MovieChat Forums > Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) Discussion > Katharine Hepburn's tears, etc.

Katharine Hepburn's tears, etc.

posted 16 years ago by beegeebright
11 replies | jump to latest

Re-watching this movie for the first time in forty two years, I am troubled by the fact that Katharine Hepburn is always in tears. This is a great actress! Can't put her personal life aside and stop crying for one moment! And I for one, was troubled in 1967 that one would marry after ten days. It was obvious they had to make Poitier a paragon for if he wasn't someone would object. And as for Tracy's speech at the end, he cheated on Hepburn repeatedly and wouldn't leave his wife for her, THAT'S a great love story! But everyone is missing the real point: they haven't had sex, so what they are agreeing to is NOT their getting married but agreeing to them having sex, that's the real issue here.

[–] louiseaj08 15 years ago

Lol, no, it's not about sex, everyone always tries to make everything about sex nowadays, life doesn't revolve around it.

It's the difficulties they will face even just holding hands in the street, it's about legally being recognised as a legitimate couple, sex is definitely not the main issue. If they wanted to, if they weren't patient, respectable, logical people, they would have done it already, they are both ADULTS they definitely aren't asking permission for that and it would be silly to think so.

Marriage and relationships are about far more than just sex.

[–] netshopper-2 15 years ago

Hepburn had tears in her eyes during the scene at the drive in restaurant. I thought it was a real physical problem, not acting.

[–] jimellis 15 years ago

'Re-watching this movie for the first time in forty two years, I am troubled by the fact that Katharine Hepburn is always in tears. This is a great actress! Can't put her personal life aside and stop crying for one moment'
--------------
Confused.
What does being in tears have to do with her personal life and being a great actress? Are you saying KH was crying as herself, not as the character?

[–] Tess-Harding 15 years ago

She had a permanent eye problem from an infection she picked up falling into a canal in Venice.

Firth/Sidibe/Harrelson/Mo'Nique

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MikeAnsaraFan 15 years ago

OP... you are sooo funny!

When you've been married to the same person for 40yrs (like I have) you will realize what it's all about.

[–] movieoverdose1127 15 years ago

Wikipedia states this about Kate Hepburn´s tears:

"The film (Guess Who´s coming to dinner) is also notable for being the ninth and final on-screen pairing of Tracy and Hepburn (filming ended seventeen days before Tracy died June 10 1967). In Tracy's final speech of the film, Hepburn's tears were real—they both knew that this would be the last line of his last film, that he had not much longer to live. Hepburn never saw the completed film;[2] she said the memories of Tracy were too painful. The film was released in December 1967, six months after his death.[3]"

If it is true, that´s a really sad story.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MarrG 14 years ago

I noticed tears in almost her very first scene. No sign of Tracy or any plot-related reason for her to be tearing up. Thanks to the person who pointed out an eye problem, although it seems they could have used lighting to downplay the glimmering eyes. Unless it was, as another poster mentioned, deliberately dramatic and typical for the time.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] novastar_6 13 years ago

In her book Me: Stories about My Life, Katharine explains the reason she seems to be in tears so much in the movie was because she knew Spencer Tracy was dying, it was the last movie he would ever do, and they had pretty much decided to do it in the first place because it WOULD be his last movie.