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Spencer Tracy's last performance was in this well-meaning, handsome film by Stanley Kramer about a pair of white parents (Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) trying to make sense of their daughter's impending marriage to an African American doctor (Sidney Poitier). The film has been knocked over the years for padding conflict and stoking easy liberalism by making Poitier's character in every socioeconomic sense a good catch: But what if Kramer had made this stranger a factory worker? Would the audience still find it as easy to accept a mixed-race relationship? But there's no denying the drawing power of this movie, which gets most of its integrity from the stirring performances of Tracy and Hepburn. When the former (who had been so ill that the production could not get completion insurance) gives a speech toward the end about race, love, and much else, it's impossible not to be affected by the last great moment in a great actor's life and career. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (64)

An All-time Classic
Aside from calmly, reasonably confronting a social taboo of the '60s -- racially mixed marriages -- in a thoughtful, touching manner, this film features career-high performances from several of Hollywood's finest. Spencer Tracy is absolutely brilliant in his final screen appearance as the avowed liberal newspaper publisher Matt Drayton, who, along with his idealistic wife (a role that earned Katherine Hepburn her second Best Actress Oscar) learns that their barely-20-year-old daughter is planning to elope with a black physician (played with cool passion by Sidney Poitier). The story evolves from Poitier's confidence in the two shocked parents that, without their full approval, the marriage will not go on -- and there are only hours to decide. Add his parents to the mix, and as the list of dinner guests grows so does the tension. Aside from the marvelous script, memorable performances and outstanding direction, photography and music there is a chemistry in the mix that truly creates an energy greater than the sum of its parts -- and when the parts are this good, the result is a film for the ages that goes straight to the heart of themes like love, passion, prejudice and family conflict. In the end love does conquor all in Tracey's powerful final speech, made more poignant by a visibly moved and misty Hepburn -- perhaps cognizant that she was witnessing the final curtain call of a great actor. This is the magic Hollywood is capable of, a movie that re-affirms one's faith in the ideals of love and equality, and certainly belongs in every collection.

4.5 Stars; Needs Historical/Cultural Context Remembered
The Story: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play the parents of young Katharine Houghton, who brings home her well-educated fiancee to meet the parents. The parents are not expecting their daughter's fiancee, a physician, to be African-American, but Sidney Poitier certainly is. The film focuses on the parents' discomfort over the biracial marriage.

When the story begins, it's easy to think that the movie studios were aiming to do two things: make one more movie with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (this was his last film, and he was quite ill during its making); and make a simple statement about racial tolerance. This film could easily have ended up with a very contrived, forced air to it. But, that doesn't happen when you put Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier together in a film. The cast rises above the simplicity of the premise. Some have said that making Poitier's character a well-educated doctor weakened the racial conflict potential, but I lived just outside of Detroit in 1967, and ANY biracial marriage was a controversial idea to base a film upon. It also put the race issue right on the table, as the parents had no basis upon which to object to their daughter's marriage, except for their discomfort over the race issue.

Overall, if the viewer remembers when this film was made, the quality of the cast makes it a real winner.

Bit Prepackaged for My Taste
More like 3.5 stars. There's nothing particularly wrong with this movie but it's not the genius its been made out to be either. It's not nearly as daring as it likes to think it is. He's a wealthy, smart, sophisticated mature professional. She's an airhead. He's black and she's white. He's a catch and a half and she's a twit. The real question should not be why does she want to marry a black man but rather what he sees in her. Of course they will have problems with the intolerant aspects of society. Of course their children will be teased and mistreated by racist adults and ignorant children. But this film was made in the late 60's, not the late 30's. It's also set in San Francisco (Liberal Heaven) and not in rural Mississippi. The white girl's parents are liberals through and through. Poitier's character's parents are a working man & his wife from Los Angeles. Notice how Tracy's character does not object to his daughter marrying a black man but is deeply concerned by how a mixed couple & their children will be received in society. This movie gives itself every break it possibly can to ease its way down a receptive audience's throat.

Boring...
This movie has been hailed as being a great piece of work; I tried to watch it. I really did and I could not do it. Portier plays his role well; but then again it is not like he has to act; he just has to be himself. Stay away from this miserable piece(...).

Landmark film about racial prejudice
Considered a landmark film, it addresses racial prejudice and interracial marriage in a time when sixteen states in America still upheld laws that made miscegenation a crime. It is important to pay attention to past racial and ethnic issues, in order to understand those today and to see whether any 'progress' towards a more 'tolerant' society has been made. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is an entertaining, straightforward and well-meant film that will hopefully make students aware of the controversy of interracial relationships throughout the decades and centuries even. Being a child of mixed race parents, I find the film meaningful in showing two people of different races, being very much in love and very willing to face all the social obstacles their interracial relationship is bound to encounter.
Summary
In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner the 23-year-old, white, upper class Joanna "Joey" Drayton (Katharine Houghton) brings home her fiancé John Wade Prentice (Sidney Poitier) to meet her parents. When he turns out to be a distinguished 37-year-old black doctor, the "liberal" progressive parents (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are forced to re-examine their beliefs regarding interracial marriage and are given one single day to do so. Before the parents can get all of their objections sorted out, they have John's parents coming to dinner as well. Both sets of parents have reservations about this union, but try to come to terms with the interracial marriage.
Discussion
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? raises several questions or issues that might be interesting to discuss after viewing it. The film's main themes are interracial relationships and prejudice, and it advocates a mixed race marriage, which makes it a very progressive movie for the 1960s. Considered progressive as well are Joey's 'liberal' parents who have raised their daughter not to be prejudiced and they have done this successfully, with her 'lack of' prejudice extending to her being able to fall in love with an African American. The parents are then left to consider whether they really believe in their acclaimed 'liberal thinking' and this may raise important questions with the viewing audience. Are human beings really as liberal or conservative as they think they are when it comes to practicing what they preach?
If it is not race that prevents the parents (the fathers in particular), both Joanna's and John's, from approving the marriage, what is?
The only objection to the interracial marriage vocalized in the film is the harsh treatment they will most likely receive from society. Although this is a valid and probably accurate objection, it is debatable on whether the fathers do not have more personal objections. The movie glosses over the subject of interracial marriage without getting too detailed, but the concern on whether the couple understands the adversity they will face if they go ahead with their interracial marriage is very clear.
The themes addressed in the film were still much of a taboo in the 1960s, so in order to merely create a 'mild controversy', the director seems to have made the relationship between John and Joey as 'acceptable' as possible. Infallible and with impeccable credentials as a prize-winning doctor and working for the World Health Organization, John is portrayed as an in-laws dream. The character is in every socioeconomic sense a 'good catch': What parent would not want him as a son-in-law? But what if the director had made the fiancé a factory worker? Would the audience still find it as easy to accept a mixed-race relationship?
Also, to reduce the seriousness of the racial themes, the film is presented as a comedy. This means that conservative viewers can laugh about it while telling themselves that these events would never really happen. Finally, Joey and John avoid their biggest challenge by intending to live abroad for John's work. Therefore, they will not have to cope with the racial tensions in the country and they will not have to combine two communities and identities or have to pick one over the other.
When it was released it 1967, Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner reflected upon the changing race relation in America. Interracial intimacy and marriage in particular were delicate themes to discuss, which makes this film so important, both at that time as well as today. The individual right to choose a sexual partner, select a spouse and raise a family could not be fully exercised in all of the United States up until the Loving decision in 1967, which banned anti-miscegenation laws. Although these laws disappeared, the prejudices that had always accompanied them, could not be banned so easily. They persisted, despite the colour blind ideal.
The fact that the Joey's father is an intellectual liberal forced to face his own buried prejudices gives the film an important message that should still be considered today. On some deeply personal level many people are still prejudiced, no matter how hard they try to tell themselves otherwise. In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Spencer Tracy's character comes to this realization, but is able to put his objections for his daughter's happiness. The film chooses to be colour blind like Joey's father and lets pure and simple love instead of race be the basis for a successful marriage. Or as Matt Drayton argues in his 'final analysis' in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner:
"[...] in the final analysis it doesn't matter a damn what we think. The only thing that matters is what they feel, and how much they feel for each other. And if it's half of what we felt ... that's everything". ... Read more

Reviews (19)

"Movin' on up!"
With the release of the All in the Family: Complete Season 1 DVD set, the next logical step would be that series' most successful spinoff, The Jeffersons. For those that don't know, the Jeffersons first started out as the next door neighbors of the Bunkers on All in the Family. Actually, the original Lionel, son of George and Louise (Wheezy), played by Mike Evans (later the role would go to Damon Evans) appeared in the first episode, "Meet the Bunkers", as a friend of Mike Stivic, and became a recurring character. Louise appeared for the first time in the final show of the first season, "The first and last supper" but without George (Sherman Hemsley), instead bringing his brother Henry (Mel Stewart) who would turn out to be a hilarious regular on the show. George would not be introduced until season 4, in an episode called "Henry's Farewell", which I believe is Henry's last episode. Anyway, the Jeffersons became so popular on the show that they left during the fifth season of All in the Family and started their own show in 1975. Again, if you don't already know, the Jeffersons "moved up" to an upscale apartment complex in Manhattan where they hired a maid with an attitude, Florence (Marla Gibbs), and became friends (well at least Louise did) with their neighbors in the building, Tom & Helen Willis (Franklin Cover & Roxie Roker) and Mr. Bentley (Paul Benedict). Other regulars on the show were Jenny Willis (Berlinda Tolbert), Mother Jefferson (Zara Cully), Ralph the Doorman (Ned Wertimer),and Charlie the Bartender (Danny Wells). The Jeffersons, like All in the Family, is not only essential TV comedy, but its also a landmark, considering the controversial topics and attitudes dealt with on the show. I have not seen the DVD set yet but I hope it is done better than the All in the Family set. There is already evidence that it will be, considering The Jeffersons is being released as a reasonably priced two DVD set with 13 episodes as opposed to the 3 DVD higher priced All in the Family set (also with 13 episodes). Anyway I complained enough about the All in the Family set in my review for that. The Jeffersons: Complete First Season should include these episodes: (the pilot, "The Jeffersons move up", probably will not be included, seeing as it is considered an episode of All in the Family)

1) A Friend in need
2) George's family tree
3) The good life is bad for Louise
4) Lionel the playboy
5) Mr. piano man

6) George's skeleton
7) Lionel cries uncle
8) Mother Jefferson's boyfriend
9) Meet the press
10) Rich man's disease
11) Former neighbors
12) Like father, like son?
13) Jenny's low

For more essential 70s sitcoms on DVD, look for the complete first season of Sanford & Son (Redd Fox) due out at the same time as The Jeffersons!

Amazing television show!
Created as a spin-off of Norman Lear's groundbreaking sitcom All In The Family, the Jefferson's ran on CBS from 1975 to 1983, with a run of 253 episodes. The show details the comic exploits of a short-tempered dry cleaning magnate George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley), his sassy wife Louise "Weezy" (Isabel Sanford), their wisecracking maid Florence (Marla Gibbs), their neighbors Tom and Helen Willis (Franklin Cover and Roxie Roker) and other supporting cast members.

This 2-disc set contains all thirteen episodes from the first season of this historic television comedy, which smashed stereotypes and ignored social conventions as it made audiences laugh.

In this collection, you'll be getting the following episodes:

1. "A Friend in Need"- The Jefferson's have moved to Manhattan's Upper East Side and George insists that Louise should hire a maid to take care of their new apartment.

2. "George's Family Tree"- A piece of primitive art given to the Jefferson's by Tom and Helen Willis, sparks an inter-family battle about the importance of ancestors. George, totally unimpressed by anyone's ancestry, goes through a quick reversal in attitude when he gets some exciting information about his own background.

3. "Louise Feels Useless"- Living a luxury life starts to drive Louise up the walls, but her solution to the problem creates an even greater problem.

4. "Lionel the Playboy"- Louise is extremely upset over Lionel's new playboy attitude, but George loves the idea of his son rubbing elbows with the rich until he learns he's thinking about leaving college.

5. "Mr. Piano Man"- George wants nothing to do with a tenant protest meeting, but when he learns his banker, and fellow-tenant, H.L. Whittendale is expected to attend, he not only changes his tune, but also insists on hosting the meeting in a style he hopes will impress the penthouse dwelling banker.

6. "George's Skeleton"- George sees his life going down the drain when Monk Davis appears from his past and threatens to rattle a skeleton in his closet unless George coughs up some cash.

7. "Lionel Cries Uncle"- A cold reception from George and Lionel greets Louise's Uncle Ward.

8. "Mother Jefferson's Boyfriend"- George's mother finds romance and talks about heading to the altar.

9. "Meet the Press"- Convinced publicity will mean a boom to his business, George tricks a newspaper reporter into coming to his home for an interview.

10. "Rich Man's Disease"- Louise finds herself facing the impossible task of keeping George away from anything that irritates him.

11. "Former Neighbors"- George fears that his past is about to ruin his future. His nightmare begins when he discovers that Louise has invited some old friends from Harlem to dinner the same time he has invited a high society businessman.

12. "Like Father, Like Son"- When Lionel begins behaving like his father, sparks start flying between him and Jenny.

13. "Jenny's Low"- When Jenny's brother suddenly appears after a two-year absence, Jenny gives him the cold shoulder.

Just as Good Now As It Was Back Then!
I was ten years old when The Jeffersons premeired on television and I watched this show with my family, it is a spin-off from All in the Family which is another good sitcom I watched. In All in The Family The Jeffersons were next door neighbors to The Bunkers and in this spinoff George Jefferson has expanded his chain of laundomat/dry cleaning stores and is pretty well off financially and he his wife Louise and son Lionel move into the city into a very nice 3 bedroom apartment and also living in the same building are Helen and Tom Willis (Helen is black and Tom is white) and their daughter Jenny who is Lionel's girlfriend. Other good characters include Mama Jefferson, George's mother who loves to criticise Louise and there is also wisecracking maid Florence and eccentric British neighbor Mr. Bentley. This classic sitcom is just as good as All in the Family and the top-notch cast includes Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, Isobel Sanford as Louise (Weezy) Jefferson, Mike Evans as Lionel Jefferson, Roxie Roker as Helen Willis, Marla Gibbs as Florence and Zara Cully as Mama Jefferson. I love The Jeffersons and I highly recommend this show!

i love the 70's
Great show ! It was the first to show afro americans as rich, first to show multi cultural couple and family. This show is so funny. everyone should own this hilarious dvd.

Can't Wait To Get The Second Season DVD!
I absolutely love this DVD set! The first season of 'The Jeffersons' is great! I occasionally watch later episodes of the show on television and I don't really like those at all but The Complete First Season is one of my favorite DVDs. Disc One contains episodes 1-8 and Disc Two contains episodes 9-13. As you probably know, 'The Jeffersons' was one of the highest-rated and longest running sitcoms in TV history. Just as All In The family started to wear off in 1975, George Jefferson came along to take Archie Bunker's place and stayed around until 1985. This DVD is a must-have for fans of the show or television lovers in general! ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Too Funny!
Extremely hilarious. I've been searching for this movie for almost two years...every since I saw it on Lifetime. Jenifer Lewis is perfect for this "mockumentary" on a washed-up diva who tries to make a comeback. She and a full cast of well-known entertainers will have you grabbing your stomach from laughter. I'm on my third week of renewing my rental for this movie. Trust me, you will love this movie.

Dynamite and Funny as you know what, but that ending....
Loved this movie. There are SO many genuinely funny and campy moments here. Patti Austin at Peaches Yancy's funeral is a hoot; the woman just won't STOP singing! Jennifer Lewis is fabulous and so is young lady that plays Jackie's faithful daughter Entendre (Make that a DOUBLE Entendre). The only complaint I have is the ending. All of the sudden we get this bittersweet, force fed weeper ending which doesn't fit into the framework of the rest of the movie. Overall, though it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the movie. Just a minor quibble, since the ending of ANY movie does leave an impression. It almost has the feel of something that was forced on Robert Townsend by the Network. Maybe not. Please buy this DVD, though. If you appreciate the ridiculous excess of modern and classic Divas you'll love it!!

Absolutely hilarious
This SPINAL TAP-like mockumentary is absolutely hilarious and the commentary track by director Townsend is equally entertaining. JENNIFER LEWIS is amazing. She's a brilliant comedic actress who is shamefully underused in movies and this is a perfect vehicle for her. It does for her what JACKIE BROWN did for Pam Grier. The supporting cameos are laugh-out-loud funny, best being Whoopi Goldberg, Tim Curry, Loretta Devine, Isabel Sandford, Kathy Griffith, Rikki Lake, Sean Hayes, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Eva Marie Saint, Dolly Parton, Grace Slick and Diahann Carroll.

So Cliche It's Good
All the diva jokes and funny one liners are all very typical and cliche of this type of movie, but still between Jenifer Lewis and Tim Curry they manage to pull it off and still make it a damn good movie.
While reading through the other reviews for this product, I noticed that everyone constantly praises Lewis but unless I missed something, no one said a thing about Curry.
I'm not trying to take the spotlight away from Jenifer Lewis...she was amazing considering that this is her first movie. However, no one has acknowledged Tim's great work on the film.
I heard someone comment the other day that his acting was too [unrealistic]and over the top in this movie. Hello! ... He's supposed to be acting like that, considering that he plays the part of the host of a low budget documentary. Some people can be real stupid, ...
Anyway, I thought I was going to die laughing when I saw the look on Tim's face when Jackie's cross-dressing dress designer came into her dressing room. I also loved it when Jackie's playmama said that white people all smelled like wet potatoe chips. Again, Tim's face was priceless. He's the kind of actor that's good enough that he needs no words to get his point across, the expression says it all.
Another one of my favorite parts is when he admits to Jackie that when first asked to do the documentary he had never heard of her, and then she said, 'They played my records in England,' and he replies, 'Yes...but I never heard them.'
Anyway, it's filled with plenty of other gut busting scenes. I've waited and waited for this movie to be released on DVD after I first saw it on Lifetime...and finally my wish has come true.
Buy Jackie's Back today, it's so bad it's good.

Top-notch music and comedy
This movie is so well-loved by everyone who sees it, that when I sing the theme song "Yield" in public, everyone immediately recognizes it (and laughs). Definitely the funniest comedy ever...why it wasn't released to theaters is a mystery. Wish we had a soundtrack album with all the great songs. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

good idea but bad come out
Fred Williamson(Black Ceasar, From Dusk Till Dawn) is John Bookman and he returns home after his father is shot up by a gang called the rebels, a gang he formed back in his day, led by Spyro and Damien..two ruthless thugs who changed the gang from what it used to be, the rebels think they own the streets. well Bookman and co. join forces to try to stop them. an allstar cast including Jim Brown(Mars Attacks,Salughter) Ron O'Neal(Superfly), Pam Grier(Ghost Of Mars, Foxy Brown, Jackie Brown), Paul Winfield(Mars Attacks, The Terminator), Richard Roundtree(Antitrust, Shaft, Corky Romando) and many more. takes its toll on the 70's black films but is too much uninspired with wooden performances and a lack of, anything...was expecting much more

A violent reunion from back in the day
The reason to watch this movie is the reunion for those of us who remember the protagonists from the era of blaxploitation films in which we were introduced to them/ Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, reconvene to take back their home town of Gary, Indiana from several well organized and terribly violent street gangs.

Also appearing in almost cameo roles are Ron O'Neal ("Superfly") and Richard Roundtree (the original John Shaft). Seeing them all together is a treat, but left me wondering why this quintet did not get more screen time all together. It is particularly pleasing to see Brown and Grier, who, as one of the expert reviewers noted, have aged very very well. However, the re-ignition of their former relationship is tepid and seemingly forced. By contrast, it has nowhere near the intensity seen when barely restrained Brown confronts a gang leader about the murder of his son.

I agree that the simplistic plot and the consistent (and predictable) violence keep this from being one of the great films of our time. Those who remember the first time seeing these individuals in character now some thirty years ago will enjoy seeing them all together again, and that makes this disc worthwhile.

great re-union of 70's actionmovie st ars
if your a film buff, and wanted to see just outta curiosity
what happened to the black star's of the early 70's...see this movie, sorry to say that most of the aging star's except for pam grier now could be cast in a new version of sanford and son...as fred's old buddies from the hood drinking
grape ripple. it was a good social commentary of life in gary,
indiana and how dependent that city was on the steel mills and the off shoot business's that gradually closed down, see this movie on a saturday afternoon,,,but if you have to mow the lawn or paint the house...you'd be better off doing that.

An solid comeback for an action movie vet--
Original Gangstas: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier. Williamson is John Bookman, former football pro turned coach, who comes back to his old hometown to find it overrun by gangs. The last straw is when Bookman's dad is assaulted and his grocery store vandalized. Grier is the mom of a basketball prodigy slain by the Rebels, one of three major gangs in the city. Brown is Bookman's best friend who comes back to bury his son. In a touch of irony, the gangs are the modern day incarnation of the crews started by Bookman & his friends decades ago. But whereas the original intent was to be a teen militia of sorts, the modern crews-mostly people well over 21-- are about nothing but victimizing their neighborhood.

Filmed entirely on location in Gary, Indiana, the film uses many city landmarks to illustrate the decay that has taken place. The film rightly postulates that the abrupt downsizing of the US Steel mill in the late 60's started an economic domino effect that the city has yet to recover from. Abandoned storefronts still abound, while neighborhoods are peppered with derelict houses and other rag-tag buildings.
Supporting roles are offered by Robert Forster as a police detective, and Ron O'Neal & Richard Roundtree as longtime residents who join the effort to take the city back.

Williamson and his contemporaries first came to prominence in the black action movie trend of the 70's. Some of his real life was slipped into the script: Williamson was a Northwestern football star before turning pro; also, according to the star the film was inspired from an encounter he had while visiting his mother, who still lives in Gary.

Fred and the actors of his generation deserve better from the Hollywood industry-- folks like Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have used them in a handful of contemporary films, but they should have the status of a Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds..

ORIGINAL GANGSTAS Review
In a reunion of the big-name 70's blaxplotation stars, you can expect a whole lot of fun. They're all here. Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam "Foxxy Brown" Grier, Richard "Shaft" Roudntree, and Superfly himself, Ron O'Neal. A host of other infamous character actors and some of today's big name underground rappers also show up for this bullet-riddled nostalgia pic.

It's "old school" versus "new school" as the Rebels, a gang once known simply for protecting their neighborhood has transformed into a gang of thugs who specialize in drive-by shootings and drug dealing. This doesn't sit well with the gang's founding members who reunite with the support of the community to clean up the streets once and for all.

While not nearly as energetic and entertaining as many of the 70's pics that it is paying homage to, "Original Gangstas" does have fun while delivering a solid anti-violence message. Seeing all your old favorites strap up again makes for some real good times. There are also some good performances from relative unknowns like Christopher Duncan as the leader of the new Rebels and rapper Dru Down as the group's loud-mouthed "trigger man". Also look for rappers, Scarface and Bushwick Bill in cameos. A genuine good time. ... Read more