BA_Harrison
Two seemingly sweet little old ladies bump off their lonely male lodgers much to the horror and surprise of their newlywed nephew Mortimer (Cary Grant).What I had hoped would be a charming American comedy classic turns out to be amongst the most tortuous two hours of cinema I have ever sat through. Directed by Frank Capra, the film stars Cary Grant as Mortimer, a writer renowned for his anti-marriage diatribes, who has just done the unthinkable and got hitched to beautiful blonde Elaine (Priscilla Lane). But before Mortimer can leave with his wife for their honeymoon, his discovery of a dead body at his aunts' Brooklyn home throws him into disarray.With zero concern for subtlety from either Capra or his star, Arsenic and Old Lace is a loud, repetitive, drawn-out exercise in absolute tedium, the plot going round and round in circles until the viewer is finally put out of their misery with a really dumb ending. Grant over-acts like his life depends upon it, mugging and doing double takes whenever possible, as though this is all that is needed to drum up laughs; it isn't. The majority of the supporting cast are just as insufferable: the guy who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt really grates, the old ladies are far from endearing, Raymond Massey (as Mortimer's escaped criminal brother Jonathan) glares a lot, and Peter Lorre merely plays a caricature of himself.Somehow this movie has earned itself a solid reputation and a high IMDb rating (8.0), which confuses me just as much as It's a Wonderful Life's place at #25 in IMDb's Top Rated Movies. What is it that others see in Capra's films that I don't?
jacobs-greenwood
Though you may tire of Cary Grant's frenetic behavior and exasperated exclamations ("ow"'s and "oh dear"'s) while watching it, this is a very funny Frank Capra (produced and directed) film starring Grant as famous writer-critic Mortimer Brewster, formerly a confirmed bachelor, and his newlywed wife Priscilla Lane.It features an excellent supporting cast that includes Raymond Massey (playing the 'inside-joke' role that Boris Karloff originated on Broadway) and Peter Lorre, and Josephine Hull (known best for her Oscar winning role in Harvey (1950)) and Jean Adair. Additionally, Jack Carson, John Ridgely, Edward McNamara and James Gleason play police officers; Grant Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton and Charles Lane also appear.Just after Grant marries Lane, he discovers that his sweet ole Aunts (Hull and Adair) have been bumping off unsuspecting lonely old gentlemen with elderberry wine and burying them in their basement (!), to which he later remarks: "Insanity runs in my family ... it practically gallops."John Alexander plays another Brewster residing in the otherwise quiet (next to a cemetery) residence; convinced that he's President Teddy Roosevelt, he runs up the stairs (e.g. San Juan Hill) yelling "Charge!" every 15 minutes or so throughout the movie.Massey plays Mortimer's long lost crazed and murderous brother Jonathan; Lorre is "Johnny's" accomplice and plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein.Scripted by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein, from the successful (and long-running) stage play written by Joseph Kesselring, this comedy was completely ignored by the Academy (in part because it was released in theaters almost 3 years after it was filmed, per contract until the play had closed), though it's 30th on AFI's 100 Funniest Movies list.
classicsoncall
There obviously was something alluring about Boris Karloff that film makers took advantage of. He's referenced by name in at least two other movies I'm aware of - "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947) and "Charlie Chan at the Opera" (1936) - and he's actually in both of those! Unfortunately he wasn't available to appear in this picture, but Raymond Massey's makeup job was pretty credible; the fist thing I thought of when I saw him was Boris Karloff! Director Frank Capra had a wonderful touch for his screwball comedy projects. Though viewers will find favorable comparisons to other Cary Grant films like "His Gal Friday" and "Bringing Up Baby", the picture I thought of while watching this was another Capra picture, "You Can't Take it With You". That one also featured a dysfunctional family, though with a larger and more disparate cast, and fortunately, no one gets murdered!What gives this story it's surreal comic edge is the vitality of the Brewer Sisters (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair), whose approach to putting elderly gents out of their misery is handled with genuine nonchalance and sincerity. As Mortimer Brewster, Grant has all he can do to maintain some semblance of sanity with all the lunacy surrounding him and his new bride. The only downside to the story for me was the short shrift given to the character of the new Mrs. Brewster (Priscilla Lane). Had her part been written to take advantage of the hysteria surrounding the Brewster household, I think audiences might have appreciated it even more.Even so, repeat viewings are probably in order to fully appreciate the zany antics of 'Teddy Roosevelt' (John Alexander), Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre), Officer O'Hara (Jack Carson) and all the rest. For his part, Cary Grant was never more expressive than he was here, with each new turn of the story dealing yet another blow to his fractured psyche. His best scene for me was when he simply gave up the pretense of being surprised any more, and just sat down on the staircase with all the mayhem swirling around him while peacefully lighting up a cigarette - "Amazing, amazing, amazing".
richard-1787
I saw this play in the theater years ago and thought it was a masterpiece.The cast of this movie is first-rate, and includes many of my favorite actors.Frank Capra is one of my favorite directors, in both comedy - *You Can't Take It with You* - and drama - *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*, etc.Why, then, did this movie seem so flat to me? Cary Grant, whom I have enjoyed in many comedies, seems to ham it up far out of all proportion.The timing often seems bad.And nothing explains how Mortimer, on his wedding day, can completely forget about his attractive bride - in an era when the audience could well have assumed that they had not already spent the night together.I watched this whole movie - at 118 minutes, it's long for a comedy - in the hopes that something would work for me. It just didn't.I must have been in the wrong mood, but I was really in a very good mood.
AD
