Classical Comedy Movie Given New Life Through Black Widows - Mad Or Not?

Dubbed the 'Black Widows', the two women, from Los Angelos, were originally natives of Hungary. As they were sentenced to life in prison, Helen Golay, 77 and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, sat stony faced in court. There would be no possibility of parole. (Whatever that means to women in their late seventies?)

The duo were found guilty, after having met two homeless men, aged 73 and 50, whom they befriended at an Eastern European church. They found accommodation for the men to live in and then took out life policies, (insurance-with-intent-to-murder). They had found an insurance company which would pay, regardless of illness, or accidental cause. The company slogan is 'No Hassle, No investigations'.

The two women signed the forms, using rubber stamps, onto which they had transferred the men's signatures. The grannies then arranged to have the two men to be accidentally killed in hit-and-run accidents, in a dark alley.

Both women claimed relationship with the victims. Rutterschmidt said she was a cousin, while Golay claimed she was the fiancée of both men. The women collected just under , before their deadly scheme was disclosed. The homeless men had only been looking for some neighborly assistance. Sadly they received a lot more than they bargained for.

"The two men you killed needed a helping hand. They thought they were getting this from you. Instead these unfortunate men were sacrificed on your altar of greed," Judge Wesley said in his closing comments. He had researched the word greed and among other things, found the definition, 'A selfish desire for money, not to purchase anything, but just to have it'.

What were women, so late in life, going to do with all that money? Even more terrifying is the unanswered question of whether or not the women are responsible for other deaths, involving six life policies which remain unpaid, due to suspicious circumstances. Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid were also insured by Golay and Rutterschmidt. In 1999 and 2005 they were inexplicably crushed by cars.

'Arsenic and Old Lace', was a startling break-through from the usual theatre of the day. The producers, Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Crouse, knew what all successful entrepreneurs know - it takes only one whacky idea to either make or break you. They were fully aware of the huge risk they were taking. Either they would be run out of town by outraged citizens, or the play would be a rip roaring success.

"Arsenic and Old Lace", with 1,444 performances, proudly takes its place among some of the longest running shows on Broadway. It paid its backers 40 to 1. It has constantly been ranked among the most constantly reproduced plays over the last four decades, even in countries as far away as Brazil and Rumania. In 1986 it was seen once more on Broadway, costing far more than the original play.

The Brewster's were the central figures of the plot. They were renowned for their devotion to each other and their charities. They liberally lavished neighborly attentions on all who needed them. They helped up to a dozen old men who had no families, kindly putting the lonely men out of their miserable existence. The sisters' self-appointed task was to help the men to attain eternal peace, thanks to the delicious concoction of homemade elderberry wine, liberally laced with strychnine, arsenic and cyanide. They buried the bodies of their victims in their cellar, in graves dug by their unsuspecting nephew. The sisters gave them a proper funeral, complete with appropriate hymns, according to the victim's religious preference.

'Arsenic and Old Lace' was converted into the much watched movie by Frank Capra, starring Carey Grant. The film made considerable alterations to the original script. It included a sugar-coating ending, whereas the original play had a definite feeling of blackness to the comedy. Thousands have enjoyed a good laugh watching the movie over the years.

Some things become classics, such as the 1934 song 'Blue Moon', or films like 'Arsenic and Lace'. Very few ever evolve into real life. Did the Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt, the Black Widows, watch the movie several times before they copied it? Some may have said the widows were merely eccentric. For the victims it was a lethal nightmare, movie plot or not.

Were Golay and Rutterschmidt extremely clever or quite mad? Did they act as morons with twisted logic, lunatics who have no logic, or confused fools looking for entertainment? You be the judge.

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