Daily Dialogue — January 15, 2016

JOANNA DRAYTON: He’s so calm and sure of everything. He doesn’t have any tensions in him. He knows what he believes and what he thinks is right and why, and where he’s going. Oh, Mom, there’s one thing I must tell you. He was married before, and he had a son. It was so tragic. His wife and son were killed in a train accident eight years ago. And John… I haven’t even told you his name. Mom, it’s John Wade Prentice. Isn’t that a lovely name?
CHRISTINA DRAYTON: John Wade…
JOANNA DRAYTON: Joanna Prentice, I’ll be. But, Mom. Mom? There’s something else that John’s that John’s been concerned about, very deeply concerned about. He’s been worrying if you and Dad would be upset if… Well, it’s about time. I was wondering where you’d been. Mom, this is John.
CHRISTINA DRAYTON: Doc… Doc… Dr. Prentice? I’m so pleased to meet you.
JOHN PRENTICE: I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Drayton. Joanna’s already busted out with the news.
CHRISTINA DRAYTON: She has told me a good deal, and all very quickly too.
JOHN PRENTICE: She’s only known me for 10 days, so she can’t tell when I’m blushing. That could be another problem for us. Mrs. Drayton, I’m medically qualified, so I hope you won’t think it presumptuous if I say you should sit before you fall down.
JOANNA DRAYTON: He thinks you’re gonna faint because he’s a Negro.
CHRISTINA DRAYTON: Well… I don’t think I’m going to faint. But I’ll sit down anyway.

— Guess Who‘s Coming to Dinner (1967), written by William Rose

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Surprise. Today’s suggestion by Katha.

Trivia: This movie was still showing in theaters at the time Martin Luther King was assassinated. Originally, there was a line in the movie where Joey (Katharine Houghton) tells the maid another person is coming to dinner, to which Tillie (Isabel Sanford), the maid guesses, “The Reverend Martin Luther King?” When King was murdered, the studio immediately called the theaters showing the film and gave instructions to cut that scene from the movie.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Katha: “The whole movie is about the surprise of Joanna‘s parents about her black fiancé. In this scene her mother listens joyfully to Joanna describing John — as long as the door opens and she realises that he is black. Her reaction is without words, she discontinues speaking out his name. When she tries to find words again, she ties on his name again. Surprise and shock keep the least amount of words for the mother in this scene.”