Comparing John Mills/Spencer Tracy movies

[stuart.uk]

In 1967 Spencer Tracy made his final film Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, a film about a white girl wanting to marry a coloured man. In 1961 John Mills made Flame In The Streets with a similiar theme. Both films cover a period of 24 hours, but while GWCTD deals with a well off bunch of characters, FITS deals with the working classes. I thought I might compare cast performances.

In GWCTD Spencer Tracy played a liberal newspaper publisher, who at first is against the marriage because of the difficulties his daughter, played by Katharine Haughton, would be up against, but he changes his mind and realises it's the right thing for his daughter and boyfriend, played by Sidney Poitier to do.

In FITS John Mills played a liberal union shop steward, who fights for the rights of colored workers in the workplace, but he too is at first against his daughter, played by Sylvia Syms marrying a coloured man for the same reason as Tracy, but realises if he and his wife are to keep their daughter, they are going to have to respect her wishes.

Katharine Haughton played a well brought up young woman, who was taught be her parents that racism is wrong and though we don't see it, mother Katharine Hepburn warns her husband if he opposses the wedding, her daughter will with her blessing stand up to him.

Sylvia Syms character I think is older than Katharine Haughton and is a schoolteacher. Syms is really impressive as a determined womam, who won't be swayed despite severe pressure from her parents, particulary her mother, as regards to her marraige

Sidney Poitier is a brilliant Doctor, whom Spencer Tracy can't fault because of his great medical achievements. This has a positve and a negative point to it. Would GWCTD have worked if the Doctor had been an ordinary man, or is the fact he was so brilliant the whole point as it showed that despite his achievements he could also end up a victim of racism. In FITS the boyfriend doesn't feature as much. He like Sylvia, is a schoolteacher.

However, the big difference in both movies is the character of the mother. Katharine Hepburn is impressive as the liberal minded mother, who supports her daughter's decision to marry a coloured man. As impressive from an acting point of view is Brenda De Banzie, who is ignorantly biogoted to her daughters marriage, even using the N word.. It's only when husband John Mills warns her she'll lose her daughter, that she backs down.

[stuart.uk]

I found this film clip of Flame In The Streets. I hope nobody minds Brenda De Banzie's use of the N word, as it shows how bigoted she is and how impressive Sylvia Syms is in standing up to her.

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