• 177.880 movies
  • 12.199 shows
  • 33.965 seasons
  • 646.802 actors
  • 9.369.514 votes
Avatar
Profile
 
banner banner

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Comedy | 118 minutes
3,49 312 votes

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 118 minuten

Country: United States

Directed by: Frank Capra

Stars: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane and Peter Lorre

IMDb score: 7,9 (78.343)

Releasedate: 1 September 1944

US
UK
JustWatch

Arsenic and Old Lace plot

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

The theater critic gives up his reputation as a bachelor. His aunts are known as two very nice ladies and he is amazed that their mercy to help lonely men is poured in the form of arsenic. So the aunts are even crazier than his brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt. So the taxi to Niagara Falls has to wait a while.

logo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimagelogo tmdbimage
Full Cast & Crew

Actors and actresses

Mortimer Brewster

Elaine Harper Brewster

Aunt Abby Brewster

Aunt Martha Brewster

Jonathan Brewster

'Teddy Roosevelt' Brewster

Dr. Einstein

Officer Patrick O'Hara

Reviews & comments


avatar

Guest

  • messages
  • votes

Let op: In verband met copyright is het op MovieMeter.nl niet toegestaan om de inhoud van externe websites over te nemen, ook niet met bronvermelding. Je mag natuurlijk wel een link naar een externe pagina plaatsen, samen met je eigen beschrijving of eventueel de eerste alinea van de tekst. Je krijgt deze waarschuwing omdat het er op lijkt dat je een lange tekst hebt geplakt in je bericht.

* denotes required fields.

Pay attention! You cannot change your username afterwards.

* denotes required fields.
avatar van Mescaline

Mescaline

  • 7089 messages
  • 3217 votes

Pleasant surprise even after all the positive reviews I had read about it before. Cary Grant acts wonderfully over the top, he himself was apparently not happy with his role, but in my view he only reinforced the comedic aspect. The fact that it is sometimes a bit thick also works in a film like this with a lot of weird and bizarre characters, in fact his interpretation of Mortimer Brewster was perfect for this film.

Apparently Frank Capra officially had Bob Hope in mind for the lead role, which is an interesting idea to say the least! And the many jokes about Boris Karloff were not just for nothing, it would have been close if Boris had even had a role in this film.

Arsenic and Old Lace is not only very entertaining because of the pleasant atmosphere and the bizarre characters, but also because of the pace of the film. This pace wasn't very common in the 1940s, but it did make a nearly 2 hour movie feel like a one and a half hour movie to me.

Will definitely rewatch it again, but for now "just" 4 stars.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Dievegge

Dievegge

  • 3166 messages
  • 8185 votes

Capra simultaneously made a romantic comedy, a screwball comedy, a crime comedy and a horror parody. Archibald Leach speaks and moves in a rushed style. He gets so worked up that at times he seems like the madman in the family himself. It's funny that everyone plays along with Teddy's delusion, so as not to upset him. Edward Everett Horton has a nice bit part as director of the crazy… I mean retirement home. Priscilla Lane has a limited but charming role.

In the original stage version, Boris Karloff himself played the brother who resembles Boris Karloff. Mortimer addresses him ironically as Handsome. Light contrasts and its silhouette on the wall add a horror element.

The title brings together two elements that are apparently unrelated. Arsenic is one of the three poisons that the frail ladies mix in their elderberry wine. Lace is abundantly present in their clothing and interior. Their moral is idiosyncratic: lying is forbidden, but killing is allowed. The cool content can also be interpreted symbolically. Many good citizens still have a corpse in their basement. There is more layering in it than you might think.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Film Pegasus

Film Pegasus (moderator films)

  • 31144 messages
  • 5447 votes

Although Cary Grant is a master of the genre, he didn't feel at home in it. He felt it as overacting and was not satisfied himself. It is also not his best acting performance, we can safely say that without making him angry (if he was still alive). The film relies mainly on the absurdity and the comic script. That's good luckily and makes for a nice comedy. Perhaps improvements were still possible, but this was made at the last minute of the American participation in WWII. Cary Grant was already unavailable and Frank Capra only provided the final finish. You notice that the play is a film adaptation of a theater play, but that can't hurt here. It fits the movie. Not a great movie, but a good laugh.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original