
After a vacation in Hawaii, Joanna "Joey" Drayton returns to her parents' home in San Francisco bringing her fiancé, the highly-qualified Dr. John Prentice, to introduce him to her parents. Her mother, Christina Drayton, owns an art gallery and her father, Matt Drayton, is the publisher-editor of the newspaper, The Guardian. Joey was raised with a liberal education and intends to marry Dr. John Prentice, a Black widower who needs to fly to Geneva that evening to work with th... (Full plot summary below)
FREE with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Links compiled using automated software. Availability of offers subject to change / might be region specific / out of date.
After a vacation in Hawaii, Joanna "Joey" Drayton returns to her parents' home in San Francisco bringing her fiancé, the highly-qualified Dr. John Prentice, to introduce him to her parents. Her mother, Christina Drayton, owns an art gallery and her father, Matt Drayton, is the publisher-editor of the newspaper, The Guardian. Joey was raised with a liberal education and intends to marry Dr. John Prentice, a Black widower who needs to fly to Geneva that evening to work with the World Health Organization. Joey invites John's parents to have dinner with her family and the couple flies from Los Angeles to San Francisco without knowing that Joey is white. Christina also invites the liberal Monsignor Ryan, who is a friend of her family. Throughout the day and evening, the families discuss the problems of their son and daughter.
Leave your thoughts about Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt 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. |
| VarietyA.D. MurphyGuess Who’s Coming to Dinner is an outstanding Stanley Kramer production, superior in almost every imaginable way, which examines its subject matter with perception, depth, insight, humor and feeling. |
| Radio TimesTom HutchinsonThe film may have a foregone conclusion, but it's worth watching as the acting is so good. |
| The New York TimesBosley CrowtherA most delightfully acted and gracefully entertaining film, fashioned much in the manner of a stage drawing-room comedy, that seems to be about something much more serious and challenging than it actually is. |
| Creative LoafingMatt BrunsonInitially breezy without ever sacrificing any of its points, the picture eventually resorts to a series of static speeches. Luckily, the actors carry the day, particularly Sidney Poitier, Cecil Kellaway and, taking MVP honors, Spencer Tracy. |
| Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)Bob BloomAn earnest liberal outing that today seems passive, tame and condescending, but still watchable because of the performances of Tracy, Hepburn and Poitier. |
| The Retro SetNathanael Hood...most notable for being a metatextual commentary on the onscreen/offscreen romance of Tracy and Hepburn. |
| Reel Film ReviewsDavid Nusair...an appealing premise that's employed to watchable (if entirely uneven) effect by filmmaker Stanley Kramer... |
| Movie MetropolisJohn J. Puccio...rather tame and superficial by today's standards: a gentle, sentimental comedy on the subject of interracial marriage. |
| Time Out LondonGeoff AndrewA wishy-washy, sanctimonious plea for tolerance, directed with Kramer's customary verbosity and stodginess. |