85-423: Santa Rosita may refer to: Santa Rosita State Park, a place in the fictional city of Santa Rosita, California in the comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . Although it’s noted that in the movie, the city featured to be “Santa Rosita” was all shot and represented as Los Angeles . Santa Rosita Formation , a geological formation (upper Furongian–Tremadocian) in
170-429: A Beech model C-18S through a highway billboard advertising Coca-Cola . A communications mix-up resulted in the use of linen graphic sheets on the sign rather than paper, as planned. Linen, much tougher than paper, damaged the plane on impact. Tallman managed to fly it back to the airstrip, discovering that the leading edges of the wings had been smashed all the way back to the wing spars. Tallman considered that incident
255-538: A long-distance phone call he has made. Kramer and Rose completed the film script in five weeks. Kramer stated later that the principal actors believed so strongly in the premise that they agreed to act in the project even before seeing the script. Production had been set for January 1967 and ended on May 24, 1967. At age 67, Tracy was in poor health with heart disease , diabetes , high-blood pressure , respiratory disease , and other ailments. Aware of Tracy's declining health, insurance companies refused to cover him for
340-481: A 10-day romance. Joanna's parents are Matt Drayton, a newspaper editor, and his wife, Christina, who owns an art gallery. Though the Draytons are liberal-minded, they are shocked that their daughter is engaged to a man of a different race. Christina gradually accepts the situation, but Matt objects because of the likely unhappiness and seemingly insurmountable problems the couple will face. Unbeknownst to Joanna, John tells
425-490: A 1972 book by Peruvian writer Mirko Lauer Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Santa Rosita . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Rosita&oldid=1129224737 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
510-433: A 1986 review of the film by The New York Times , Lawrence Van Gelder wrote: "the suspicion arises that were the film made today its makers would come to grips a good deal more bluntly with the problems of intermarriage. Still, this remains a deft comedy and – most of all – a paean to the power of love." In his 1967 review of the film, Champlin wrote "questions do arise" about the treatment of intermarriage, which he observed
595-504: A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World include Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974), Scavenger Hunt (1979), Million Dollar Mystery (1987) and Rat Race (2001). There are similar Indian films, such as Journey Bombay to Goa: Laughter Unlimited (2007), Dhamaal (2007), Mast Maja Maadi (2008) and Total Dhamaal (2019). According to Paul Scrabo, Kramer began thinking about his success with Mad World during
680-447: A budget of $ 9.4 million. However, because costs were so high, it earned a profit of only $ 1.25 million. The film premiered with a runtime of 192 minutes, but after the premiere, United Artists shortened the runtime to 160 minutes for its general release. The original runtime was 202 minutes. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that the film "is everything, down to redundant, that its extravagant title suggests. It's
765-415: A family resemblance. It was my idea." According to Hepburn, the role of Joey Drayton was one of Houghton's first major roles as a young actress. "The part of my daughter," Kate said, "was a difficult one. A young unknown actress needs more opportunity to win the sympathy of the audience. Otherwise, too much has to depend on her youth, innocence, and beauty. She had one good speech to win the audience, but it
850-591: A fresh and risky topic, inter-racial marriage, deals with it boldly and lets the criticisms fall where they may. At the Victoria and Beekman Theaters, the Columbia picture evidences Kramer's uncanny ability in selecting the right cast to portray the characters created by William Rose, to speak the author's penetrating lines as they should, naturally, humorously, bitterly and in the case of Spencer Tracy, simply and eloquently. Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Katharine Houghton appear as
935-480: A huge curved screen.) It originally was planned for three-camera Cinerama, and some reports state that initial filming was done using three cameras but was abandoned. One-camera Cinerama could be Super Panavision 70 or Ultra Panavision 70 , which was essentially the Super Panavision 70 process with anamorphic compression at the edges of the image to give a much wider aspect ratio. When projected by one projector,
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#17330844663211020-588: A minister and ambassador. At around the same time, Lloyd's underwriter Ruth Williams and her husband, African aristocrat Kgosi Seretse Khama , were engaged in a struggle of their own. Their union, which also occurred in the immediate aftermath of World War II, led to a storm of comment that snowballed into an international incident which saw them stripped of their chiefly titles in his homeland and exiled to Britain. They ultimately returned to Khama's native Botswana as its inaugural president and first lady. According to Kramer, he and Rose intentionally structured
1105-563: A necessary budget for it to proceed. Released on January 21, 2014, originally as a two Blu-ray and three DVD set, the Criterion Collection release contains two versions of the film, a restored 4K digital film transfer of the 159-minute general release version and a new 197-minute high-definition digital transfer, reconstructed and restored by Harris using visual and audio material from the longer original "road-show" version not seen in over 50 years. Some scenes have been returned to
1190-425: A pittance and has a mental breakdown. The entire group, now consisting of fourteen people, arrives at Santa Rosita at nearly the same time, and searches frantically for the "big W", which turns out to be a gathering of four palm trees . Culpeper arrives shortly after and observes the group. After the group digs up a suitcase full of cash, Culpeper identifies himself and informs the group that they are wanted by
1275-428: A plane or two, an entire service station, the basement of a hardware store, fire escapes, a fire-engine tower. The only new idea, occurring well into the third hour, hinges on a surprise development in the character of a proud, plodding chief of detectives, played by Spencer Tracy—and even this proves disillusionment." Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post was mixed, writing "Yes, it is furious, fast and funny and it
1360-433: A press interview from 1963 featuring Kramer and cast members, excerpts about the film's influence taken from the 2000 American Film Institute program 100 Years...100 Laughs , a two-part 1963 episode of Canadian TV program Telescope that follows the film's press junket and premiere, a segment from the 2012 special The Last 70mm Film Festival featuring surviving Mad World cast and crew members hosted by Billy Crystal ,
1445-618: A restored version that is closer to the original 202-minute version envisioned by Kramer. The film featured at number 40 in the American Film Institute 's list 100 Years...100 Laughs . Smiler Grogan, a recently released convict, crashes his car on California State Route 74 . With his dying breath, Grogan tells a group of motorists who stop to help him about $ 350,000 (equivalent to $ 3,483,261 in 2023) buried in Santa Rosita State Park under "a big W." Failing to negotiate
1530-572: A roundtable (including extensive clips) on the film with stars Caesar, Hackett and Winters as part of a special The Comedians, Stanley Kramer's Reunion with the Great Comedy Artists of Our Time broadcast in 1974 as part of ABC's Wide World of Entertainment . The last reported showing of the film on major network television in America was on ABC on July 16, 1979, and before that, on CBS on May 16, 1978. The airport terminal scenes were filmed at
1615-461: A satisfactory way to split the money, the four cars begin a mad dash to the park, having several mishaps along the way: Meanwhile, Santa Rosita Police Captain T. G. Culpeper, hoping to tie up the Grogan case before his impending retirement, secretly has the motorists shadowed throughout their various adventures. After a furious argument with his wife and daughter, Culpeper learns that his pension will be
1700-453: A scene with Tracy and Hepburn, I couldn't remember a word. Finally, Stanley Kramer said to me, 'What are we going to do?' I said, 'Stanley, send those two people home. I will play the scene against two empty chairs. I don't want them here because I can't handle that kind of company.' He sent them home. I played the scene in close-up against two empty chairs as the dialogue coach read Mr. Tracy's and Miss Hepburn's lines from off camera." Against
1785-512: A script with Martin Lawrence for a remake, like the original would feature comedians from the past 30 years. Guess Who%27s Coming to Dinner Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American romantic comedy drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer , and written by William Rose . It stars Spencer Tracy (in his final role), Sidney Poitier , and Katharine Hepburn , and features Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton . The film
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#17330844663211870-415: A selection of Stan Freberg's original TV and radio ads for the film with a new introduction by Freberg, trailers and radio spots from the 1960s/70s, and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Lou Lumenick with new illustrations by cartoonist Jack Davis , along with a map of the shooting locations by artist Dave Woodman. Films having a comedic search for money with an ensemble cast modeled after It's
1955-439: A way of handling it. Kate and I put up our own salaries to compensate for the lack of an insurance company for Spence. And we were allowed to proceed." The filming schedule was altered to accommodate Tracy's failing health. All of Tracy's scenes and shots were filmed between 9:00 am and noon of each day to give him adequate time to rest for the remainder of the day. For example, most of Tracy's dialogue scenes were filmed in such
2040-414: A way that during close-ups on other characters, a stand-in was substituted for him. Tracy's failing health was more serious than most people working on the set were aware of. According to Poitier: "The illness of Spencer dominated everything. I knew his health was very poor and many of the people who knew what the situation was didn't believe we'd finish the film, that is, that Tracy would be able to finish
2125-626: A wind-up toy world spinning with several men hanging on to it and finishing with a man opening a door to the globe and getting trampled by a mad crowd. One of the animators who helped with the sequence was future Peanuts animator Bill Melendez . The film opened at the newly built Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on November 7, 1963. The UK premiere was on December 2, 1963, at the Coliseum Cinerama Theatre in London's West End. Distinguished by
2210-444: A wonderfully crazy and colorful collection of 'chase' comedy, so crowded with plot and people that it almost splits the seams of its huge cinerama packing and its 3-hour-and-12-minute length." Variety stated "There are a number of truly spectacular action sequences, and the stunts that have been performed seem incredible. The automobile capers are some of the most thrilling and daring on record, Mack Sennett notwithstanding." However,
2295-568: Is a joy to see, an evening of superb entertainment." Martin Knelman of the Toronto Daily Star said that "Stanley Kramer has bucked the trend in at least one respect: Instead of choosing to have a title song written specially for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner , the film that arrives today at the Carlton, he has selected an old, familiar song as his theme. Kramer himself told me the other day that he
2380-423: Is about the madcap pursuit of a suitcase full of stolen cash by a colorful group of strangers. It premiered on November 7, 1963. The principal cast features Edie Adams , Milton Berle , Sid Caesar , Buddy Hackett , Ethel Merman , Dorothy Provine , Mickey Rooney , Dick Shawn , Phil Silvers , Terry-Thomas , and Jonathan Winters . The film marked the first time Kramer directed a comedy, though he had produced
2465-956: Is also vast, vulgar and vexatious because Kramer has not given us one sympathetic character and because it is shown in Cinerama." Paul Nelson wrote in Film Quarterly : "The film manages to stay on its feet for a little while and trundle self-importantly along, but it soon becomes painfully clear that its feet are flat and its wheels are square. Kramer lacks all the essentials of good comedy; he has few ideas, no cinematic or comic technique (the huge screen certainly didn't help him here: just one more technical burden), no sense of comic structure, and above all, no sense of pace." The film's great success inspired Kramer to direct and produce Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (also starring Tracy and also written by William Rose) and The Secret of Santa Vittoria (also scored by Ernest Gold and co-written by Rose). The movie
2550-404: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages It%27s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World#Plot It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American epic comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose . The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians,
2635-469: Is in the form of original 70 mm elements of the general release version (recent restored versions shown in revival screenings are derived from these elements). A 1991 VHS and LaserDisc from MGM/UA was an extended 183-minute version of the film, with most of the reinserted footage derived from elements stored in a Los Angeles warehouse about to be demolished. According to a 2002 interview with master preservationist Robert A. Harris , this extended version
Santa Rosita - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-425: Is not a true representation of the original roadshow cut and included footage that was not meant to be shown in any existing version. A restoration effort was made by Harris in an attempt to bring the film back as close as possible to the original roadshow release. The project to go ahead with the massive restoration project would gain approval from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (parent company of UA), although it did require
2805-498: Is not wildly enthusiastic about the song, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a perfect touch. The Glory of Love richly echoes the naive sentimentalism of the pop culture of the 1940s and 1950s and though it’s a thoroughly modern picture in some respects, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is at heart a nostalgic throwback to that era." Joan Irwin of the Montreal Star called it "a strong honest and remarkably sensitive film dealing with
2890-505: Is nuts about working with him". The original version of the film that played in theaters in 1968 contained a moment in which Tillie responds to the question "Guess who's coming to dinner now?" with the sarcastic one-liner: "The Reverend Martin Luther King ?" After King's assassination on April 4, 1968, this line was removed from the film, so by August 1968, almost all theaters' showings of this film had this line omitted. As early as 1969,
2975-497: Is white. The two mothers agree that this was an unexpected event but support their children. The two fathers meet, expressing disapproval at this unhappy occasion. The Monsignor advises John not to withdraw, despite Matt's objections. John and his father discuss their generational differences. John's mother tells Matt that he and her husband have forgotten what it was like to fall in love, and their failure to remember true romance has clouded their thinking. John chides Matt for not having
3060-487: Is white. Monsignor Mike Ryan, Matt's golf buddy, arrives and tells Matt and the couple that he is supportive of the engagement. Christina tells Matt she, too, is supportive of Joanna, even if it means fighting Matt. Christina fires her bigoted art gallery manager, Hilary St. George, who nosily intrudes and voices her sympathy for Christina's situation. John's parents, the Prentices, arrive and are shocked to discover that Joanna
3145-455: The Chicago Tribune at the time, wrote that the film "examines a theme of the 1960s thru a style of the 1930s. The subject of interracial marriage was probed four years ago in ' One Potato, Two Potato ,' but Producer-Director Stanley Kramer has reached back long before that for his modus operandi, coming up with the antiseptic slickness and unabashed sentiment [not necessarily a bad thing] in
3230-820: The Tilcara Range, Cordillera Oriental of Jujuy, Argentina Santa Rosita, Guatemala , a place nearby the Polochic River in Guatemala a neighborhood of Guatemala City , Guatemala Santa Rosita (cantón) , a subdivision of the Vallegrande Municipality in Bolivia a neighborhood in the UPZ (Unidades de Planeamiento Zonal) of Boyacá Real of the locality of Engativá in Bogotá, Colombia Santa Rosita y el péndulo proliferante ,
3315-456: The "guts" to tell him he disapproved of the marriage. Finally, Matt reveals his decision about the engagement to the entire group. He concludes that he does remember what true romance is. He says although the pair face enormous problems, they must find a way to overcome them, and he will approve the marriage, knowing all along he had no right to stop it. The families and the Monsignor then adjourn to
3400-408: The 1970s, and considered bringing back many former cast members for a proposed film titled The Sheiks of Araby . William Rose was set to write the screenplay. Years later, Kramer announced a possible Mad World sequel, which was to be titled It's a Funny, Funny World , but this has never been made. In June 2024 during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Eddie Murphy announced that he completed
3485-567: The Drayton parents he will withdraw from the engagement unless both Draytons give the couple their blessing. To complicate matters, John is soon scheduled to Geneva , Switzerland, for three months in his work with the World Health Organization . His answer from the Draytons will determine whether Joanna follows him. Joanna invites John's parents to fly up from Los Angeles to join them for dinner that evening. John has not told them his fiancée
Santa Rosita - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-513: The United Kingdom, conceived the idea for a film (provisionally titled So Many Thieves , and later Something a Little Less Serious ) about a comedic chase through Scotland. He sent an outline to Kramer, who agreed to produce and direct the film. The setting was shifted to America, and the working title changed to Where, but in America? then One Damn Thing After Another and then It's a Mad World , with Rose and Kramer adding additional "Mads" to
3655-593: The backdrop of racial tensions in the United States at the time of the film's production, Poitier felt he was "under close observation" by both Tracy and Hepburn during their first dinner meetings prior to production. However, he managed to swiftly win them over. Due to Tracy and Hepburn's close history with Kramer, Poitier later wrote that Hepburn and Tracy came to regard him with "the kind of respect they had for Kramer, and they had to say to themselves (and I'm sure they did), this kid has to be pretty okay, because Stanley
3740-570: The closest he ever came to dying on film. (Both Tallman and Paul Mantz , Tallman's business partner and fellow flier on Mad World , eventually died in separate air crashes over a decade apart.) In another scene, Tallman flew the plane through an airplane hangar at the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa . Some scenes were filmed in San Diego . The fire escape and ladder miniature used in
3825-456: The comedy So This Is New York in 1948. He is best known for producing and directing, in his own words, "heavy drama" about social problems , such as The Defiant Ones , Inherit the Wind , Judgment at Nuremberg , and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner . His first attempt at directing a comedy film paid off immensely as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World became a critical and commercial success and
3910-619: The dining room for dinner. It has been suggested that a pair of contemporary cases of interracial marriage influenced Rose when he was writing the film's script. Peggy Cripps , an aristocratic debutante whose father had been a British cabinet minister and whose grandfather had been leader of the House of Lords , married the African anti-colonialist Nana Joe Appiah . They established their home in Appiah's native Ghana , where he subsequently held office as
3995-409: The early single-camera Cinerama features produced), Mad World had an all-star cast, with dozens of major comedy stars from all eras of cinema appearing in it. The film followed a Hollywood trend in the 1960s of producing "epic" films as a way of wooing audiences away from television and back to movie theaters. The film's theme music was written by Ernest Gold with lyrics by Mack David . Kramer hosted
4080-555: The expanded 70mm image filled the wide Cinerama screen. Ultra Panavision 70 was used to film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . Other films shot in Ultra Panavision 70 and released in Cinerama include The Greatest Story Ever Told , The Hallelujah Trail , Battle of the Bulge , and Khartoum . Super Panavision 70 films released in Cinerama include Grand Prix , 2001: A Space Odyssey , and Ice Station Zebra . Kramer's comedy
4165-476: The film for the first time, and the Blu-ray features a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. It also features a new audio commentary from It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World aficionados Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger, and Paul Scrabo, a new documentary on the film's visual and sound effects, an excerpt from a 1974 talk show hosted by Stanley Kramer featuring Sid Caesar , Buddy Hackett , and Jonathan Winters ,
4250-580: The film to debunk ethnic stereotypes. The young doctor, a typical role for the young Sidney Poitier, was created idealistically perfect, so that the only possible objections to his marrying Joanna would be his race , or the fact she had only known him for 10 days; the character has thus graduated from a top school, begun innovative medical initiatives in Africa, refused to have premarital sex with his fiancée despite her willingness, and leaves money in an open container on his future father-in-law's desk in payment for
4335-466: The film was frequently labeled as dated among liberals. Another main point of contention was the fact that Poitier's character, the golden future son-in-law, had no flaws and a résumé of good deeds. Many people felt that the dynamic between the Draytons and Poitier's character would have inevitably resulted in a happily-ever-after film ending because Poitier's character was so perfect, respectable, likable, and proper. Some people went as far as saying Prentice
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#17330844663214420-404: The film. Those of us who were close knew it was worse than they thought. Kate brought him to and from the set. She worked with him on his lines. She made sure with [Stanley] Kramer that his hours were right for what he could do, and what he couldn't do was different each day. There were days when he couldn't do anything. But also there were days when he was great, and I got the chance to know what it
4505-597: The final chase sequence is on display at the Hollywood Museum in Hollywood. Also, the Santa Rosita Fire Department's ladder truck was a 1960s Seagrave Fire Apparatus open-cab Mid-Mount Aerial Ladder. Production began on April 26, 1962, and expected to end by December 7, 1962, but took longer, apparently conflicting with the notion that Tracy's trip down the zip line into the pet store on December 6, 1962,
4590-485: The fizzy chemistry of its star-studded ensemble." On Metacritic , the film has an average score of 63 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". American Film Institute lists On May 28, 1975, ABC aired a 30-minute pilot for a proposed comedy television series based on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner , produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Leslie Charleson and Bill Overton. In 2003, comedian Daniele Luttazzi published
4675-621: The generic tradition of the Frank Capra social comedy-drama." Roger Ebert , his rival at the Chicago Sun-Times , gave the film a full four-star rating. He said "yes, there are serious faults in Stanley Kramer's 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,' but they are overcome by the virtues of this delightfully old-fashioned film. It 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
4760-443: The largest number of stars to appear in a film comedy, Mad World opened to acclaim from many critics and tremendous box office receipts, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1963 , quickly establishing itself as one of the top 100 highest-grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation, earning an estimated theatrical rental figure of $ 26 million. It grossed $ 46,332,858 domestically and $ 60,000,000 worldwide, on
4845-569: The line was restored to many but not all prints, and the line was preserved in the VHS and DVD versions of the film, as well. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner opened in New York City on December 11, 1967, followed by a wide release in the United States the following day. The film was released on VHS in October 1986 and on DVD on May 22, 2001, with a 40th-anniversary DVD release on February 12, 2008. It
4930-495: The manner of a stage drawing-room comedy." Crowther wrote that the questions raised by the film should be set aside as they "will only tend to disturb the euphoria and likely enjoyment of this witty and glistening film." In the New York Daily News , critic Wanda Hale gave the film a full four-star rating, and said it "must be counted as an important contribution to motion pictures. With fearless directness Stanley Kramer takes
5015-417: The men all pile onto a fire department ladder sent to rescue them, their combined weight causes it to spin uncontrollably and fling them all off, leaving them heavily injured. In the prison hospital, the men bemoan the loss of the money and blame their injuries on Culpeper, who responds that due to his lost pension (which his boss had successfully negotiated back, thus making his illegal actions unnecessary),
5100-623: The now-defunct Rancho Conejo Airport in Newbury Park, California, though the control tower shown was constructed only for filming. Other airplane sequences were filmed at the Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa, California; at the Palm Springs International Airport; and in the skies above Thousand Oaks, California; Camarillo, California; and Orange County, California. In the Orange County scene, stuntman Frank Tallman flew
5185-472: The opening credits but is not found in the film; Norton had a role as a detective who appears at the Rancho Conejo airport. King Donovan , playing an airport official, appeared in the Rancho Conejo scenes but was cut from the film. Don Knotts originally shot a second scene in which he tries to use a telephone in a diner. Also featured in the scene was Barbara Pepper . The first of the credited cast to die
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#17330844663215270-515: The period of filming. Kramer and Hepburn put their salaries in escrow so that if he should die during the production, filming could be completed with another actor. According to Kramer, "You're never examined for insurance until a few weeks before a picture starts. [Even] with all his drinking and ailments, Tracy always qualified for insurance before, so nobody thought it would be a problem in this case. But it was. We couldn't get insurance for Spence. The situation looked desperate. So then we figured out
5355-415: The police. He convinces them to turn themselves in and hope for leniency. The motorists realize that Culpeper is not returning to the police station with them, but is stealing the money for himself. The men chase him into an abandoned building and onto a rickety fire escape , which starts to collapse under them. The briefcase containing the money falls open, scattering the cash to the wind. When Culpeper and
5440-497: The problem of interracial marriage. Every prejudice and argument for and against such a marriage is examined with candor and often with humor, not in a general, preachy context, but as it relates to the two particular people in question. This is no harangue on the subject of indiscriminate brotherly love, nor yet a sentimental treatment of a very real problem. It is a fine film, full of strength and tenderness, played with great subtlety and wit by an entirely superb cast." Jacob Siskind of
5525-471: The racial roles reversed: Black parents are caught off-guard when their daughter brings home the young white man she has chosen to marry. Talking about the film, Bernie Mac told USA Today in 2003: "Interracial dating is not that significant any more." Mac said of the script: "They want to make it a comedy, but I won't disrespect Spencer, Katharine or Sidney." A British radio play titled That Summer of '67 , written by actress Tracy-Ann Oberman and based on
5610-495: The review continued, "Certain pratfalls and sequences are unnecessarily overdone to the point where they begin to grow tedious ... but the plusses outweigh by far the minuses." Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "really bugged me ... the first few pratfalls have, perhaps their comic shock values. Thereafter the chase—and the homicidal mania—simply go on and on – countless cars are wrecked,
5695-800: The rival Gazette newspaper called it "one film that no one should miss. It is unashamedly, unabashedly sentimental; it is designed to tug at your heart strings; it quite obviously makes a play for the largest possible audience. But it does so honestly." Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was a box-office success in 1968 throughout the United States, including in Southern states where it was traditionally assumed that few white filmgoers would want to see any film with black leads. The success of this film challenged that assumption in film marketing . Despite this success, which included numerous film award nominations, Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote in November 2008 that
5780-463: The role of Irwin originally was offered to Joe Besser , who was unable to participate when Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas could not give him time off from his co-starring role in The Joey Bishop Show . Actress Eve Bruce filmed a scene as a showgirl who asks Benjy Benjamin and Ding Bell to help her apply suntan lotion. The scene was cut, and she is uncredited. Cliff Norton is listed in
5865-410: The ruined relationship with his family, and the likelihood that the judge will probably give him the harshest sentence, he may never laugh again. Mrs. Marcus, flanked by Emmeline and Monica, enters and begins berating the men, only for her to slip on a banana peel and fall . All the men except Sylvester roar with laughter , and, after a brief hesitation, Culpeper joins in. According to Robert Davidson,
5950-403: The screenplay Tabu , an almost verbatim parody of the film. In the variation, the engaged lovers are aged 40 (him) and 12 (her), and are brother and sister. Episodes of The Golden Girls and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air featured plots similar to the film. The 2005 film Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac is a loose remake, styled as a comedy rather than a drama, with
6035-523: The title as time progressed. Kramer considered adding a fifth "mad" to the title before deciding it was redundant but noted in interviews that he later regretted it. Although well known for serious films such as Inherit the Wind and Judgment at Nuremberg (both starring Tracy), Kramer set out to make the ultimate comedy film. Filmed in Ultra Panavision 70 and presented in Cinerama (becoming one of
6120-523: The white people in this problem. Negroes are played by Sidney Poitier, Beah Richards, Isabel Sanford and Roy E. Glenn Sr. But withal, 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' is the late great actor's picture and he dominates it with his vitality and the clarity and logic of his presentation." Writing in the Los Angeles Times , film critic Charles Champlin lauded the film as "a deeply moving film, guaranteed to leave no eye undamp." Clifford Terry, film critic of
6205-444: Was ZaSu Pitts , who died on June 7, 1963, five months to the day before the film's release. With the death of Carl Reiner on June 29, 2020, and Nicholas Georgiade on December 19, 2021, Barrie Chase is the film's last surviving cast member, credited or otherwise. Mickey Rooney was the last living member of the main cast at the time of his death on April 6, 2014. In the early 1960s, screenwriter William Rose , then living in
6290-672: Was "made palatable to the greatest number" by creating a "comfortably old-fashioned picture." Champlin pointed to the extraordinary stature of the Poitier character, and said that he was left with a "nagging uneasiness that the problem has not really been confronted or solved, but only patronized." On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "More well-intentioned than insightful in its approach to interracial marriage, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner succeeds thanks to
6375-452: Was "too white" not to be accepted by the Draytons. It was also criticized by some for these reasons at the time, with African-American actor Stepin Fetchit saying that the film "did more to stop intermarriage than to help it." Kramer's intention of the film was to de-bunk stereotypes placed against people of color, but some scholars argue that it created new stereotypes in its portrayal. In
6460-400: Was accentuated by many things, including the opening animated credits designed by Saul Bass . The film begins with mention of Spencer Tracy, then the "in alphabetical order" mention of nine of the main cast (Berle, Caesar, Hackett, Merman, Rooney, Shawn, Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Winters), followed by hands switching these nine names two to three times over. Animation continues with paper dolls and
6545-406: Was cut. Instead she only talks with her father about the differences between the principles he taught her and the way he's behaving." Poitier frequently found himself starstruck, and as a result, a bit tongue-tied in the presence of Hepburn and Tracy, whom he considered to be "giants" as far as acting is concerned. However, Poitier reportedly found a way to overcome his nerves. "When I went to play
6630-517: Was like working with Tracy." A bust of Tracy sculpted by Hepburn herself was used as a prop, on the bookshelf behind the desk where Poitier makes his phone call. Tracy died two weeks after he completed his work on the film. Hepburn significantly helped cast her niece, Katharine Houghton, for the role of Joey Drayton. Concerning this, Hepburn stated: "There was a lovely part for Kathy [Houghton], my niece [...] She would play Spencer's and my daughter. I loved that. She's beautiful and she definitely had
6715-528: Was nominated for six Academy Awards , winning for Best Sound Editing , and two Golden Globe Awards . The film premiered on November 7, 1963 at the Cinerama Dome with a running time of 192 minutes. However, against Kramer's wishes, the film was cut by its distributor United Artists to reduce the film's running time to 163 minutes for its general release. In 2014, the Criterion Collection released
6800-516: Was one of the few of the time to depict an interracial marriage in a positive light, as interracial marriage historically had been illegal in many states of the United States. It was still illegal in 17 states, until June 12, 1967, six months before the film was released, and scenes were filmed just before anti-miscegenation laws were struck down by the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia . The film
6885-426: Was re-released in 1970 and earned an additional $ 2 million in rentals. The film holds a 69% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes , based on 39 reviews, with an average score of 6.9/10. The consensus states: "It's long, frantic, and stuffed to the gills with comic actors and set pieces—and that's exactly its charm." The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in the following lists: Existing footage
6970-468: Was released on Blu-ray on February 7, 2017, to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary. The film was first shown on U.S. television on CBS on September 19, 1971, and was the highest-rated film broadcast that year with a rating of 26.8 and an audience share of 44%. Upon the film's release, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther praised the performances and called the film "a most delightfully acted and gracefully entertaining film, fashioned much in
7055-637: Was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film's Oscar -nominated score was composed by Frank De Vol . In 1967, Joanna Drayton, a 23-year-old white woman, returns from her Hawaiian vacation to her parents' home in San Francisco with Dr. John Prentice, a 37-year-old black widower. The couple became engaged after
7140-461: Was the last scene filmed. Veteran stuntman Carey Loftin was featured in the documentary, explaining some of the complexity as well as simplicity of stunts, such as the day he "kicked the bucket" as a stand-in for Durante. The film was promoted as the first film made in "one-projector" Cinerama . (The original Cinerama process required three separate cameras. The three processed reels were projected by three electronically synchronized projectors onto
7225-498: Was the ninth and final on-screen pairing of Tracy and Hepburn. Tracy was very ill during filming but insisted on continuing. Filming of his role was completed just 17 days before his death in June 1967. Hepburn never saw the completed film, saying it would be too painful for her. The film was released in December 1967, six months after Tracy's death. In 2017, on its 50th anniversary, the film
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