"This is a Halloween tale of Brooklyn, where anything can happen--
and it usually does."
13 dead bodies + 2 sweet yet murderous old maids + 1 overwrought Cary Grant. These ingredients all add up to equal the perfect black comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace. It all takes place on a seemingly ordinary Halloween day in Brooklyn. However, it turns out to be a pretty rough day for dramatic critic and marriage condemner, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant). First he finds himself laying aside all his criticisms and diatribes on marriage, and marrying the girl next door, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). After which he has to find a way to break the nuptial news to her disapproving Reverend father.
Oh, and then he finds a dead body in his Aunts' window seat.
Grant's priceless facial expression as he discovers the dead body. Via.
Mortimer's discovery of Mr. Hoskins (the stiff in the window seat), quickly uncovers many more family skeletons-- pun intended. After a distressing conversation with his two saintly Aunts, Mortimer learns that Mr. Hoskins not only died at their house, he was in fact poisoned- by his two sweet, innocent Aunts. And, Mr. Hoskins is unfortunately not the first gentlemen they've poisoned; he is number 12, making a perfect dozen that they've killed. His Aunts, seeing no problem whatsoever with the situation, nonchalantly explain that it's one of their charities; they invite lonely old gentlemen who have nothing left to live for into their home for tea and a seemingly innocent glass of elderberry wine.
"For every gallon of elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon full of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon full of strychnine, and then just a pinch of cyanide."
Problems for poor Mortimer don't end there! While trying to figure out what to do with his benevolently murderous Aunts, Mortimer is also trying to get his younger brother Teddy (who hilariously believes himself to be President Teddy Roosevelt) committed to a sanitarium. Then his estranged and criminally insane older brother, Jonathon, shows up on the Aunts' doorstep along with his partner-in-crime, Dr. Einstein, and a dead body of their own! When he realizes that Jonathan and Dr. Einstein are hoping to dispose of the body at the Aunts' house, Mortimer suddenly finds a baker's dozen of dead bodies on his hands. Mortimer, who is supposedly the only sane character, is slowly but surely loosing his mind too throughout the day's events.
"Look Aunt Martha, men don't just get into window seats and die!" - Mortimer
Mortimer: "Aunt Abby, how can I believe you? There are twelve bodies in the cellar and you admit you poisoned them!
Aunt Abby: "Yes, I did. But you don't think I'd stoop to telling a fib!"
Through all these entertaining plot twists and turns, the comedy does not let up. Arsenic and Old Lace is a hilarious slapstick comedy with the perfect macabre twist added to it. Cary Grant's facial expressions and reactions are absolutely priceless. If you are used to seeing Cary Grant as a suave and sophisticated gentleman, watch Arsenic and Old Lace; he is anything but cool, calm, and collected in this film- and the results are hilarious. The other character who never fails to make me laugh is poor Teddy "Roosevelt" Brewster (John Alexander). He is completely delusional and completely dedicated to maintaining that delusion. His trips to "Panama" and charges up the stairs are laugh-out-loud funny no matter how many times you've seen the movie!
"The stairs are always San Juan Hill." - Aunt Abby
Based on the Broadway play of the same name, Arsenic and Old Lace was filmed in 1941. At the time, Frank Capra was one of Hollywood's most successful directors. After three Best Picture wins and numerous box office hits, Capra could pretty much afford to make any movie he wanted to. In the 1930's and early 40's, Capra was known for his "American values" films, which celebrated the every-man and combined light comedy with social commentary. In 1941 however, Capra was looking to make something different with his next film. He wanted to make a movie without a message or moral lesson, just pure entertainment and escapism. When Capra attended a performance of the hit play Arsenic and Old Lace, Capra knew immediately he'd found his next project. Capra quickly went to work to make what he called, "an anything goes, rip-roaring comedy about murder."
A photo of the entire cast, appropriately taken in the cemetery. Via.
Due to a contractual agreement made with the still-running play production, the film wasn't actually released until 1944 to prevent the movie taking sales away from the play. When it did finally premiered, it was welcomed with big laughs and huge commercial success. Critics' responses varied however, some feeling that certain lead performances, namely Cary Grant's, came across too exaggerated and overplayed. Grant personally hated his performance in Arsenic and Old Lace. Having not done much physical comedy before making this film, Grant was uncomfortable with the type of over-the-top comedy and expressive acting Capra expected of him. When Grant saw his final performance, he agreed with the critics admitting his performance was overplayed and embarrassing; for the rest of his life he would say Arsenic and Old Lace was his least favorite film he was in.
At least Grant and Lane seemed to have a good time on set! Via.
Grant may have considered his performance to be a disaster, but many people consider Arsenic and Old Lace to be one of his funniest performances. What Grant saw as overplayed, audiences saw (and still see) as a hilarious and skilled performance that is the primarily source of comedy in the film. For me personally, it's definitely one of the funniest black comedies I have ever seen. The physical and slapstick humor is absolutely timeless and still keeps me laughing today. Every Halloween Arsenic and Old Lace is on my "must watch" list. Despite being over 70 years old, the film never gets old and never stops being funny. That's what makes Arsenic and Old Lace the perfect example of a classic film: it's both of its time, and timeless. If you have never seen this film, I highly recommend you watch it this Halloween; it will not disappoint!
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