Arsenic and Old Lace

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Arsenic and Old Lace

1944

1h 58m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

86%

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37 Reviews

91%

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25,000+ Ratings

Writer and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.

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Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

10/11/2022

Arsenic and Old Lace trenchantly lays bare the hypocrisies and prejudices of the upper-middle class that often remained concealed beneath the façade of good manners.

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

10/22/2013

4/5

Cary Grant et al are on sparkling form in this classic darkly twisted comedy.

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Variety Staff

Variety

08/13/2007

Despite the fact that picture runs 118 minutes, Frank Capra has expanded on the original play [by Joseph Kesselring] to a sufficient extent to maintain a steady, consistent pace.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Mar 17

2/4

A bit of a whiff for Frank Capra...

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Feb 28

7/10

This comedy is all about the timing, and few do it better than Grant, who got his start in the music hall.

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Michael Calleri

Niagara Gazette

04/30/2023

Director Frank Capra, one of Hollywood’s great filmmakers and a man whose films appreciated the serious troubles society can inflict on people, clearly wanted to make a no-holds-barred comedy that thrives on lunacy. He succeeded.

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Kiami T

@Kiami Feb 24

It's just very funny and enjoyable to watch. Rare to see a horror that's fun for all the family.

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Patrick S

@PatrickStruik Jan 2

Extremely funny screwball comedy.

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aya t

@ayaueta Dec 3

my most favorite screwball comedy! cary grant (a former acrobat) as mortimer brewster, who's shocked when he discover a body in the windowseat & runs around panicking. he thinks his crazy brother, theodore (who looks like & acts like teddy roosevelt), killed him so he tries to hide it from his elderly sweet aunts but theres a twist. dark comedy based on the popular play.

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J B

@RT90799179 Nov 27

It is by far the worse movie I've ever seen. Wtf was that

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Uber A

@RT73004652 Nov 23

It's zany alright. Not really funny though.

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Harold C.

@ChambersContent Oct 7

Cary Grant delivers one of his funniest performances in this sharp, stage-born comedy that still feels fresh decades later. The ensemble cast keeps the farce buzzing, the set design gives it a lively play-meets-cinema charm, and the humor remains surprisingly effective with only a few dated touches. With just enough spooky atmosphere to work for Halloween but plenty of laughs to enjoy any time, it’s a classic that earns its spot as one of the funnier old Hollywood comedies worth revisiting.

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Frank Capra

Director

Cary Grant

Mortimer Brewster

Raymond Massey

Jonathan Brewster

Priscilla Lane

Elaine Harper

Peter Lorre

Dr. Einstein

Jack Carson

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Synopsis

Writer and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.

Director: Frank Capra
Producer: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Joseph Kesselring, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Distributor: Warner Bros., Criterion Collection, Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2008
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1), 35mm