This one looks like a simple family dinner, but the conversation gets serious fast. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner stars Sidney Poitier as Dr. John Prentice, with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as the parents of the woman he plans to marry. The movie was released in December 1967 and runs about 108 minutes — 1 hour and 48 minutes.
What makes the movie interesting is that it tackled interracial marriage at a time when the subject was still controversial in the United States. The story was written as an original screenplay by William Rose and directed by Stanley Kramer.
A few things you may not know: Spencer Tracy was in very poor health during filming, and the studio was worried he might not be able to finish the picture. Katharine Hepburn and director Stanley Kramer reportedly put their salaries at risk to help keep him in the production. Tracy died only 17 days after finishing his scenes. Hepburn later said she never watched the completed movie because the memories of Tracy were too painful.
Another interesting bit of trivia: Sidney Poitier was already an Oscar-winning actor, but he reportedly found working opposite longtime screen legends Tracy and Hepburn intimidating enough that, during some rehearsals, he preferred delivering his lines toward empty chairs rather than directly at them.
And Isabel Sanford, who plays Tillie, would later become much more famous as Louise “Weezy” Jefferson on The Jeffersons. In this movie she gets some of the funniest reactions at the dinner table.
One note about the movie here on Bootleg Comic Theater: I couldn’t make one of my shortened movie versions of this film because it is still copyrighted. So instead of cutting the 108-minute movie down, I’m leaving the film itself alone and using the Bootleg Comic to have a little fun with the story beforehand.
So pull up a chair. Dinner may take 1 hour and 48 minutes, but at least you don’t have to wash the dishes afterward.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Press Play for the BJ introduction, followed by the movie.
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