Rating: 
Summary: The best "Dark Comedy" in the history of American film
Review: "Arsenic and Old Lace" is a film that requires a certain sense of humor. That said, if you have this sense of humor, you will never get enough of this film. It makes me laugh so hard in scenes that in another film would cause someone to jump out of his seat. The film is written beautifully and acted with perfection, particularly on the part of Grant and Josephine Hull. My recommendation: get this film.
Rating:
Summary: Who would have thought Elderberry Wine could do such harm?
Review: "Arsenic and Old Lace" is my one of my favorite movies and plays. Cary Grant is hilarious in this. His facial expressions and reactions are perfectly timed. No one can ever remake this successfully. Don't be turned off by the changes Frank Capra made from the play, because there is nothing wrong with them. I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The best slapstick comedy in history!
Review: "Arsenic and Old Lace" is one of my all-time favorite comedies. Anyone who has watched it with me has immediately declared it to be one of their favorites also. Cary Grant is simply delicious as Mortimer Brewster, who is driven to the brink of insanity as he tries to get his aunts to curb their little "hobby." Josephine Hull and Jean Adair are superb as Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha, who are seen by many as the kindest people they ever knew, and find nothing at all wrong with their "charity." Add criminal brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) coming home to hide from the police with his accomplice and plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre, in one of his best roles ever), another brother, Teddy, who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt, a fed-up and confused wife (Priscilla Lane), a cop who wants nothing more than to read his new play to Mortimer, and trying to get Teddy commited to a "rest home," and Mortimer is driven to the brink of a nervous breakdown. In the funniest way imaginable!! Go watch it today!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies.
Review: "Arsenic and Old Lace" is one of my favorite movies! The screenwriting was clever, so was the direction, and the acting. Cary Grant (and the rest of the cast) are hilarious! If you havent' seen it... then you should!
Rating:
Summary: Yes Dear, We Know...
Review: "But there's a body in the windowseat!"
"Yes dear, we know" AWESOME! I love this movie. I loved acting in the play, and I love watching the movie every weekend. Nothing cheers you up like watching two litle old ladies poisoning people. It does differ a bit from the stage show, but not so it really matters. In fact, it may be a little better. I have but one complaint-Jonathon should have been played by Boris Karloff, and then the jokes about the two looking alike would have been much funnier...
Rating:
Summary: Carey Grant's Best and Most Funniest Movie!
Review: +++++
This movie welcomes the viewer to the crazy Brewster family. Drama critic Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has two aunts (Josephine Hall, Jean Adair) who have the "bad habit" of giving lonely old men poisoned wine drinks and then burying them in the cellar; one sociopathic brother (Raymond Massey) who has returned home after twenty years; one bonkers brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt (John Alexander) and who has the habit of running up the stairs yelling "chaaaarrrgge" and blowing a bugle; and one impatient new bride (Priscilla Lane), the girl whose house is directly across from the Brewster's, separated only by a cemetery.
It's when Mortimer finds out what his aunts are doing and what his sociopathic brother has been and is now doing, that the laughs begin. This movie is filled with unforgettable lines. One of my favorite lines is when one of Mortimer's aunts tells him the "recipe" of their wine drink that has "quite a kick:"
"For a 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."
Throughout this movie, you'll hear talk of or see such things as cemeteries, dead bodies, sanitariums, funerals, the Panama Canal, policemen, yellow fever, squealing cats, and Boris Karloff.
Cary Grant displays his comic talents in this movie as he contorts his face into a gallery of surprised reactions and turns his athletic ability into a graceful comic ballet. He along with Priscilla Lane maintain the energy of the movie. Also look for the mad antics of John Alexander who, as Mortimer's bonkers brother, is perfect in his role.
The background music for this movie goes from light and cheery in some scenes to grim in others.
The only complaint I have is with the character of "Dr." Einstein played by Peter Lorre. I feel that Lorre's considerable comedic talents were not fully utilized.
Finally, the DVD (which has the movie in full screen) has a serious lack of extras. However I found the one entitled "Stage to Screen" informative.
In conclusion, this is an unusual but hilarious movie. You'll die laughing watching it!!
(1944; 2 hours; Black and White; 37 scenes)
+++++.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best screwball comedies ever made...
Review: A brilliant film with a great cast. What better cast can one get? Cary Grant! Peter Lorre! Raymond Massey! Perhaps, after Bringing Up Baby, this is the best exemple of Cary Grant's whimsical comic timing and one of the best screwball comedies ever made. Peter Lorre was never more funny before or after he did this film. And Raymond Massey was BORIS KARLOFF. And the film was superbly directed by the great Frank Capra. If you haven't seen the film, it's about time you did. I promise you won't be disappointed. Truly a film not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: a traditional classic
Review: a great comedy-drama, directed by one of the all-time great directors: Frank Capra. this film has become one of my personal favorites and a traditional Halloween classic. the performances were excellent. it blends comedy and horror perfectly. i highly recommend it. as for the DVD, it has little to offer in terms of extras, offering only production notes. it is still worth the purchase price. the picture and sound are very good.
Rating:
Summary: Funny!!!!!
Review: A great movie, I loved it!!!! I am not usually a fan of old movies, but this was great. The acting was superb and the plot was well thought out.
Rating:
Summary: Absoloutly haliourous!
Review: A mix of old fasionend terror and comedy, this is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen! The whole family should see this! It is really, really funny! (And it gives me an all new respect for my aunts!)
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