Arsenic and Old Lace
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Movie Reviews of Arsenic and Old Lace
Movie Review: Great Fun All Year Round
Summary: 5 Stars
This is both one of my favorite Cary Grant and Frank Capra films and in my opinion it is also one of the funniest movies in the history of cinema.
There is an opinion among some that Grant's role as Mortimer Brewster was too over the top. In fact Cary Grant would agree with this opinion as he said Arsenic & Old Lace was one of his least favorite performances. Of course actors do not know everything and if I could speak to Cary Grant beyond the grave the one thing I would want to tell him is how much I loved his performance in this film. We all love the debonair & charming Cary Grant who was a master of light comedy but it is nice when we get something different from him and this is exactly what we get here. Instead of that charming & debonair leading man we get a man who is completely out of his element. He is surrounded by insane people but his reactions to the crazy situation he finds himself in make him come off the most insane. This creates some delicious irony which makes an amusing black comedy about sweet old ladies poisoning old men even more hilarious.
The rest of the cast is also excellent with 3 of the actors (the two Brewster Sisters and Teddy Brewster) reprising their roles from the original Broadway play to appear in the movie. The only sour point is Frank Capra was not able to get Boris Karloff to reprise his role as Jonathan Brewster (instead this role was played by Raymond Massey). However to make up for the lack of Boris Karloff, Frank Capra brilliantly cast Peter Lorre as Doctor Einstein which might be the best casting decision of the movie.
Although this movie is especially perfect to watch during Halloween with the mixture of humor and horror, it is great fun to watch anytime. It's the type of movie that even if you know what is going to happen it never gets old. Although the lack of extras on the DVD is disappointing this is a great classic that is definitely worth adding to your collection
Movie Review: Grant, 2 Old Ladies & Elderberry wine=hilarity now on DVD!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Frank Capra delivers a great film adaptation of Joseph Kesselring's Broadway hit, "Arsenic and Old Lace". Originally filmed in 1941 just prior to WWII, but not released until 1944 because of the contract agreement to allow the play to complete its Broadway run. (The play ran for 1,444 performances.)Cary Grant in the leading role as nephew, Mortimer Brewster is at his comedic best in this black comedy of wine, family & insanity. His 2 fabulous Aunts played by Josephine Hull & Jean Adair were encored to the screen and are perfect in their roles. Boris Karloff's obligations prevented him from doing the movie and was replaced by Raymond Massey in the movie version as Grant madcap brother. The great ensemble cast also included Peter Lorre, Edward Everett Horton, Priscilla Lane & John Alexander as a delightful zany crazy, thinking he is President "Teddy Roosevelt".
Summary: It is Halloween, Mortimers wedding day & his life is about to change forever. Visiting his 2 Aunts (Hull & Adair) with his wife (Lane - Ministers daughter!) on their way to their honeymoon to Niagara Falls discovers a body in the window seat. Thinking his crazy cousin, (Alexander) has committed the crime approaches his Aunts. They not only know about the body, but they know who he was & how he died. Their elderberry wine laced with a mixture of arsenic. Oh by the way, he is the 12th to be buried in the cellar. What is Mortimer to do & is his entire family insane? We began a very entertaining & hilarious journey to answering these & many more questions.
This DVD is an excellent Black & White Full Screen (before WideScreen) transfer. Extras include Production notes.
"Arsenic and Old Lace" film adaptation is very close to the actual Broadway play & is a great classic to have in your DVD library. Enjoy.
Movie Review: Wickedly Funny
Summary: 5 Stars
October 31st should have been the happiest day of Mortimer Brewster's life. Although he is famous for his books praising bachelorhood, he has just married Elaine Harper. But when he goes to tell his two elderly aunts the news, he discovers that his "sweet" aunts have been murdering elderly men by serving them elderberry wine laced with poison. His cousin Teddy, who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt, has been burying the bodies, which he thinks belong to victims of yellow fever, in the basement, where he thinks he is digging locks for the Panama Canal. And as if that wasn't enough, Mortimer's brother Jonathan shows up at the house looking for a place to bury his latest murder victim.
Arsenic and Old Lace is a wickedly funny screwball comedy. The script is witty and there are lots of sight gags. Funny scenes include Mortimer's discovery of one of his aunt's victims; the cab driver waiting patiently for Mortimer while stopping another cab to give someone a ride; many people almost drinking the poisoned wine; and policemen coming in and out of the house without a clue of the murderous happenings going on around them.
The actors nail their parts. Josephine Hull and Jean Adair are great as the seemingly sweet, slightly befuddled aunts. John Alexander is perfect as Teddy. Peter Lorre is funny as Dr. Einstein, Jonathan's assistant and Raymond Massey is appropriately chilling as Jonathan. As Elaine Harper, Priscilla Lane doesn't have much to do, but she looks very pretty doing it. I've read that Cary Grant thought he overacted as Mortimer, but he's perfect in the role. One of his best scenes is when he is tied up and gagged and must act through body language. Perfection.
I've seen Arsenic and Old Lace many times and laugh and enjoy it each time. I love this movie and recommend it to fans of screwball comedy.
Movie Review: Outstanding Comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
If I were to make a list of the best comedy films of all time, I would put "Arsenic and Old Lace" solidly in the #2 spot. 2nd only to
"Bringing Up Baby".
It is non-stop laughs with a family of people that are crazy. Each crazy in a different way. And they play off each other exactly in
exactly the right way to have you laughing so hard that your sides will hurt.
Many call this dark comedy, and to an extent it is. But it doesn`t really play out that way as you watch the film. You never see a
murder or a dead body. All you see are comic results.
The family consists of two elderly sisters and their three nephews. The sisters are two of the nicist old ladies you could possibly
ever run across, except for one tiny detail. They feed arsnic laced wine to lonely old men and bury them in the basement. They see
nothing wrong with this, after all, they look so peaceful once they are dead. They consider it to be one of their charities.
The comedic action starts when Cary Grant, the least crazy nephew, discovers this and tries to figure out what to do about it.
Their are many complications. Including the fact that he has just been married and is supposed to be headed for his honeymoon.
His new bride is quickly becoming as crazy as the rest of the family because her freashly minted groom seems to have all but forgotten
about her in a few short minutes. (She knows nothing of the 12 bodies in the basement)
The other two nephews, one thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt and the other a murderer that is at least sane enough to know he is a murderer,
mix into the farce along with several other semi-nutty characters.
The writing, directing, and acting in this film are all excellent. The comic timing is perfect. What more could you ask of a film?
Movie Review: "Where'd you get that face? HOLLYWOOD?"
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorite lines in the movie, Cary Grant upon seeing his brother, Jonathan, after a long absence. Jonathan's companion, "Dr. Einstein", well played by Peter Lorre, got a litle overzealous while performing plastic surgery on his face, (this surgery necessitated by the fact that both men are serial killers) and the result is an unfortunate resemblance to Frankenstein...Dr. Einstein's excuse for the botched surgery is he had just seen the movie. My other favorite line is Peter Lorre who falls into the window seat and lights a match to see and says "Where am I? Oh, here I am..." Edward Everett Horton, as the proprietor of the local insane asylum, is also wonderful, as he always is, and is dismayed to hear that he is soon to have yet another Teddy Roosevelt on his hands; and pleads to Grant, when he is trying to admit his brother, (mistakenly believing he is responsible for the "body in the window seat") "Well, Mr. Brewster, we're a little short of Napoleons at the moment...Bonaparte...and if...oh, I see." The sisters are great, Hull and Adair, as is Teddy, and the lunacy and fun never stop. You can tell Raymond Massey hugely enjoyed his role, as did the entire cast, and you cannot help but enjoy their enjoyment and their expertise in their respective roles. Jack Carson is actually the only one who exceeds the over-the-top nuttiness by mugging terribly, but it all works anyway, and you will truly have a great time watching this wonderful example of what Hollywood was capable of producing in the "Golden Years." get the DVD, of course, the picture is superb and you want to see this in black and white, the wway it was meant to be seen.