Director
Stanley Kramer
Leading Actors/Actresses
Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Roy Glenn, Isabel Sanford
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Won 2 Academy Awards for: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen; Best Actress in a Leading Role. Nominated for 8 more Academy Awards
Date of Release
1967
Producer
Stanley Kramer
Setting and Context
San Francisco, California 1967
Narrator and Point of View
Point of View is that of Matt and Christina Drayton as well as John Prentice.
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Comedic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonists are John, Joey and Christina. Antagonists are Hilary, Matt and Mr. Prentice.
Major Conflict
Dr. John Prentice and Joanna Drayton are engaged to be married. The conflict is that John is black and Joanna is white in a post Civil Rights America in the 1960s, and their parents must approve of their interracial marriage.
Climax
Matt Drayton calls both his and Mr. Prentice's families together to say that it doesn't matter what they think, and that all that matters is that John and Joanna love each other, and they all finally sit down to dinner.
Foreshadowing
Hilary and the cab driver's looks at Dr. Prentice foreshadows Christina and Matt's reaction to John and Joanna's engagement.
Understatement
It is understated that John's father would disapprove of John's decision to marry Joanna.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to the reality of race in a post-civil rights America.
Paradox
Joanna wants John's parents to come to dinner. Paradoxically, John isn't ready for them to meet her.
Parallelism
Mr. and Mrs Drayton's response to Joey and John's engagement parallels Mr. and Mrs. Prentice's response when they meet Joey.
