''Grace Quigley'' (also titled ''The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley'') is a 1985 American

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

starring Katharine Hepburn and

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

, produced by

Yoram Globus Yoram Globus ( he, יורם גלובוס; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with T ...

and Menahem Golan and directed by

Anthony Harvey Anthony Harvey (3 June 1930 – 23 November 2017) was an English filmmaker who began his career as a teenage actor, was a film editor in the 1950s and moved into directing in the mid-1960s. Harvey had fifteen film credits as an editor, and he ...

. The film is noted for being Hepburn's last leading role in a film for the big screen, as well as the last appearance, stage or otherwise, of

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of ...

Plot

The plot centers on Grace, an elderly widow who lives alone in a dreary New York City apartment. She has twice tried and failed to commit suicide, so she decides to hire Seymour, a hit man, to kill her and then do in others like her who are old, alone and tired of living. To her way of thinking, this professional killer will be committing acts of mercy, not murder.

Cast

* Katharine Hepburn as Grace Quigley *

as Seymour Flint * Kit Le Fever as Muriel *

Chip Zien Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien (born March 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of ''Into the Woods'' by Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in all of the "Marvin ...

as Dr. Herman *

William Duell Darwin William Duell (born George William Duell; August 30, 1923 – December 22, 2011) was an American actor and singer. He was known for his roles as Andrew McNair in the musical ''1776'', Jim Sefelt in the 1975 film ''One Flew Over the Cuck ...

as Mr. Jenkins *

Elizabeth Wilson Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 70 years, including memorable roles in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for ...

as Emily Watkins *

as Homer Morrison

Versions

In addition to the version of the film originally released in 1985, two other versions are known to exist: the original cut, which premiered at the

1984 Cannes Film Festival The 37th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1984. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Paris, Texas'' by Wim Wenders. The festival opened with '' Fort Saganne'', directed by Alain Corneau and closed with '' The Bounty'', directed by Roger ...

running 102 minutes; and the alternate and re-edited version titled ''The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley'', assembled by screenwriter A. Martin Zweiback, running 94 minutes. The latter version is considered superior by some critics..

References

External links

* * {{Anthony Harvey 1985 films American black comedy films Films about contract killing Films about old age Films about widowhood Golan-Globus films Films directed by Anthony Harvey Films scored by John Addison Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 1980s black comedy films 1985 comedy films Films produced by Menahem Golan Films produced by Yoram Globus 1980s English-language films 1980s American films