Intro.
You know those days when you think everything's going well and nothing could possibly go wrong, and then you come home and find a dead body in your aunts' windowseat? Okay, so maybe we don't all have that happen, but it doesn't make it any less funny when it does happen to Mortimer Brewster. Thus begins one of the all time best dark comedies of all time. Overview
Finally taking the plunge into marriage, dramatic critic Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) rushes home to tell his family - his two sweet, grandmotherly, unmarried aunts. While in the midst of all their happiness, he discovers a dead body in their windowseat. Not only do his aunts know about the dead man, but they confess to killing him as well as eleven others, all of which are buried in their basement. Conveniently, they have another nephew who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt (John Alexander), and is all too happy to dig "locks" in the Panama Canal in their basement and bury the "yellow fever victims." Mortimer, out of love from his aunt, tries to figure out how to get Teddy committed to a psychiatric hospital (Happy Dale) so that if the deaths are discovered, they can safely be pinned on Teddy (he can't go to jail if he's committed). Nothing seems to go Mortimer's way as one complication builds onto another - culminating in the arrival of his frightening brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey), who brings his accomplice, Dr. Einstein (the wonderful Peter Lorre), as well as the body of their latest murder victim. It all comes down to his new bride, Elaine, (Priscilla Lane) finding the bodies in the basement that really brings everything to an hysterical end.Highlights
One of the things that make this film such a classic comedic gem is the timing. Everything is just right, and the pace of the film picks up as Mortimer's madness grows. Each time I watch Arsenic and Old Lace, I notice something else. In this case, it was how appropriate the setting felt. Between Mortimer's house and Elaine's father's house is an ancient graveyard, the story takes place on Halloween, and it also is set in Brooklyn - a strange land according to the opening credits. It also takes place mostly in the aunts' house, which gave it a sort of Hitchcock feel, and made it creepier for its claustrophobic effect. What struck me most was how Mortimer, an author of books like Mind Over Matrimony has done the exact opposite of his world view. It's almost as if that marriage is the start of his own madness, which only gets worse when he discovers his entire family is crazy. What I also noticed was how different comedies can be from one another. Arsenic and Old Lace is an example of a dark comedy. I mean, really we spend the whole time laughing about two women who poison old men and bury them in their basement. That's pretty grim, and in tone it's a lot like Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. We understand when Mortimer freaks out. Who wouldn't freak out? What's more, we can identify with the basic premise - how when you're in a crisis, nothing seems to go right, even to the point where you doubt your own sanity.
Review and Recommendation
Arsenic and Old Lace is one of those films rightfully called a classic. It's a great example of writing, directing, acting and all around good movie making. Cary Grant and Peter Lorre (and in fact, the whole case) give wonderful performances and you're guaranteed at least one laugh. Definitely a must see!Trivia: If you look closely when Mortimer is out in the cemetery by himself, he sits on one of the gravestones. Just past him is another stone bearing the name Archibald Leach - Cary's Grant's real name.
