1969 Movie Adaptation
By far the most interesting adaptation I have seen, however, remains the 1969 version. Presented as a TV movie, it attempted to rejuvenate the story for a new audience.
Elaine is no longer Reverend Harper’s daughter, instead her last name is Dodd, and she and Mortimer go on a date at a loud, flashy dance club. Mortimer is a television critic, and the jokes are adapted to suit this. The tone is much more comedic, and many jokes are made to the audience’s desensitization towards the theatrical violence being introduced to America via television becoming mainstream.
Jonathan and the doctor are much more over-exaggerated and ineffective, and are far more physical than any other iteration, played up as a joke. One could even argue that the attitude change towards homosexuality, from frightening deviancy to something to be pitied and laughed at, is to blame for this. This is by far the quirkiest adaptation out there, and was definitely trying to find an audience in the younger generation, though to what rate of success I don’t know. Overall, I find it really interesting how these adaptations can show us a lot about the mode of storytelling used, and about the contexts of where and when it was made. Arsenic and Old Lace remains one of my favorite plays, movies, and radio shows up to this day.
Bibliography
Schaefer, George. Hallmark Hall of Fame- Arsenic and Old Lace. NBC Television Network, 1969.
Kesselring, Joseph. Arsenic and Old Lace. Dramatists Play Services Inc., 1941
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