Arsenic And Old Lace

Arsenic And Old Lace
1944 - Warner Brothers
Directed By Frank Capra



SYNOPSIS

Drama critic and author of anti-marriage books, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) weds his girl Elaine (Priscilla Lane.) Upon returning home to tell his sweet old aunts (Josephine Hull + Jean Adair) his big news, he discovers a dead body hidden in the house. The old ladies drop a bombshell... they killed the man and plan to bury him in the basement with the 11 other bodies already there! To make matters worse, Mortimer's long-gone homicidal brother (Raymond Massey) returns with his accomplice (Peter Lorre) and another body and they intend on making the house their new hideout. Can Mortimer sort everything out and finally get to enjoy his new life?





MY THOUGHTS

There were multiple times I found myself choking from laughter from this hilarious gem of a film.

I would describe Arsenic and Old Lace as a fast-paced, slapsticky, screwball, black comedy... a sort of a high-powered comedy cocktail. It's ludicrous to try and explain how comedy works. It just does. And here it works magically.

The film was originally made in 1941 but was held for release due to rights issues. Originally a play, it was still in its Broadway run and the film rights stipulated it couldn't come out until 1944.
Frank Capra knew he was going to be called up for Army service (for his propaganda film series Why We Fight) and had just enough time to make it before he had to go. And he made the most of it. There's so much plot crammed into the film and it moves at such a lightning pace that it should be easy for the viewer to get lost. But Capra's talents prevent this from ever happening.

It also helps that the film has an excellent script adapted from the play by the Epstein Brothers, who also won an Oscar for Casablanca.

Cary Grant plays his part way over the top. It's debatable whether this is good or not for the film. I say for the most part the performance works. There are a few scenes where he appears to react to the camera that left me cringing. Not his best work, but I couldn't think of anyone better for the role.

It's hard to believe Priscilla Lane got second billing. Apart from the opening scenes, she's barely there and never anywhere near the center of the action. Although she was a good actress, she's not much more than a pretty face here.



As Dr. Einstein, Peter Lorre shines in an all too rare comic role. He also gets to use some of his great ad-libbing skills with Cary Grant in a few memorable scenes.

Raymond Massey plays a good, if dry, heavy as the Boris Karloff look-alike. Karloff actually played the role on stage but couldn't do the film because of his theater obligations. He would have been better.

I found John Alexander's role as 'Teddy Roosevelt' Brewster to be amazingly annoying at first but warmed to his lunacy as the film went on and wound up liking the character.

The real stars of the film are Jean Adair and Josephine Hull. The two kindly old aunts are the center of the black comedy and are hilarious. Their exuberant and carefree attitudes about their victims was alluded to again and again and never got old throughout the film. They are never the least bit sinister.



Arsenic And Old Lace is a hilarious dark tale perfect for when you want laughs instead of scares around Halloween... or anytime of the year.