Character and the star vehicle: The impact of casting Cary Grant

Glitre, Kathrina

Abstract

Star vehicles provide a concrete way of exploring how creative and commercial factors affected the development of screen characters in classical Hollywood cinema. The chapter explores how casting, screenwriting and performance shaped the adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) to suit the particular star talents of Cary Grant. The three-pronged approach discusses different stages of the production process, combining archival research with close textual analysis of Grant’s performance.

• Online Publication Date: Mar 28, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 12, 2019
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 37-54
• Series Title: AFI Film Readers
• Book Title: Screening Characters: Theories of Character in Film, Television, and Interactive Media
• Chapter Number: 2
• ISBN: 9781138391826
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429422508
• Keywords: casting, star vehicle, classical Hollywood, screenwriting, ; adaptation, performance, Cary Grant
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/850641
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/Screening-Characters-Theories-of-Character-in-Film-Television-and-Interactive/Riis-Taylor/p/book/9781138391826