Arsenic & Old Lace | |
---|---|
Genre | Black comedy |
Based on | Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring |
Screenplay by | Robert Hartung |
Directed by | George Schaefer |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | February 5, 1962 |
Arsenic & Old Lace is a 1962 television film directed by George Schaefer and starring Tony Randall, Dorothy Stickney, and Mildred Natwick. It first aired as the 3rd episode of season 11 of the NBC anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame . [1] It is an adaptation of Joseph Kesselring's 1939 play Arsenic and Old Lace .
The story is a black comedy in which drama critic Mortimer Brewster (Randall) discovers that his elderly aunts Abby and Martha (Stickney and Natwick respectively) have been poisoning their lonely male guests.
Boris Karloff reprised his role as Jonathan Brewster (who is described by the other characters as resembling the Frankenstein star), which he had originated on Broadway. He had been unable to appear in Frank Capra's 1944 film because of a scheduling conflict, but had played Jonathan on television once before, in a 1955 adaptation for the CBS anthology series The Best of Broadway . [2]
Karloff and director Schaefer had previously performed the play during World War II, touring Pacific islands such as Kwajalein to entertain troops for Special Services. [3] [4] Karloff reportedly tried to cajole Schaefer into playing the role of Teddy in the television adaptation as well, but he declined and the part went to Tom Bosley. [5]
Arsenic & Old Lace was well-received by critics, who called it "a fine, frolicsome TV adaptation" [6] and "a well polished gem of a performance". [7] Director Schaefer was praised for returning the focus of the story to the sisters Abby and Martha, as it had been in the play, rather than emphasizing Mortimer's romantic subplot, as had been the case in the 1944 film. [7] [8]
Frederick Hubbard Gwynne was an American actor, artist and author, who is widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later film roles in The Cotton Club, Pet Sematary, and My Cousin Vinny.
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He reprised his role as Lincoln on television and in How the West Was Won (1962). Among his other well-known roles were Dr. Gillespie in the NBC television series Dr. Kildare (1961–1966), John Brown in Santa Fe Trail (1940) and Seven Angry Men (1955), Abraham Farlan in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), and Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Life with Father is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway, a record that it still holds. The play was adapted into a 1947 feature film and a television series.
Marie Josephine Hull was an American stage and film actress who also was a director of plays. She had a successful 50-year career on stage while taking some of her better known roles to film. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie Harvey (1950), a role she originally played on the Broadway stage. She was sometimes credited as Josephine Sherwood.
Thomas Edward Bosley was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the ABC sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination. Bosley also did a variety of voiceover work such as playing the lead character in the animated series Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, and the narrator of the syndicated film history documentary series That's Hollywood. He's also known for his role as Sheriff Amos Tupper in the Angela Lansbury lead CBS mystery series Murder, She Wrote (1984–1988), and as the title character in the NBC/ABC series Father Dowling Mysteries (1989–1991).
Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 American screwball black comedy crime film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant. The screenplay by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein is based on Joseph Kesselring's 1941 play of the same name. The contract with the play's producers stipulated that the film would not be released until the Broadway run ended. The original planned release date was September 30, 1942. The play was hugely successful, running for three and a half years, so the film was not released until 1944.
Gary Sandy is an American actor. He is best known for playing program director Andy Travis on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982).
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock was an American stage and screen actress. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for her works in Death of a Salesman (1951) and Baby Doll (1956).
Arsenic and Old Lace may refer to:
Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the 1944 film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra.
Boris Karloff (1887–1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
Mildred Natwick was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.
Dorothy Stickney was an American film, stage, and television actress, best known for appearing in the long-running Broadway hit Life with Father.
George Louis Schaefer was an American director of television and Broadway theatre, who was active from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome is a 1947 American thriller film directed by John Rawlins and starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd and Anne Gwynne. The film is the fourth and final installment of the Dick Tracy film series released by RKO Radio Pictures.
John Alexander was an American stage, film, and television actor.
"Little Moon of Alban" was an American television play broadcast by NBC on March 24, 1958, as part of the television series, Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was written by James Costigan, directed by George Schaefer, and starred Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer.
Jack Whiting was an American actor, singer and dancer whose career ran from the early 1920s through the late 1950s, playing leading men or major supporting figures.
Arsenic & Old Lace is a 1969 American television film directed by Robert Scheerer and starring Helen Hayes, Lillian Gish, Fred Gwynne, Sue Lyon, Jack Gilford and David Wayne. It is an adaptation of Joseph Kesselring's 1939 play Arsenic and Old Lace. The production was shot on color videotape before a live audience. Inserts of outside action that were shot on film were added to the production for the April 2, 1969 broadcast.