Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) and
Philip G. Epstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 September 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

She Passed Out On Cary ! No Wonder . . . She's just discovered his favorite aunts have poisoned their 13th gentleman friend !

Plot:

A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.

Plot Keywords:

Cellar | Insanity | Critic | Poison | Marriage

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Mortimer Brewster
Priscilla Lane	...	Elaine Harper
Raymond Massey	...	Jonathan Brewster
Jack Carson	...	O'Hara
Edward Everett Horton	...	Mr. Witherspoon
Peter Lorre	...	Dr. Einstein
James Gleason	...	Lt. Rooney
Josephine Hull	...	Abby Brewster
Jean Adair	...	Martha Brewster
John Alexander	...	'Teddy Roosevelt' Brewster
Grant Mitchell	...	Reverend Harper
Edward McNamara	...	Brophy
Garry Owen	...	Taxi Cab Driver
John Ridgely	...	Saunders
Vaughan Glaser	...	Judge Cullman

Also Known As:

Frank Capra's 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | UK:A (1944) | UK:PG (1990) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #7855) | Australia:G (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

City Island, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to various sources, Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein adapted the screenplay "with help" from Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Dr. Einstein stumbles and falls into the window seat in the dark. He strikes a match, and the wire that is powering the flickering light in the palm of his hand is clearly visible trailing out from his sleeve.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Baseball Fan: I'll knock your block off, you big stiff! You're a bum!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Andy Griffith Show: Alcohol and Old Lace (#1.17)" (1961)

Soundtrack:

The Sidewalks of New York

The Cary Grant Show

Arsenic and Old Lace is a refreshing breath of screwball comedy, mixing the madcap, the surreal and the sinister into one of Cary Grant's very best films. Grant plays his character superbly, adding extra nuttiness and extraordinary facial expressions to his usual role. He's a man plunged into confusion, surrounded by the craziest people to live on the planet, including his two innocently homicidal aunts, his brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt, his other - also homicidal - brother who looks like Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre's wonderfully macabre plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein.

It's all very peculiar and certainly off-the-wall, and is all kept together in a hysterical bundle by Grant's charm, presence, looks of astonishment and confused ramblings. Grant really plays up the man-in-a-world-gone-mad bit, becoming madder and madder himself.

It's not all thanks to Grant however, that this film is consistently one of the funniest comedies ever. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, all of the main characters giving it their best to turn Grant's world into an upside-down whirlwind of pottiness. The two aunts, played by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair, are fantastic and both actresses are sublime in their roles. They are so innocent and nonchalant about their twelve murders, and so confused by Cary Grant's confusion, that the viewer never thinks of them as wicked murderers - they're just two dotty old women who don't know what they're doing! Peter Lorre is also terrific in the role of a mumbling, timid and (quite honestly) bizarre plastic surgeon who acts as Raymond Massey's partner-in-crime. Massey - Grant's long-lost brother (who has also killed twelve men) - is suitably sinister and can be a genuinely scary force amongst the mayhem. Priscilla Lane, John Alexander, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason and Garry Owen all add tremendous support to the main cast - they are all barmy!

As things get weirder, madder and more and more frantic, the pace never lets up. It just continuously spirals towards its screwy climax.

This is one to watch.

9/10