HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramatic specials presented by Hallmark. Adapted for television, this live production of Joseph Kesselring's classic long-running 1941 black comedy concerns two eccentric old sisters and their unusual and lethal method of assisting old men to peaceful ends.
Act I introduces Abby and Martha Brewster whose quiet lives are dedicated to good works and the welfare of their benignly mad nephew Teddy, who fancies he is Theodore Roosevelt. Mortimer Brewster arrives to tell his aunts that he intends to marry Elaine. However, his jubilation ends when he discovers a dead body in the window seat. Undisturbed, his aunts explain their charitable practice of giving lonely old men elderberry wine laced with poison in order to end their unhappy lives. He is further shocked to learn that there are nearly a dozen bodies buried in the basement. In great agitation, Mortimer rushes off to get commitment papers signed. The situation is further complicated by the arrival of Jonathan (Boris Karloff, reprising the role he created on Broadway in 1941), the eldest Brewster brother. With his companion Dr. Einstein, Jonathan has escaped from a prison for the criminally insane and the two men ponder how to dispose of the body of one of their murder victims hidden in their car.
Act II begins as the menacing Jonathan coerces his aunts into letting them stay the night. Dr. Einstein schemes to bury their victim in the basement, but Mortimer's arrival interrupts their plot. Includes commercials for Hallmark.
Act III begins as the deranged Jonathan Brewster, determined to kill his nephew Mortimer Brewster, ties him up, but before he can take action, a blast from Teddy's trumpet summons the police with a noise complaint. Lieutenant Rooney recognizes Jonathan and takes him into custody. He also informs the distressed Brewster sisters that Teddy must be committed. With this announcement comes the timely arrival of Elaine who, at Mortimer's request, has brought Mr. Witherspoon from the Happy Dale Sanatorium. The sisters refuse to be separated from Teddy and, much to Mortimer's relief, decide to join him at the sanatorium. Mortimer despairs that by marrying he will perpetuate the Brewster insanity, but his aunts dispel his fear when they reveal that he is adopted. Includes commercials for Hallmark. (This is a black-and-white copy of a color telecast.)
("Hallmark Hall of Fame" aired on NBC from 1952 to 1978; network affiliation varies after 1978.)
(Beginning with the live telecast of the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" on December 24, 1951, Hallmark has sponsored a series of dramatic specials which, since 1952, has aired under the title "Hallmark Hall of Fame." From 1952 to 1955 Hallmark also presented "Hallmark Hall of Fame," a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by Sarah Churchill. The first program, "Dr. Serocold," was televised in January 1952 under the title "Hallmark Television Theatre." This series also ran under the title "Hallmark Summer Theatre" in July and August 1952.)
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 5, 1962 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:16
- COLOR/B&W: B&W Copy of Color Telecast
- CATALOG ID: B:19898
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Serial murders; Poisoning
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- George Schaefer … Producer, Director
- Robert Hartung … Associate Producer, Adapted by
- Joseph Kesselring … Writer
- Phebe Haas … Music Supervisor
- Tony Randall … Cast, Mortimer Brewster
- Dorothy Stickney … Cast, Abby Brewster
- Mildred Natwick … Cast, Martha Brewster
- Tom Bosley … Cast, Teddy Brewster
- George Voskovec … Cast, Dr. Einstein
- Boris Karloff … Cast, Jonathan Brewster
- Farrell Pelly … Cast, Dr. Harper
- Dort Clark … Cast, Officer Brophy
- Nathaniel Frey … Cast, Officer Klein
- Dody Heath … Cast, Elaine Harper
- Alan MacAteer … Cast, Mr. Gibbs
- Ralph Dunn … Cast, Lieutenant Rooney
- Edward L. Cullen … Cast, Mr. Witherspoon