"ARSENIC AND OLD LACE": A SCREENING AND A FASCINATING LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES AT THIS FRANK CAPRA FILM

Arsenic and Old Lace is a film that displays Cary Grant's wildest, and many feel, his funniest role! Yet, he hated it. During this presentation, you will discover why that was so. An unusual film to be made at the start of World War II, it has a cast of greats that include Hollywood stars Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, James Gleason, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre and many of the show’s original Broadway actors. Learn about the original hit Broadway play that included Boris Karloff and why Karloff, unfortunately for viewers, was not in the film version. See how director Frank Capra planned and completed the film and why it was “held back” for two years before finally being released. A screening of the film will be followed by a Power Point presentation and discussion.

If you thought you couldn’t laugh at two old ladies that poison their boarders, a menacing nephew on the run who engages them in a murder contest, buried bodies in the “Panama Canal,” Teddy Roosevelt running amuck, and another nephew that wants them all to be committed, then think again. This is the perfect Halloween seasonal film that includes dark comedy, slapstick, snappy dialogue and hysterical antics with film noir touches. A hit when released in 1944, it still pleases today.