Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

William Rose won an Oscar for his screenplay and original story about an interracial middle-class engagement between a white girl (Katherine Houghton) and a black man (Sidney Poitier) whilst Katharine Hepburn won Best Actress as the prospective mother-in-law. The latter was largely regarded as being an honorarium for Hepburn's long-time on- and off-screen partner, Spencer Tracy, who died ten days after the end of shooting, whilst Rose's screenplay won more on its merits albeit because of rather than despite its earnest and suitably safe treatment of a controversial subject.

Released the same year as In The Heat Of The Night, Bonnie And Clyde and The Graduate, Stanley Kramer's treatment is decidedly old school (and in its depiction of youth culture, wincingly so) but it is nevertheless effective in bringing together a mix of pertinent contemporary issues and thus remaining valuable as a window on its times.  It is also well-performed by all concerned and stands as a fine testament to Tracy's talents.

 

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