Arsenic and Old Lace
starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton
directed by: Frank Capra
directed by: Frank Capra
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Product Description:
A man learns that his kindly old aunts and his sinister brother are all serial killers and tries to sort it out fast so he can go on his honeymoon.Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 08/22/2006Starring: Cary Grant Peter LorreRun time: 118 minutesRating: NrDirector: Frank Capra
Amazon.com essential video:
Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach to killing was probably cathartic. --Tom Keogh
A man learns that his kindly old aunts and his sinister brother are all serial killers and tries to sort it out fast so he can go on his honeymoon.Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 08/22/2006Starring: Cary Grant Peter LorreRun time: 118 minutesRating: NrDirector: Frank Capra
Amazon.com essential video:
Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach to killing was probably cathartic. --Tom Keogh
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- "Well, usually I'm Mortimer Brewster, but I'm not quite myself today"
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
What a wonderful, funny, dark, and even macabre comedy Arsenic and Old Lace is. It runs fast, the situations are hilarious even if you are not supposed to be amused by the family with the history of insanity that not just runs.... "It practically gallops". The film which is based on the highly popular and successful play of the same title, takes place during one Halloween night that brings all Brewster's family skeletons out of the closet with ... Read More
Rating: - Watch, die laughing, repeat...
A well known drama critic, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant), gets married on a Halloween night. Very soon, obstacles emerge between him and his honey moon...namely: thirteen dead bodies; two crazy aunts; one brother who thinks he's Ted Roosevelt; one criminally insane brother; his brilliant, but permanently drunken surgeon sidekick; incompetent police; uncooperative psychiatrists; an annoyed cabbie; and, worst of all...a, by now, impatient and oblivious to it all bride...If Mortimer, the only sane Brewster ... Read More
Rating: - CLASSIC COMEDY!!!!!
One of the great classic comedies of all time.The DVD presentation is flawless.It's unfortunate there are no extras.
Rating: - A good adaptation of a great theatrical comedy
Adapting a play to the screen means making adjustments- and these happened, but without destroying the heart of the story. I feel that I can saythat as honestly as anyone- as one of the highlights of my high school years was playing the part of Teddy. It was a hoot. Cary Grant did a great job as Mortimer but the casting director went even further by casting Boris Karloff in the role of a character who, in the play, is described as having an uncanny resemblance to...Boris karloff.
Rating: 
- Bad customer service as wrong DVD sent
This is a complaint rather than a review.DVD sent was not playable in Australia and in spite of numerous attempts to bring this matter to Amazon's attention I was unable to get a satisfactory reply.
- "Well, usually I'm Mortimer Brewster, but I'm not quite myself today"*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
What a wonderful, funny, dark, and even macabre comedy Arsenic and Old Lace is. It runs fast, the situations are hilarious even if you are not supposed to be amused by the family with the history of insanity that not just runs.... "It practically gallops". The film which is based on the highly popular and successful play of the same title, takes place during one Halloween night that brings all Brewster's family skeletons out of the closet with ... Read More
- Watch, die laughing, repeat...A well known drama critic, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant), gets married on a Halloween night. Very soon, obstacles emerge between him and his honey moon...namely: thirteen dead bodies; two crazy aunts; one brother who thinks he's Ted Roosevelt; one criminally insane brother; his brilliant, but permanently drunken surgeon sidekick; incompetent police; uncooperative psychiatrists; an annoyed cabbie; and, worst of all...a, by now, impatient and oblivious to it all bride...If Mortimer, the only sane Brewster ... Read More
- CLASSIC COMEDY!!!!!One of the great classic comedies of all time.The DVD presentation is flawless.It's unfortunate there are no extras.
- A good adaptation of a great theatrical comedyAdapting a play to the screen means making adjustments- and these happened, but without destroying the heart of the story. I feel that I can saythat as honestly as anyone- as one of the highlights of my high school years was playing the part of Teddy. It was a hoot. Cary Grant did a great job as Mortimer but the casting director went even further by casting Boris Karloff in the role of a character who, in the play, is described as having an uncanny resemblance to...Boris karloff.
- Bad customer service as wrong DVD sentThis is a complaint rather than a review.DVD sent was not playable in Australia and in spite of numerous attempts to bring this matter to Amazon's attention I was unable to get a satisfactory reply.
