Anybody could make a case, a hell of a good case, against your getting married. Props to Marlon Brando, by then an annual Oscar nominee, for agreeing to re-team with Kramer (who had produced the actor's debut film, The Men) on what is essentially a 79-minute B movie. Matt Drayton: What the hell is it today? Stupid script! STANDS4 LLC, 2020. So the movie is a cultural milestone--but hardly a cinematic one: it rarely escapes feeling schematic and overcautious in its fear of alienating the public on one hand and glorifying violence on the other. There'll be 100 million people right here in this country who will be shocked and offended and appalled and the two of you will just have to ride that out, maybe every day for the rest of your lives. And the two of you will just have to ride that out. In remarks recorded for the 40th-anniversary DVD, Steven Spielberg salutes Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as "social instrument" and "social entertainment." Lee Marvin injects a welcome shot of battery acid as the leader of a rival biker gang, and veteran cinematographer Hal Mohr does yeoman work on dull sets. Whatever his profile, for the better part of two decades Kramer loomed large on the American cinema horizon as a fighting liberal and truth-seeker. Overall, the film scarcely seems to have been directed (the credited Roy Rowland goes unmentioned in the commentaries), and some of the song sequences are a drag. But you do know, I'm sure you know, what you're up against. Yes. --Richard T. Jameson, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Screenplay », https://www.quotes.net/movies/guess_who's_coming_to_dinner_quotes_4821. As for you two and the problems you're going to have, they seem almost unimaginable, but you'll have no problem with me, and I think when Christina and I and your mother have some time to work on him you'll have no problem with your father, John. I admit that I hadn't considered it, hadn't even thought about it, but I know exactly how he feels about her and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you son feels for my daughter that I didn't feel for Christina. That undoubtedly contributed to the film's overall kindly reception by reviewers, even as some acknowledged its blatant contrivances. Joanna Drayton: It never occurred to me that I would fall in love with a Negro, but I have, and nothing's going to change that. Maybe every day for the rest of your lives. Less than 12% of the people in this city are colored people. You understand, you've got to get off my back! You tell me what rights I've got or haven't got, and what I owe to you for what you've done for me. Dad... Dad, you're my father. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. There's an extra disc devoted to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Stanley Kramer's legacy, though oddly enough no running commentary has been provided on any of the movies except The Wild One (authoritative testimony by film historian Jeanine Basinger) and The Member of the Wedding (meandering remarks by Carson McCullers biographer Virginia Spencer Carr). And if I tried to explain it the rest of your life you will never understand. Burned-out- certainly, but I can tell you the memories are still there- clear, intact, indestructible, and they'll be there if I live to be 110. I can't even have a dish of Oregon Boosenberry without runnin' into one of them. Kramer took an enormous risk that Tracy, in frail health, would live to finish the film; the beloved veteran actor did, but perished days afterward, lending the movie considerable poignancy. And I think that uh, when Christina and I and your mother have some time to work on him, you'll have no problem with your father, John. The only thing that matters is what they feel, and how much they feel for each other. But where necessary, you'll just have to cling tight to each other and say screw all those people! https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Guess_Who%27s_Coming_to_Dinner&oldid=2808422, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Christina Drayton: It's not that I don't want to know you, Hilary, although I don't. Because you brought me into this world. Anybody could make a case, and a hell of a good case, against your getting married. I admit that I hadn't considered it, hadn't even thought about it, but I know exactly how he feels about her. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Quotes A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé. A great memorable quote from the Guess Who's Coming to Dinner movie on Quotes.net - John: You listen to me. On screen, Harris's real age (26) is distractingly apparent, and her voice, like Frankie's aggressive neediness, can be like fingernails on the blackboard.