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Arsenic and Old LaceRating:
Release Date: 29 August, 2000 Retail Price: $19.97 OUR Price: $13.88 You SAVE: $6.09! Cast: Complete Cast (8 total) |
Arsenic and Old Lace Reviews
A Good Old-fashioned Bellylaugh
I just loved this movie. It was fun watching the usually suave Cary Grant become befuddled and half crazed when he discovers his two dear sweet old aunts have been very, very naughty. Between "Teddy Roosevelt" charging up the stairs blowing his bugle and digging the Panama Canal in the basement....his evil cousin (Raymond Massey) and his evil cousin's sidekick, Dr. Einstein (played by Peter Lorre) you almost overlook the elderberry wine - but take my word for it...you shouldn't. ;-)
This movie is simply good old fashioned fun!
Capra's horror comedy
It was very unusual for famed director Frank Capra to adapt a hit Broadway play into a motion picture. Yet that's exactly what he did in 1941 with the long-running play "Arsenic and Old Lace." However, Warner Brothers had an agreement not to release the film until the play completed its very long run and that didn't happen until 1944, by which time Capra had left Hollywood for wartime service (making outstanding documentaries for the U.S. government).
"Arsenic and Old Lace" is, by any standard, an offbeat, rather "dark" comedy since two of its characters, portrayed by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair (from the original Broadway cast), are actually murderers. However, there is comedy because the two ladies believe they are "helping" the elderly gentlemen they kill with poisoned elderberry wine.
It is strongly suggested that there is insanity in the family and this becomes more apparent when Cary Grant's brother, portrayed by Raymond Massey, shows up and attempts to bury the body of someone HE murdered. Massey's character is clearly deranged and horrifying; his face has been changed by his friend Dr. Einstein, portrayed by Peter Lorre, and he gets angry anytime someone suggests that he resembles Boris Karloff. In the original play Karloff actually played the killer, so the line was particularly funny.
Cary Grant's character has just married Priscilla Lane, the pretty blonde actress who worked at both Warners and Universal during the 1940s. She has the sweetness and innocence that is perfect for this story. Things really happen when they visit Cary Grant's aunts and he discovers what his aunts are doing. Then his evil brother arrives, accompanied by the "mad" doctor who changed his face.
Adding to the comedy are the appearances of John Alexander, who lives with the aunts in the old Brooklyn house and who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt. Then there is the cop, played by Jack Carson, who tries to impress Cary Grant with a play he has written. Carson's character somehow doesn't realize what is happening in the house.
Veteran composer Max Steiner scored the film, providing just enough dramatic music to underscore the more menacing moments, as well as witty tunes for the comic scenes.
Yes, the film was quite different for Frank Capra, who was known for his very touching "message" films (without being very preachy), but he did extremely well in adapting a Broadway classic. The film version is faithful to the play and it has become a classic in itself.
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