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*Arsenic & Old Lace*
Arsenic & Old Lace
	Newspaper ad showing the title Arsenic and Old Lace, whereas the title card of the film itself reads Arsenic & Old Lace
Genre	Black comedy
Based on	Arsenic and Old Lace; by Joseph Kesselring
Screenplay by	Robert Hartung
Directed by	George Schaefer
Starring	Tony Randall; Boris Karloff; Dorothy Stickney; Mildred Natwick; Tom Bosley;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	George Schaefer; Robert Hartung;
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.

Plot

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.

Cast

Tony Randall as Mortimer Brewster
Boris Karloff as Jonathan Brewster
Dorothy Stickney as Abby Brewster
Mildred Natwick as Martha Brewster
Tom Bosley as Teddy Brewster
George Voskovec as Dr. Herman Einstein
Farrell Pelly as Rev. Dr. Harper
Dort Clark as Officer Brophy
Nathaniel Frey as Officer Klein
Dody Heath as Elaine Harper
Alan MacAteer as Mr. Gibbs
Ralph Dunn as Lt. Rooney
Edward F. Cullen as Mr. Witherspoon

Production

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]

Reception

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]

References

^ "Hallmark Hall of Fame - Movie List". Hallmark Channel. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
^ Nixon, Rob. "The Big Idea Behind Arsenic and Old Lace". TCM. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
^ Smith, Cecil (February 5, 1962). "Karloff – Arsenic, Very Old Lace". Los Angeles Times. p. 70. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Gill, Alan (January 29, 1962). "Television and Radio". The Marion Star. p. 7. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Karloff's Bargain Didn't Work". The Tennessean. January 21, 1962. p. 5F. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Lowry, Cynthia (February 6, 1962). "'Arsenic And Old Lace' Funny Television Treat". Cumberland Evening Times. New York. AP. p. 5. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Shain, Percy (February 6, 1962). "'Arsenic & Old Lace' A Dazzling Jewel". The Boston Globe. p. 46. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "'Arsenic' On Hall of Fame; Nixon Guest On Paar's Show". The Salina Journal. February 5, 1962. p. 20. Retrieved April 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.