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Arsenic and Old Lace Overview:

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) was a Comedy - Crime Film directed by Frank Capra and produced by Frank Capra and Jack L. Warner.

The film was based on the play of the same name written by Joseph Kesselring performed at the Fulton Theatre, NY & Hudson Theatre, NY from Jan 10, 1941 - Jun 17, 1944.

SYNOPSIS

Beware nice old ladies offering elderberry wine! A mild-mannered drama critic discovers the shocking truth about his two elderly aunts: The seemingly harmless old ladies have the most disagreeable habit of poisoning their gentlemen callers and burying them in the cellar. One of the all-time great black comedies.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Arsenic and Old Lace BlogHub Articles:

Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane in "Arsenic and Old Lace"

By Stephen Reginald on Oct 24, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane in "Arsenic and Old Lace" Arsenic and Old Lace is an American black comedy directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane. The excellent supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, James Gleason, and Edward Everett Horton.... Read full article

Offbeat Blu-ray Review: Arsenic and Old Lace — The Criterion Collection

By Devon Powell on Oct 13, 2022 From Hitchcock Master

Spine #1153 Distributor: Criterion Collection (USA) Release Date: October 11, 2022 Region: Region A Length: 01:58:15 Video: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC) Main Audio: 1.0 English Linear PCM Audio (48 kHz, 1152 kbps, 24-bit) Subtitles: English (SDH) Ratio: 1.37:1 Bitrate: 35.92 Mbps Notes: This is the film’s... Read full article

Screening of "Arsenic and Old Lace" October 28 at the Daystar Center

By Stephen Reginald on Oct 23, 2017 From Classic Movie Man

Screening of "Arsenic and Old Lace" October 28 at the Daystar Center “Halloween” Series: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street When: October 28, 2017 Time: 6:30 p.m. Hosted by Stephen Reginald Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) is the screen adaptation of... Read full article

Favorite things about… Arsenic and Old Lace

By Lindsey on Jun 24, 2015 From The Motion Pictures

The favorite film: Arsenic and Old Lace, a 1944 black comedy directed by Frank Capra (Image via Happy Otter) The synopsis: Mortimer Brewster is a soon-to-be-married drama critic. He’s “sneered at every love scene in every play.” His reputation is one of a permanent bachelor, and he... Read full article

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

By Beatrice on Nov 11, 2014 From Flickers in Time

Arsenic and Old Lace Directed by Frank Capra Written by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein from the play by Joseph Kesselring 1944/USA Warner Bros. Repeat viewing/Netflix rental I hate to say it but Cary Grant is way too frenetic for my tastes in this wacky comedy.  The supporting players... Read full article

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Arsenic and Old Lace Quotes:

Mortimer Brewster: Yeah, yeah, I know that bromide. Something borrowed, something blue - old, new! Rice and old shoes, carry you over the threshold, Niagara Falls - all the silly tripe I've made fun of for years. Is this what I've come to? I can't go through with it. I won't marry you and that's that!
Elaine Harper: [Adoring] Yes, Mortimer.
Mortimer Brewster: What do you mean, "Yes, Mortimer"? Aren't you insulted? Aren't you going to cry? Aren't you going to make a scene?
Elaine Harper: [Adoring] No, Mortimer.
Mortimer Brewster: And don't "No, Mortimer" me either! Don't... Don't you see, marriage is a superstition, it... It's old-fashioned, it's... I... Ohhhh...
[He kisses her and hauls her into the marriage license office]
[to Jonathan]
Mortimer Brewster: Where did you get that face? Hollywood?
Elaine Harper: But Mortimer, you're going to love me for my mind, too.
Mortimer Brewster: One thing at a time!
[after finding the dead body in the window seat]
Mortimer Brewster: But - what happened to him?
Martha Brewster: [cheerfully] He died.
Martha Brewster: [to Mortimer] One of our gentlemen found time to say "How delicious"!
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Arsenic and Old Lace Facts
Director Frank Capra enlisted in the U. S. Army Signal Corps in 1941 during filming. He received an extension of his order to report for active duty until late January 1942 so he could finish editing the picture.
Mortimer's repeated phrase at the end of the film declaring the secret of his birth was originally "I'm not a Brewster - I'm a bastard!" However, the censors demanded that it be changed, resulting in the phrase "I'm the son of a sea cook!"
When Mortimer is sitting in the graveyard, one of the tombstones has the name Archie Leach on it. Archie Leach is Cary Grant's real name.
The Broadway comedy opened at the Fulton Theatre on January 10, 1941 and ran for 1,444 performances, closing on June 17, 1944. Repeating their stage roles in the movie were "Brewster siblings" Josephine Hull, Jean Adair and John Alexander, all three getting time off from the New York play. Boris Karloff was denied permission to go by the play's producers, fearing that the absence of their main star would adversely affect the play's attendance.
In the play, Mr. Witherspoon, the caretaker of Happydale Sanitarium, is himself poisoned with a glass of wine by the two aunts, but the censors forced the studio to change this because it would have meant that the two aunts would have gotten away with murder. However, Edward Everett Horton, who played Witherspoon in the movie, did pose for a publicity photograph with a glass of wine in his hand.
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