What is the setting of arsenic and Old Lace?
The play continues to be a favorite production in amateur and community theater revivals. Arsenic and Old Lace takes place entirely in the Brewster home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. As the play opens, Abby Brewster, a sweet, elderly woman is pouring tea for her nephew Teddy and Dr. Harper, a local minister.
Who wrote arsenic and Old Lace?
Source: Brooks Atkinson, "Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace Turns Murder into Fantastic Comedy," in New York Times, January 11, 1941, p. 13. Atkinson, Brooks, "Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace Turns Murder into Fantastic Comedy," in the New York Times, January 11, 1941, p. 13.
How many times has arsenic and Old Lace been on Broadway?
On January 10, Broadway gave them exactly what they were looking for in the form of a hilarious new play by Joseph Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace. The play became an immediate critical and popular success, running for 1,444 performances.
How many people died in Arsenic and Old Lace?
The most devastating act of terrorism occurs on September 11, 2001, when terrorists fly planes into the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and into the Pentagon, killing approximately 3,000 people. 1941: Arsenic and Old Lace begins its 1,444 performance run. Audiences herald the play's successful mixture of farce and melodrama.
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What is the moral of Arsenic and Old Lace?
The moral of Arsenic and Old Lace is that the nicest people can have the darkest secrets. It's also good to know your family history too. The scene where Cary Grant is tied up and the police officer that comes over only cares about the new play that he's working on still puts me in stitches.
Is Arsenic and Old Lace a true story?
It's a pretty grim subject for a comedy, especially considering that it was inspired by real events. While working on Arsenic and Old Lace, playwright Joseph Kesselring traveled to Connecticut to examine court documents relating to Amy Archer-Gilligan, a convicted murderer who had run a boarding house for the elderly.
What inspired Joseph Kesselring to write Arsenic and Old Lace?
It has been suggested that what inspired Joseph Kesselring to write Arsenic and Old Lace was the real-life story of Amy Archer-Gilligan (1873-1962), a serial killer who murdered between 20 and 100 people.
What is the conflict in Arsenic and Old Lace?
Even though the story revolves around the premise of the aunts' mercy killings, the central conflict is with Jonathan. Without Jonathan's arrival as the primary antagonist, there would be few to no real obstacles between Mortimer and his goal of protecting his aunts and committing Teddy.
How does the movie Arsenic and Old Lace end?
In an attempt to remain undiscovered, Jonathan ties Mortimer to a chair in order to kill him. Mortimer is stuck there through the night as the oblivious O'Hara drones on about his play. Mortimer is finally able to escape upon the arrival of O'Hara's fellow officers, Brophy and Klein.
Did Arsenic and Old Lace win any Oscars?
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): Frank Capra's Oscar-Winning Black Comedy, Starring Cary Grant and Josephine Hull (Winner of Bets Supporting Actress) | Emanuel Levy.
How many people died in Arsenic and Old Lace?
Arsenic and Old Lace is one of them. It was based on a serial killer named Amy Archer-Gilligan—who, law enforcement says, murdered between 20 and 100 people, including some of her husbands. The dark comedy had a sinister, real-life protagonist.
What time period is Arsenic and Old Lace set in?
1941Arsenic and Old Lace takes place entirely in the Brewster home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. As the play opens, Abby Brewster, a sweet, elderly woman is pouring tea for her nephew Teddy and Dr. Harper, a local minister.
Who is the main character in Arsenic and Old Lace?
Mortimer BrewsterCary GrantMartha BrewsterJean AdairDr. EinsteinPeter LorreElaine HarperPriscilla LaneJonathan BrewsterRaymond MasseyOfficer O'HaraJack CarsonArsenic and Old Lace/Characters
Who is the antagonist of Arsenic and Old Lace?
Abby and Martha Brewster are two central antagonists in the stage-show and movie Arsenic and Old Lace.
Who does Mortimer think is responsible for the body in the window seat Arsenic and Old Lace?
Mortimer at first believes that it is his brother Teddy – who everyone already knows is insane – who killed the man, but Abby and Martha soon tell him that they are the ones who killed him, and then tell him that they have killed 11 other “gentlemen” and had Teddy bury them in the basement; they poisoned each of their ...
Is Arsenic and Old Lace a comedy?
Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 American black comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.
How many people died in Arsenic and Old Lace?
Arsenic and Old Lace is one of them. It was based on a serial killer named Amy Archer-Gilligan—who, law enforcement says, murdered between 20 and 100 people, including some of her husbands. The dark comedy had a sinister, real-life protagonist.
What do the elderly sisters in the play Arsenic and Old Lace used to poison their gentlemen callers?
The sisters explain that these are charitable acts: They befriend lonely older gentlemen who do not have much to live for and then kill them with elderberry wine laced with arsenic.
Where did Arsenic and Old Lace take place?
Brooklyn, New YorkArsenic and Old Lace takes place entirely in the Brewster home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. As the play opens, Abby Brewster, a sweet, elderly woman is pouring tea for her nephew Teddy and Dr. Harper, a local minister.
Where was Arsenic and Old Lace filmed?
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.
Overview
Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 American black comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant. It was based on Joseph Kesselring's 1941 play of the same name. The script adaptation was written by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. The contract with the play’s producers stipulated that the film would not be released until the Broadway run ended. The original planned release da…
Plot
The Brewster family of Brooklyn, New York, is descended from Mayflower settlers. Several illustrious forebears' portraits line the walls of the ancestral home.
Mortimer Brewster, a writer who has repeatedly denounced marriage as "an old-fashioned superstition", falls in love with Elaine Harper, his neighbor and the minister's daughter. On Halloween day, Mortimer and Elaine get married. Elain…
Reviews
The contemporary critical reviews were uniformly positive. The New York Times critic summed up the majority view, "As a whole, Arsenic and Old Lace, the Warner picture which came to the Strand yesterday, is good macabre fun." Variety declared, "Capra's production, not elaborate, captures the color and spirit of the play, while the able writing team of Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein has turned in a very workable, tightly-compressed script. Capra's own intelligent directio…
Box-office
According to Warner Bros records, the film earned $2,836,000 domestically and $1,948,000 foreign.
Commentary
The play was written by Joseph Kesselring, son of German immigrants and a former professor at Bethel College, a pacifist Mennonite college. It was written in the antiwar atmosphere of the late 1930s. Capra scholar Matthew C. Gunter argues that the deep theme of both the play and film is America's difficulty in coming to grips with both the positive and negative consequences of the liberty it professes to uphold, and which the Brewsters demand. Although their house is the nice…
Cast
• Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster
• Priscilla Lane as Elaine Brewster
• Josephine Hull as Aunt Abby Brewster
• Jean Adair as Aunt Martha Brewster
Radio adaptations
Arsenic and Old Lace was adapted as a half-hour radio play for the November 25, 1946, broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater with Boris Karloff and Eddie Albert. A one-hour adaptation was broadcast on January 25, 1948 on the Ford Theatre, with Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, and John Alexander reprising their roles.
See also
• List of American films of 1944
• Amy Archer-Gilligan—nursing home owner accused of murdering elderly men in her care 1910–1917
• Black Widow murders—a real murder case whose events were compared to the fictional murders in the film
Introduction
- In 1941, New Yorkers were looking for some entertainment to take their minds off of the war in Europe and the growing fear that America would be pulled into it. On January 10, Broadway gave them exactly what they were looking for in the form of a hilarious new play by Joseph Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace. The play became an immediate critical and popular success, running for …
Author Biography
- Joseph Kesselring was born on June 21, 1902, in New York City, to Henry and Frances Kesselring. From 1922 to 1924 he taught music and directed student productions at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas. He turned to acting, producing, and writing from 1925 until 1933, when his first play, Addie Appleby, Maker of Men, a domestic comedy, was produced. His secon…
Plot Summary
- Act 1
Arsenic and Old Lace takes place entirely in the Brewster home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. As the play opens, Abby Brewster, a sweet, elderly woman is pouring tea for her nephew Teddy and Dr. Harper, a local minister. All note how peaceful the house is, far removed from the war in … - Act 2
After dinner, the aunts renew their efforts to get Jonathan to leave, but he warns them how "disagreeable" he had been as a child and that "it wouldn't be pleasant for any of [them]" if they tried to prevent him from staying. He informs the aunts of his plans for his grandfather's laborator…
Characters
- Abby Brewster
Abby and her sister Martha have interchangeable personalities in the play. Neither exhibits distinct characteristics that are identifiable as separate from the other. Abby, like her sister Martha, is old-fashioned in an ironic sense. She appears to be a quite conservative elderly woman who values … - Jonathan Brewster
Jonathan is a vicious criminal with a penchant for torture. Not much background information is given on him other than the details provided by Mortimer that he was "the kind of boy who liked to cut worms in two—with his teeth." He has no consideration for his aunts as he plots to turn their …
Media Adaptations
- Kesselring collaborated on a successful Hollywood screen version of the play, directed by Frank Capra in 1944. The film starred Cary Grantas Mortimer, with Josephine Hull and Jean Adair recreating...
Themes
- Charity
The theme of charity is satirized in the play. The Brewster sisters appear to be quite altruistic, providing help when needed for their neighbors as well as opening their door to strangers. They make soup for the sick, serve tea and cakes for the preacher and police officers, collect toys for … - Insanity
The audience, along with Mortimer, soon learns that the sisters are as insane as the obviously deranged Teddy, who thinks that he is Teddy Roosevelt and so continually blows a bugle and charges up the staircase as if it were San JuanHill. Because the sisters do not display such obvi…
Topics For Further Study
- Some scholars suggest that Kesselring wrote the play as a thriller and then was prompted to turn it into a farce. Would the play work as a thriller? Propose a general outline of the play as a thril...
- Compare and contrast the Broadway hit Sweeney Todd, another play in the comic/thriller genre, with Arsenic and Old Lace.
- Some scholars suggest that Kesselring wrote the play as a thriller and then was prompted to turn it into a farce. Would the play work as a thriller? Propose a general outline of the play as a thril...
- Compare and contrast the Broadway hit Sweeney Todd, another play in the comic/thriller genre, with Arsenic and Old Lace.
- Research the treatment of the mentally ill in America in the 1930s and 1940s. Were there "Happy Dales" then that provided comfortable living arrangements for those like Teddy and the Brewster sisters?
- Investigate the accepted theories on biological determinism during the 1930s and 1940s. Discuss the debate over nature versus nurture during this period.
Style
- Farce and Melodrama
Kesselring departs from dramatic tradition in his combination of farce and melodrama. Elizabethan tragedy contain scenes that provided audiences with comic relief, but they were not part of the main action of the play. Joseph Wood Krutch, in his review of the play for the Nation, notes that …
Historical Context
- World War II
The world experienced a decade of aggression in the 1930s that would culminate in World War II. World War II resulted from the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. These militaristic regimes gained control as a result of the Great Depression experienced by most of th… - Theater in the 1930s and 1940s
In the late nineteenth century playwrights such as Henrik Ibsenturned away from what they considered the artificiality of melodrama to a focus on the commonplace in the context of everyday contemporary life. Their work, along with much of the experimental fiction written during that peri…
Compare & Contrast
- 1941: On December 7, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the United States enters World War II. Today:The United States is engaged in a war in Iraq that is not supported by many countries around the wo...
- 1941: On December 11, four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany, along with Italy, declares war on the United States. Today: The world is threatened by Islamic fundamentalist …
- 1941: On December 7, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the United States enters World War II. Today:The United States is engaged in a war in Iraq that is not supported by many countries around the wo...
- 1941: On December 11, four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany, along with Italy, declares war on the United States. Today: The world is threatened by Islamic fundamentalist groups that...
- 1941: Arsenic and Old Lace begins its 1,444 performance run. Audiences herald the play's successful mixture of farce and melodrama. Today: Films that spoof the thriller genre, like Scream,have gain...