Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Based on a play by Joseph Kesselring, this dark comedy is well advanced beyond its years.

Despite having written several books against the idea of marriage, theatre critic and until recently confirmed bachelor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has just got married to the minister’s daughter Elaine (Priscilla Lane). But before they can go on their honeymoon, Mortimer discovers that something incredibly sinister has been going on.

Mortimer lives with his two aunts Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair) and his uncle Teddy (John Alexander). Uncle Teddy is convinced he is Teddy Roosevelt, and spends his days holding Cabinet meetings in his upstairs bedroom, charging (up the stairs) into battle, and digging the Panama Canal in the basement.

When Mortimer returns home to tell his aunts he is married, he discovers something shocking: a dead body lying in the windowseat. Convinced his Uncle Teddy has finally flipped and killed someone, he tells his aunts about the body. The only thing is they already know about it, because it is the twelfth man they have poisoned and buried in the basement.

Of course, Mortimer is shocked, and spends the remainder of the film trying to decide what ought to be done about the whole situation.

And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, his long lost brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) arrives – having escaped from prison – looking for someone to bury his most recent victim as well.

I think that’s probably enough of the plot description.

The script (adapted by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein from a stage play) is incredibly well-crafted. Having not seen the play myself, I can’t be certain how much of the dialogue is lifted from that and how much was from the Epsteins themselves, but in any case, it is very cleverly written. The comedy (which on the one hand, couldn’t be any darker in its basic premise) is delivered with impeccable timing by the entire cast.

Cary Grant is brilliant in this role, however, his double-takes start to wear thin after a while. His delivery is good throughout, though perhaps a little heavy-handed at times.

Director Frank Capra doesn’t take too many chances when it comes to the staging of the scenes, preferring to keep it very ‘stage-play’-like for the most part.

But it is certainly the comedy that propels the story forward, rather than clever camera shots or brilliant acting.

The two aunts are performed in a wonderful deadpan fashion that serves to highlight the absurdity of what they are doing even more. Even as they are describing actions that are of course incredibly horrible, one cannot help but laugh at their delivery of the lines; it really is uproariously funny.

John Alexander is also brilliant as Uncle Teddy. He doesn’t so much play a mentally unhinged man as a brilliant portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt himself, though of course in a very comedic fashion.

This is a very enjoyable film that I feel could be watched again and again. If you haven’t had the good fortune to see it yet, go ahead and check it out.

7 out of 10.