequently found himself starstruck, and as a result, a bit tongue-tied in the presence of Hepburn and Tracy, whom he considered to be "giants" as far as acting is concerned.{{sfn|Poitier|1980|p=286}} However, Poitier reportedly found a way to overcome his nerves. "When I went to play a scene with Tracy and Hepburn, I couldn't remember a word. Finally, Stanley Kramer said to me, 'What are we going to do?' I said, 'Stanley, send those two people home. I will play the scene against two empty chairs. I don't want them here because I can't handle that kind of company.' He sent them home. I played the scene in close-up against two empty chairs as the dialogue coach read Mr. Tracy's and Miss Hepburn's lines from off camera."{{sfn|Poitier|1980|p=286}}

Against the backdrop of [[civil rights movement|racial tensions in the United States]] at the time of the film's production, Poitier felt he was "under close observation" by both Tracy and Hepburn during their first dinner meetings prior to production.{{sfn|Poitier|2000|p=121}} However, he managed to swiftly win them over. Due to Tracy and Hepburn's close history with Kramer, Poitier later wrote that Hepburn and Tracy came to regard him with "the kind of respect they had for Kramer, and they had to say to themselves (and I'm sure they did), this kid has to be pretty okay, because Stanley is nuts about working with him".{{sfn|Poitier|2000|pp=121–124}}

==Variant versions==
The original version of the film that played in theaters in 1968 contained a moment in which Tillie responds to the question "Guess who's coming to dinner now?" with the sarcastic one-liner: "The Reverend [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King]]?" After [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|King's assassination]] on April 4, 1968, this line was removed from the film, so by August 1968, almost all theaters' showings of this film had this line omitted. As early as 1969, the line was restored to many but not all prints, and the line was preserved in the VHS and DVD versions of the film, as well.

==Release==
''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' opened in New York City on December 11, 1967,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/19359#3 |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) – Details |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref> followed by a wide release in the United States the following day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Guess-Whos-Coming-to-Dinner#tab=summary |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref> The film was released on [[VHS]] in October 1986<ref name="homevideo"/> and on [[DVD]] on May 22, 2001,<ref name="RT">{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guess_whos_coming_to_dinner/ |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414055525/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guess_whos_coming_to_dinner/ |archive-date=April 14, 2019}}</ref> with a 40th-anniversary DVD release on February 12, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last=Willmott |first=Don |url=http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1967/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner/ |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |website=[[Filmcritic.com]] |date=August 23, 2001 |access-date=April 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615232928/http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1967/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner/ |archive-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref> It was released on [[Blu-ray]] on February 7, 2017, to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Blu-ray|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Guess-Whos-Coming-to-Dinner-Blu-ray/169353/|website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=2020-07-02|archive-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703201652/https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Guess-Whos-Coming-to-Dinner-Blu-ray/169353/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was first shown on U.S. television on [[CBS]] on September 19, 1971, and was the highest-rated film broadcast that year with a rating of 26.8 and an audience share of 44%.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Theatres-To-TV Film Rankings|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 25, 1972|page=81|issn=0042-2738}}</ref>

==Reception==
Upon the film's release, ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' critic [[Bosley Crowther]] praised the performances and called the film "a most delightfully acted and gracefully entertaining film, fashioned much in the manner of a stage drawing-room comedy." Crowther wrote that the questions raised by the film should be set aside as they "will only tend to disturb the euphoria and likely enjoyment of this witty and glistening film."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=1967-12-12 |title=Screen: 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' Arrives: Tracy-Hepburn Picture Opens at 2 Theaters |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/12/archives/screen-guess-whos-coming-to-dinner-arrivestracyhepburn-picture.html |access-date=2023-06-16}}</ref> In the ''[[New York Daily News]]'', critic Wanda Hale gave the film a full four-star rating, and said it "must be counted as an important contribution to motion pictures. With fearless directness Stanley Kramer takes a fresh and risky topic, inter-racial marriage, deals with it boldly and lets the criticisms fall where they may. At the Victoria and Beekman Theaters, the Columbia picture evidences Kramer's uncanny ability in selecting the right cast to portray the characters created by William Rose, to speak the author's penetrating lines as they should, naturally, humorously, bitterly and in the case of Spencer Tracy, simply and eloquently. Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Katharine Houghton appear as the white people in this problem. Negroes are played by Sidney Poitier, Beah Richards, Isabel Sanford and Roy E. Glenn Sr. But withal, 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' is the late great actor's picture and he dominates it with his vitality and the clarity and logic of his presentation."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hale |first=Wanda |date=1967-12-12 |title=Tracy Dominates His Last Film |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York City, New York, United States |url=https://nydailynews.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/135109806/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref> Writing in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', film critic [[Charles Champlin]] lauded the film as "a deeply moving film, guaranteed to leave no eye undamp."<ref name="Champlin">{{cite news |last=Champlin |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Champlin |title='Dinner,' 'Cold Blood' to Bow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-champlin-review-of/126522471/ |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=December 17, 1967 |pages=14, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-charles-camplin-re/126523618/ 18]–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-chrles-champlin-re/126524831/ 19] |issn=0458-3035 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Clifford Terry, film critic of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' at the time, wrote that the film "examines a theme of the 1960s thru a style of the 1930s. The subject of interracial marriage was probed four years ago in '[[One Potato, Two Potato]],' but Producer-Director Stanley Kramer has reached back long before that for his modus operandi, coming up with the antiseptic slickness and unabashed sentiment [not necessarily a bad thing] in the generic tradition of the [[Frank Capra]] social comedy-drama."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Terry |first=Clifford |date=1968-01-28 |title=Sentiment of the '30s 'Comes to Dinner' |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-clifford-terry-movie-rev/135109442/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]], his rival at the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', gave the film a full four-star rating. He said "yes, there are serious faults in Stanley Kramer's 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,' but they are overcome by the virtues of this delightfully old-fashioned film. It would be easy to tear the plot to shreds and catch Kramer in the act of copping out. But why? On its own terms, this film is a joy to see, an evening of superb entertainment."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=1968-01-28 |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner-1968 |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref>

Martin Knelman of the ''[[Toronto Daily Star]]'' said that "Stanley Kramer has bucked the trend in at least one respect: Instead of choosing to have a title song written specially for ''Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner'', the film that arrives today at the Carlton, he has selected an old, familiar song as his theme. Kramer himself told me the other day that he is not wildly enthusiastic about the song, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a perfect touch. ''[[The Glory of Love (Benny Goodman song)|The Glory of Love]]'' (performed by nightclub singer [[Jacqueline Fontaine]]) richly echoes the naive sentimentalism of the pop culture of the 1940s and 1950s and though it’s a thoroughly modern picture in some respects, ''Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner'' is at heart a nostalgic throwback to that era."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knelman |first=Martin |date=1968-01-12 |title=It's that Tracy-Hepburn magic all the way |newspaper=Toronto Daily Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/135108278/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref> Joan Irwin of the ''[[Montreal Star]]'' called it "a strong honest and remarkably sensitive film dealing with the problem of interracial marriage. Every prejudice and argument for and against such a marriage is examined with candor and often with humor, not in a general, preachy context, but as it relates to the two particular people in question. This is no harangue on the subject of indiscriminate brotherly love, nor yet a sentimental treatment of a very real problem. It is a fine film, full of strength and tenderness, played with great subtlety and wit by an entirely superb cast."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Irwin |first=Joan |date=1968-03-15 |title=Tracy bows out in a brilliant role |newspaper=Montreal Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montreal-star/135108824/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref> Jacob Siskind of the rival ''[[Montreal Gazette|Gazette]]'' newspaper called it "one film that no one should miss. It is unashamedly, unabashedly sentimental; it is designed to tug at your heart strings; it quite obviously makes a play for the largest possible audience. But it does so honestly."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Siskind |first=Jacob |date=1968-03-15 |title=Three New Films Featuring Spencer Tracy, Dirk Bogarde and Richard Burton |newspaper=The Gazette |location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/135109062/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref>

''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' was a box-office success in 1968 throughout the United States, including in Southern states where it was traditionally assumed that few white filmgoers would want to see any film with black leads. The success of this film challenged that assumption in [[film marketing]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Mark |title=Pictures at a Revolution: Five Films and the Birth of a New Hollywood |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2008 |page=374}}</ref> Despite this success, which included numerous film award nominations, [[Frank Rich]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote in November 2008 that the film was frequently labeled as dated among liberals. Another main point of contention was the fact that Poitier's character, the golden future son-in-law, had no flaws and a résumé of good deeds. Many people felt that the dynamic between the Draytons and Poitier's character would have inevitably resulted in a happily-ever-after film ending because Poitier's character was so perfect, respectable, likable, and proper. Some people went as far as saying Prentice was "too white" not to be accepted by the Draytons.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rich |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Rich |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/opinion/02rich.html |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 1, 2008 |page=10 |access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref> It was also criticized by some for these reasons at the time, with African-American actor [[Stepin Fetchit]] saying that the film "did more to stop intermarriage than to help it."<ref>{{cite book|last=Kurlansky|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Kurlansky|title=1968: The Year That Rocked the World|year=2004|publisher=[[Ballantine Books]]|isbn=978-0-345-45581-9|location=New York|page=113|oclc=53929433}}</ref> Kramer's intention of the film was to de-bunk stereotypes placed against people of color, but some scholars argue that it  created new stereotypes in its portrayal.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blum |first=John M. |date=1969 |title=Cinema for Whom? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3331699 |journal=Journal of Aesthetic Education |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=13–19 |doi=10.2307/3331699 |jstor=3331699 |issn=0021-8510|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In a 1986 review of the film by ''The New York Times'', [[Lawrence Van Gelder]] wrote: "the suspicion arises that were the film made today its makers would come to grips a good deal more bluntly with the problems of intermarriage. Still, this remains a deft comedy and – most of all – a paean to the power of love."<ref name="homevideo">{{cite news |last=Van Gelder |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Van Gelder |title=Home Video – New Cassettes: Big Stars and Big Bands |newspaper=The New York Times |page=28 |date=October 12, 1986 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In his 1967 review of the film, Champlin wrote "questions do arise" about the treatment of intermarriage, which he observed was "made palatable to the greatest number" by creating a "comfortably old-fashioned picture." Champlin pointed to the extraordinary stature of the Poitier character, and said that he was left with a "nagging uneasiness that the problem has not really been confronted or solved, but only patronized."<ref name="Champlin"/>

On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "More well-intentioned than insightful in its approach to interracial marriage, ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' succeeds thanks to the fizzy chemistry of its star-studded ensemble."<ref>{{cite web |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guess_whos_coming_to_dinner |access-date=September 13, 2023 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has an average score of 63 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner/ |access-date=December 19, 2023 |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Award<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/21044/Guess-Who-s-Coming-to-Dinner/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603021428/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/21044/Guess-Who-s-Coming-to-Dinner/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 3, 2010 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |newspaper=The New York Times |year=2010 |title=NY Times: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |access-date=December 27, 2008}}</ref>
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="10"| [[40th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Stanley Kramer]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Spencer Tracy]] {{small|(posthumous nomination)}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Katharine Hepburn]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Cecil Kellaway]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Beah Richards]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| [[William Rose (screenwriter)|William Rose]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction]]
| [[Robert Clatworthy (art director)|Robert Clatworthy]] and [[Frank Tuttle (set decorator)|Frank Tuttle]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Robert C. Jones]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score]]
| [[Frank De Vol]]
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic|Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic]]
| Robert C. Jones
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| [[22nd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| Spencer Tracy {{small|(posthumous nomination)}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| Katharine Hepburn {{small|(also for ''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'')}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| William Rose
| {{nom}}
|-
| United Nations Award
| rowspan="2"| Stanley Kramer
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[David di Donatello]]
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Production]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Spencer Tracy
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Warren Beatty]] for ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]''}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress|Best Foreign Actress]]
| Katharine Hepburn
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Faye Dunaway]] for ''Bonnie and Clyde''}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[20th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| Fotogramas de Plata
| Best Foreign Performer
| [[Sidney Poitier]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="7"| [[25th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Spencer Tracy {{small|(posthumous nomination)}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Katharine Hepburn
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Beah Richards
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| William Rose
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Most Promising Newcomer – Female]]
| [[Katharine Houghton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]]
| [[Crystal Globe (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)|Crystal Globe]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top Comedy
| {{nom}}
|-
| Top Male Dramatic Performance
| Spencer Tracy
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[1967 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Spencer Tracy
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[20th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Drama|Best Written American Drama]]
| rowspan="2"| William Rose
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Written American Original Screenplay]]
| {{nom}}
|}

'''[[American Film Institute]] lists'''
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] – {{abbr|No.|Number}} 99<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412113202/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |archive-date=April 12, 2019}}</ref>
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions]] – No. 58<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/passions100.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052654/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/passions100.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref>
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]] – No. 35<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref>

==Remakes and adaptations==
On May 28, 1975, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] aired a 30-minute pilot for a proposed comedy television series based on ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'', produced and directed by [[Stanley Kramer]] and starring [[Leslie Charleson]] and Bill Overton.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Lee |author-link=Lee Goldberg |url=https://archive.org/details/unsoldtelevision0000gold/page/230/mode/2up |title=Unsold Television Pilots Vol. 1: 1955–1976 |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |year=2001 |page=230 |isbn=978-0-595-19429-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Baugess |editor-first1=James S. |editor-last2=DeBolt |editor-first2=Abbe Allen |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsi0001unse/page/274/mode/2up |title=Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture |volume=1 |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood]] |year=2012 |page=274 |isbn=978-0-313-32944-9 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

In 2003, comedian [[Daniele Luttazzi]] published the screenplay ''Tabu'', an almost verbatim parody of the film. In the variation, the engaged lovers are aged 40 (him) and 12 (her), and are brother and sister.<ref>{{cite book |last=Luttazzi |first=Daniele |author-link=Daniele Luttazzi |year=2003 |title=La castrazione e altri metodi infallibili per prevenire l'acne |language=it |location=Milan |publisher=[[Feltrinelli (publisher)|Feltrinelli]] |pages=155–233 |isbn=978-8-807-84029-6}}</ref>

Episodes of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' and ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'' featured plots similar to the film.

The 2005 film ''[[Guess Who (film)|Guess Who]]'' starring [[Ashton Kutcher]] and [[Bernie Mac]] is a loose remake, styled as a comedy rather than a drama, with the racial roles reversed: Black parents are caught off-guard when their daughter brings home the young white man she has chosen to marry. Talking about the film, Bernie Mac told ''[[USA Today]]'' in 2003: "Interracial dating is not that significant any more." Mac said of the script: "They want to make it a comedy, but I won't disrespect Spencer, Katharine or Sidney."<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Karen |title=Bernie will be Spencer in new 'Coming to Dinner' |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |year=2003 |issn=0734-7456}}</ref>

A British radio play titled ''That Summer of '67'', written by actress [[Tracy-Ann Oberman]] and based on the story of the film's production, was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] on 31 December 2020.

A 2011 episode of the American sitcom ''[[Last Man Standing (American TV series)|Last Man Standing]]'' features a similar theme, although the couple is lesbian instead of mixed-race.

==See also==
* [[List of interracial romance films]]
* [[List of American films of 1967]]
* ''[[You People]]'', a 2023 romantic comedy focused on parental approval and interracial marriage
* ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'' a play from 1939

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Andersen |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Andersen |url=https://archive.org/details/affairtoremember00ande |title=An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy |location=New York |publisher=[[William Morrow and Company]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-688-15311-3 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Chandler |first=Charlotte |author-link=Charlotte Chandler |url=https://archive.org/details/iknowwhereimgoin00chan |title=I Know Where I'm Going: Katharine Hepburn, a Personal Biography |location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4391-4928-7 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/spencertracytrag00davi |title=Spencer Tracy: Tragic Idol |location=New York |publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]] |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-525-24631-2 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Edwards |first=Anne |author-link=Anne Edwards |url=https://archive.org/details/remarkablewomanb00edwa |title=A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow and Company |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-688-04528-9 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Poitier |first=Sidney |author-link=Sidney Poitier |url=https://archive.org/details/measureofmanspir00poit_1 |title=The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography |location=San Francisco |publisher=[[HarperSanFrancisco]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-06-251607-7 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Poitier |first=Sidney |url=https://archive.org/details/thislife00poit |title=This Life |location=New York |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-394-50549-7 |url-access=registration}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Grant |editor-first=Barry Keith |editor-link=Barry Keith Grant |title=Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film: Academy Awards – Crime Films |volume=1 |publisher=Gale |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_Of_Film_Schirmer_Vol_1_Academy_Awards_to_Crime_Films/page/n17/mode/2up 6], [https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_Of_Film_Schirmer_Vol_1_Academy_Awards_to_Crime_Films/page/n69/mode/2up 63], [https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_Of_Film_Schirmer_Vol_1_Academy_Awards_to_Crime_Films/page/n339/mode/2up 351] |isbn=978-0-02-865792-9}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Grant |editor-first=Barry Keith |title=Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film: Independent Film – Road Movies |volume=3 |publisher=Gale |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_Of_Film_Schirmer_Vol_3_Independent_Film_Road_Movies/page/n351/mode/2up 371]–[https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_Of_Film_Schirmer_Vol_3_Independent_Film_Road_Movies/page/n353/mode/2up 372] |isbn=978-0-02-865794-3}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner-am7248 ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' at AllMovie]
* {{AFI film}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{Stanley Kramer}}
{{Tracy Hepburn films}}
{{David di Donatello Best Foreign Film}}
{{Sony franchises}}

{{Portal bar|Film|United States|Comedy|1960s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guess Who's Coming To Dinner}}
[[Category:1967 films]]
[[Category:1967 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1967 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1967 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:African-American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films about interracial romance]]
[[Category:Films about racism in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Stanley Kramer]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Stanley Kramer]]
[[Category:Films scored by Frank De Vol]]
[[Category:Censored films]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]