bankrupt since the Depression in 1929. Instead, he helps them with their lawful claim to the well and service road. Everything changes for the better when the Fullers' dog digs up a boot on the property, containing a letter written by George Washington. The valuable historical find is worth enough money for the couple to complete the renovations, and stave off Prescott's attempts to buy them out. The arrival of the expected 17-year locusts leads to the accidental discovery of the well that the couple need. Cast Jack Benny as Bill Fuller Ann Sheridan as Connie Fuller Charles Coburn as Uncle Stanley J. Menninger Percy Kilbride as Mr. Kimber, the handyman Hattie McDaniel as Hester, the Fullers' maid William Tracy as Steve Eldridge Joyce Reynolds as Madge Lee Patrick as Rena Leslie Charles Dingle as Mr. Prescott John Emery as Clayton Evans Douglas Croft as Raymond Harvey Stephens as Jeff Douglas Production Jack Benny was starring in his first Warner Bros. feature and when the stage play George Washington Slept Here was proposed, Benny took in a performance. In the original stage production, it was the husband, not the wife, who bought the property, and had been the "straight man". The focus was changed for the film, reversing the roles to play into Benny's established persona of being a miser as well as the comic foil. Originally, Olivia de Havilland was to be cast as the female lead. To recreate the country home that was central to the film's plot, the house in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) which was actually shot in 1941 for a later theatrical release, was used. To ensure it looked the part of a dilapidated home, Warner Bros. crews knocked out bannisters, rafters and floors on the set. Reception George Washington Slept Here was reviewed by Bosley Crowther for The New York Times. He said, "... just knock-about fun. Mr. Benny goes through his paces with his customary strain on shoe-leather, whines and pulls his hair (figuratively) with the air of a martyred saint. Miss Sheridan plays straight to his foibles, but does so quite fetchingly, and Percy Kilbride is highly amusing as a dead-panned, laconic hired hand. Charles Coburn plays the four-flushing uncle with gleeful treachery and Hattie McDaniel, Douglas Croft and Charles Dingle are amusing in other roles." Awards and honors George Washington Slept Here was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art