I mean, I wrote a review of Arsenic and Old Lace when I first joined Epinions, but I was still timid and uncertain of how much could be said. The end result was that the review, though good and generally rated as 'very helpful,' was shamefully short - far shorter than this film deserves. Soooo, I deleted that brief abortion and here I am again, intending to do justice to one of the greatest comedies ever filmed. You think I exaggerate? Well, just consider the following facts - read on.

Everyone knows the greatness of the director, Frank Capra, and it was fairly earned. Capra wrote and directed his first 12 minute short comedy, Fultah Fisher's Boarding House based on a Rudyard Kipling poem, in 1922. It was only the first of 53 directorial ventures, which included the 1931 Jean Harlow classic Platinum Blonde. the 1934 Colbert-Gable comedy It Happened One Night that swept the Oscars, the 1937 fantasy that was another Oscar winner, Lost Horizon. In all, Capra won or was nominated for eleven (11) Oscars, ten more international awards, plus his star on Hollywood's walk of fame. Not bad for an Italian imigrant who was naturalized only in 1920. His life would be worthy of an Epinions review in and of itself, but not now.

Everyone knows Capra, and knows that Arsenic and Old Lace was the film version of the successful stage play in New York. I doubt, however, whether you know the writer who did the screenplay? It was Julius J. Epstein and, when you finish asking yourself 'who?' I'll tell you. Mr. Epstein was, among screenwriters, every bit the equal of Frank Capra among directors. For example, he wrote No Time for Comedy with James Stewart and Rosalind Russell (what a couple!) in 1940, The Strawberry Blonde, starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth for director Raoul Walsh in 1941. That was also the year he wrote The Bride Came C.O.D. starring James Cagney and Bette Davis. The very next year he did The Man Who Came to Dinner with Monty Woolley, Ann Sheridan and Bette Davis (it's in my library on the same shelf as the subject of this review), The Male Animal starring Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland, and Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Heinreid, Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. If you tell me you haven't heard of this one (which Epstein thought was excessively trite and not one of his best works) I'll say you shouldn't be reading these reviews!

Are you getting the idea of the tremendous foundation under this movie? Everyone knows Cary Grant and his superbly versatile talent for a wide variety of character roles. If you want to see him in an amazingly good early work that is also (amazingly) available on both VHS and DVD, try The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss from 1936. His comedic talent, of course, became apparent when he took the role of the deceased and occasionally ectoplasmic George Kerby in Topper, 1937, the same year he also displayed his brilliance in Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth with Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy.

Fewer people are familiar with Cary's co-star, Priscilla Lane. Miss Lane only made two more movies after this one, then retired to become the wife of an Air Force officer, and follow him around the world. She and her husband, Col. Joe Howard, had four children, and she is now one of the few actresses who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, next to her husband. She brought a vast talent to her role as 'Elaine' here, having the benfit of formal theatrical training, and experience traveling with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians as a singer.

Better known is Canadian actor Raymond Massey, who is best known for his multiple portrayals of Abraham Lincoln. It was those portrayals, in fact, that motivated him to become an American Citizen. His younger brother, Vincent, was the first Canadian born Governor General of Canada from 1952 - 59, was as proud of his brother's acting achievements as he was of his own political successes. The Massey family wasn't exactly poor, operating a very successful farm implement manufacturing company that later merged with others to become the present Massey-Ferguson company.

Perhaps the most profound member of the cast, however, was little Peter Lorre. Lorre, a refugee from Nazi Germany (supposedly urged to flee by Joseph Goebbels himself), established his acting ability in the role of Hans Beckert in the dark German classic M. After his departure from Germany, he made his first appearance in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Man Who Knew Too Much by concealing his deficiencies with the English language and learing his script phonetically. Most of his early career was playing ominous (occasionally just sleazy) villains, and it was in this context that he teamed with Sidney Greenstreet by playing the role of Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon and continuing the mutual play-off in a total of eight films. Although he would demonstrate his comedic ability in the later films done with Vincent Price, his portrayal of Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace is an exquisite mixture of pathos, menace, and comedy that I have never seen in any other movie - ever. His sense of humor was expressed when he attended Bela Lugosi's funeral with his friend Vincent Price. Lugosi was attired in his Dracula cape and, according to Price, Lorre asked him, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"

The dotty aunts were, of course, played by Josephine Hull as Aunt Abby Brewster, and Jean Adair as Aunt Martha Brewster. Ms Hull is noted for playing the dotty neighbor lady in Harvey and Aunt Abby in Arsenic and Old Lace both on the legitimate stage and in the movies. She was a Radcliffe graduate and theatrics ran in the family. Her brother-in-law was the raspy voiced Henry Hull, familiar to many westerns.

Ms Adair, although she later enjoyed some limited success on TV, didn't pursue her characterization any further after this film was over.

John Alexander, who does such a great job of playing Uncle "Teddy" Brewster, was originally a Shakespearean actor before succumbing to films. He was an assured actor, appearing as Joan Blondell's husband in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Doremus the first trumpeter in the Jack Benny comedy A Horn Blows at Midnight, Vaudevillian Lew Dockstader in The Jolson Story, and even Teddy Roosevelt in the Bob Hope western farce Fancy Pants.

Jack Carson was another gift from Canada, and one who died unnecessarily young. He was another comedic talent who had his own twist on the double-take, turning it into a whole body event that was a sure laugh-getter. His career was already established when he took the role of Officer O'Hara, and he made it a significant contribution to the overall movie.

Although James Gleason was another actor with a pronounced comedic talent, the two roles I most remember him for are Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske in the Gregory Peck tour de force Keys of the Kingdom and Charley Dolan in James Cagney's powerful exploration of alcoholism, Come Fill the Cup Although the former is available for home viewing, the latter isn't - although I never give up hope on the really great films.

The last major role filled by one of Hollywood's greats is that of Mr. Witherspoon, the director of the Happy Dale Sanitorium. It is played to perfection (considering the overall insanity of this movie) by Edward Everett Horton. For afficianados of classic film, he will be remembered as the prototypical Mad Hatter in the 1933 classic version of Alice in Wonderland. He also played Egbert 'Pinky' Fitzgerald in the 1934 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers hit The Gay Divorcee. He played the Astaire - Rogers stooge in several of their films, always a delight. He (playing with James Gleason in one of Gleason's better roles as Max Corkle) was perfect as Messenger 7013 in the original Here Comes Mr. Jordan (available only on VHS) with Robert Montgomery and Claude Rains. He recapped the messenger role in another of my favorite musicals, Down to Earth with Rita Hayworth.

But, enough of the cast. The story revolves around two old-maid aunts of Mortimer Brewster. Mortimer is a highly succussful misogynist (supposedly) author who has developed a following based on his opposition to marriage. Now, however, Mortimer is in love and getting married! He's trying to keep it secret for the time being, and running into some amusing problems. Elaine Harper is the daughter of the next-door Minister, who has his doubts about Mortimer's intentions. Mortimer and Elaine return to the Aunts' home in Brooklyn to gather their necessary things for the honeymoon - when the whole thing falls apart.

Unknown to Mortimer, Aunts Abby and Martha have, out of the goodness of their hearts and sympathy for old men who are condemned to the loneliness of solitary living, been killing men who answer their 'room for rent' ad, and burying them in the basement! I now get into walking the tightrope to try and tell you enough to capture your interest sufficiently to get you to go get this movie, and do it without telling you enough to spoil the movie for you. Fact: Mortimer discovers the latest casualty awaiting burial in the basement. This, though, has to wait for Uncle "Teddy Roosevelt" Brewster to go down into the basement and dig another lock in the Panama Canal!

It is at this point that the entire movie becomes total and hilarious insanity, with Cary showing those inimitable astounded blank looks of his, the aunts being prim and proper about the whole thing and worrying over whether they have killed twelve or thirteen, and Uncle "Teddy" charging up the family "San Juan Hill" staircase blowing his bugle and hollering 'CHARGE!!!! Into this lunacy, inject a cadaverous creature that resembles Boris Karloff's Frankenstein Monster, complete with facial stitchery, who is guided - but not really controlled - by a timorous and apologetic 'Dr. Einstein' who is apparently responsible for the horrible look of the monster - who resents it, of course. The monster is (maybe?) Mortimer's brother - or, is it cousin? By happy (?) coincidence, monster Jonathan Brewster and Dr. Einstein have also killed twelve - or is it thirteen? Will Jonathan kill again; will Mortimer survive; will Elaine resist the temptation to divorce Mortimer; will Uncle "Teddy" free Cuba before entering Happy Dale Sanitorium; Will Mr. Witherspoon accidentally drink some of the aunts' poisoned wine; will the cab driver recover from his delusion that he is a teapot? Tune in - oops, get the DVD at the first opportunity and find out for yourself.

Despite the mayhem I hint at in this review, it is in fact one of the most hilarious, roll-on-the-floor-laughing movies ever made. It is in the company of (and even exceeds the laugh content of) The Man Who Came to Dinner and/or The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. As a (hopefully) tantelizing taste, here are examples of some of the more sedate dialogue.

Elaine (as Mortimer advances leeringly): "But, Mortimer, you're going to love me for my mind, too."
Mortimer: "One thing at a time."

Mortimer (scolding his aunts over their murders): "This is developing into a very bad habit! I don't know if I can explain it to you. It's not only against the law, it's wrong!"

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 didn't think I'd stoop to telling a fib..."

Martha Brewster: "One of our gentlemen found time to say "How delicious" before he died."

Police Sergeant Brophy (speaking of the Brewster sisters): "They're two of the dearest, sweetest, kindest old ladies that ever walked the earth. They're out of this world. They're like pressed rose leaves."

The strangest aspect of this whole movie is that it didn't get a single award or nomination, despite it now being ranked in the top 100 of all time movie greats. I'll leave it at this. You can pick up some of the more common trivia by reading some of the other reviews - all of which are excellent and all of which are truthful in stating how funny this movie really is! Read me, read them, then check this movie out - you'll be glad you did!!!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older