Arsenic and Old Lace was delayed because the stage version was still on Broadway and producers feared competition between the two versions.
Arsenic and Old Lace (film) . Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941 because of star Cary Grant 's availability , but it was not released until 1944 , after the original stage version had finished its run on Broadway . Boris Karloff played Jonathan Brewster , who `` looks like Karloff , '' on the Broadway stage , but he was unable to do the movie as well because he was still appearing in the play during filming , and Raymond Massey took his place . Hull and Adair , as well as John Alexander ( who played Teddy Brewster ) , were reprising their roles from the 1941 stage production .