We have writer Emily St. James back with us this week, so naturally we’re breaking our own record for oldest film discussed on the show (after her episode on Moby Dick)! Based on the Broadway smash comedy, Arsenic and Old Lacewas Frank Capra’s intentional return to comedy after a string of serious movies. Starring Cary Grant as the critic nephew of two aging sisters, the farce unfolds as the aunts reveal they have been offing unmarried travelers and a brother who now looks like Boris Karloff returns to the family. Since the adaptation rights stipulated the film could not open until the Broadway run ended, the film sat on a shelf and was not released until Capra was overseas documenting the war.
This episode, we talk about Emily’s new book (with Lauren Theisen) about It’s a Wonderful Life titled Every Time a Bell Rings and the effect of WWII on Capra. We also talk about the Broadway run that actually starred Karloff, Grant’s nomination in the same year for None But The Lonely Heart, and face guy Peter Lorre.
Topics also include The Best Years of Our Lives, high school theatre, and queer coding.
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