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Arsenic and Old Lace
From the moment he saw Joseph Kesselring's hit play, Frank Capra was determined to bring this frantic comedy to the screen. Although forced to settle for Raymond Massey after he failed to get Boris Karloff to repeat his stage triumph as the nasty nephew, Jonathan Brewster, Capra was blessed with a sparkling cast, with only Priscilla Lane failing to deliver. The fact that the film is so much fun belies the problems that beset production. Cary Grant only agreed to take the lead as it gave him the chance to reunite with Jean Adair, who had once nursed him through a nasty bout of rheumatic fever. However, he then proceeded to demand that the role was enlarged and insisted on changes to the script, costumes, sets and lighting. Capra's own enthusiasm began to wane after America entered the Second World War and he tried to speed up shooting to take up his posting as a major in the army's film unit. Grant ended up donating his fee to a range of war charities and rarely spoke of the picture with any fondness. A shame, really, as this is one of his most unguarded performances. He hurls himself into the part of the decent nephew who discovers that his respectable aunts (played with hilarious dottiness by Josephine Hull and Adair) are serial killers. Spookily lit and very funny, the film is unmissable, with Grant's wonderful double-takes giving the action the farcical element needed to lighten the pitch-black humour.
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