BBB
(out of 5)
This drama isn’t as newsworthy today as it was in 1967 (though even at the time it was already considered quaint by many). Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy welcome their daughter (Katharine Houghton) home and discover that she is engaged to be married, ecstatic about the news and then taken aback when their future son-in-law turns out to be Sidney Poitier. Having raised their daughter liberally all her life, teaching her that all races are equal and that segregation is wrong, they shouldn’t be too surprised that their daughter now sees love in this man without being hindered by the colour of his skin, but can they still stick by their beliefs when it is brought so close to home? Can what society says influence they way they feel about their own child? Does anyone notice that their daughter is a simpering bore and Poitier is practically a brain surgeon? Excellent acting abounds, though the staging tends to be a bit too claustrophobic and unimaginative.
USA, 1967
Directed by Stanley Kramer
Screenplay by William Rose
Cinematography by Sam Leavitt
Produced by Stanley Kramer
Music by Frank De Vol
Production Design by Robert Clatworthy
Costume Design by Jean Louis
Film Editing by Robert C. Jones
Academy Awards
Best Actress (Katharine Hepburn as “Christina Drayton”)
Best Writing (Story and Screenplay–written directly for the screen) (William Rose)
Nominations
Best Actor (Spencer Tracy as “Matt Drayton”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Cecil Kellaway as “Monsignor Ryan”)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Beah Richards as “Mrs. Prentice”)
Best Art Direction (art direction: Robert Clatworthy; set decoration: Frank Tuttle)
Best Directing (Stanley Kramer)
Best Film Editing (Robert C. Jones)
Best Music (Scoring of Music–adaptation or treatment) (DeVol)
Best Picture (Stanley Kramer, producer)
Golden Globe Award Nominations
Best Performance By An Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama (Spencer Tracy)
Best Performance By An Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama (Katharine Hepburn)
Best Motion Picture-Drama
Best Director (Stanley Kramer)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Beah Richards)
Best Screenplay (William Rose)
