Main Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Nick Nolte, Elizabeth Wilson, Chip Zien, Kit Le Fever
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
When first released as Grace Quigley, this odd little black comedy proved too fey and quirky even for the most devoted fans of Katharine Hepburn. The star plays the title character, an old, worn-out woman with nothing to live for. Accordingly, she hires professional assassin Seymour Flint (Nick Nolte) to kill her, albeit gently. As she ponders the prospect of a peaceful death as opposed to a miserable life, Grace convinces Seymour to murder not only herself, but all other poor souls who have grown tired of life. As it turns out, there are several people who'd be willing to pay for this "courtesy," and soon Grace and Seymour, together with his ditsy girlfriend Muriel (Kit Le Fever), are conducting a land-office business! Entered into competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, Grace Quigley made no impression whatsoever. Screenwriter A. Martin Zweibeck withdrew the film, recut it to his satisfaction, and reissued it as The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley. Though this version was a marked improvement over the original, the film was still not quite the Harold and Maude-like "cult favorite" that everyone hoped it would be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
William Duell - Mr. Jenkins; Frances Pole - Sarah Hodgkins; Truman Gaige - Sam Pincus; Paula Trueman - Dorothy Truger; Christopher Murney - Max Putnam; William Cain - George Quigley; Howard Sherman - Alan; Jill Eikenberry - Faith; Michael Charters - Todd; Harris Laskaway - Mr. Argo; Elizabeth Abassi - Patient; Walter Abel - Homer Watkins; Denny Dillon - Nurse; Dortha Duckworth - Lady Applicant; Nicholas Kepros - Funeral Director; Sonny Landham - Driver No.1; Carl Low - Old Man; Angela Pietropinto - Receptionist; Harlan Cary Poe - Hearse Driver; Luis Ramos - Flower Vendor; Joyce Worsley - Party Guest No. 2; Jerome Collamore - Party Guest No. 4; Ed Marshall - Reverend
Credit
Jack Blackman - Art Director, Christopher Pearce - Associate Producer, Mary Colquhoun - Casting, Ruth Morley - Costume Designer, Michael Haley - First Assistant Director, Anthony Harvey - Director, Robert Reitano - Editor, Martin Zweiback - Executive Producer, John Addison - Composer (Music Score), Edouard Henriques III - Makeup, Carla White - Makeup, Michael Bigger - Makeup, Gary Weist - Production Designer, Larry Pizer - Cinematographer, Yoram Globus - Producer, Menahem Golan - Producer, Christian Kelly - Set Designer, Steve Kirshoff - Special Effects, Sandy Alexander - Stunts, Sonny Landham - Stunts, Don Picard - Stunts, Gregg Smrz - Stunts, James Lovelett - Stunts, Harry Madsen - Stunts, Brian Smrz - Stunts, Brett Smrz - Stunts, Martin Zweiback - Screenwriter
Grace Quigley, also titled The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley, is a 1985 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Nick Nolte. The plot centers around an elderly woman who decides not to wait around to die of old age, but hires a hit man to kill her. The film is noted for being Hepburn's last leading role.
In addition to the version of the film that was released in 1985, the writer, A. Martin Zweiback, edited a second version that is considered superior by some critics.[1]
