Cary Grant maintained for a long time that it was one of his worst performances...many disagree...including me!
Its hilarious with all the double takes and gags...
The plot is based around two sweet but crazy old ladies, Abby and Martha Brewster (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair). Out of kindness, they poison a number of lonely old men.
Mortimer (Cary Grant), their nephew, newly married to Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane) discovers what his aunts are doing and gets caught up in the chaos!
When his brother, Jonathan (Raymond Massey), turns up with his friend, Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre), the chaos shifts up a gear.
Somethings you might not know...
- The film was shot in Hollywood in late 1941 but didn’t premiere until Sept. 1, 1944, at New York’s old Strand Theatre. The delay resulted because Warner Bros. agreed to a demand by the play’s producers, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, that the film not open until their highly popular play completed its Broadway run.
- “Arsenic and Old Lace’’ was a reunion between Grant and character actress Jean Adair, who had nursed him back to health when he contracted rheumatic fever during a theatrical tour 20 years earlier.
- Grant wasn’t the first choice for the film, but Bob Hope wasn’t available because of a schedule conflict (Capra needed to shoot the film just before reporting for World War II military duty).
- Grant, who donated his entire $100,000 salary to wartime charities, insisted, “Jimmy Stewart would have been much better [than me] in the film.’’ Stewart later starred opposite Josephine Hull in “Harvey’’ — for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
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| Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane on set. |
Publicity shots.
"Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops!"
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