Arsenic and Old Lace (Film)

Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 film directed by Frank Capra based on a play of the same name by Joseph Kesselring. The script was adapted by Julius J. Epstein. Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941, but it was not released until 1944, after the original stage version had finished its run on Broadway. The lead role of Mortimer Brewster was originally intended for Bob Hope, but he couldn't be released from his contract with Paramount. Capra had also approachedJack Benny and Ronald Reagan before settling on Cary Grant. Boris Karloff played Jonathan Brewster on the stage, while in the movie Raymond Massey, who "looks like Karloff", took his place. Because Karloff was still appearing in the Broadway play during the film's production, he was unable to do the picture. In addition to Grant as Mortimer Brewster, the film also starred Josephine Hull and Jean Adair as the Brewster sisters, Abby and Martha, respectively. Hull and Adair as well as John Alexander (who played 'Teddy Roosevelt') reprising their roles from the 1941 stage production.

Auteur

Deborah S. Rhein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP: M.S. in Communication Disorders, Murray State University; Ph.D. in Special Education, University of Arizona.. Assistant Professor of Communication Disorders at New Mexico State University where she specializes in exploring the relationships among language differences, disorders, and reading/writing skills.