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 Film buffs know Frank Capra best as the champion of the Everyman, his works depicting a good man's fight against all that's corrupt and wrong in the world. While this may be true in the cases of It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, there's nary an ounce of idealism to be found in the 1944 farce Arsenic and Old Lace, starring the one and only Cary Grant. The film also stars Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Priscilla Lane, John Alexander.
Cary Grant & Priscilla Lane
Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, a man whom you'd think would have it all. He's handsome and has a successful career as a famous drama critic. And, despite writing a number of best-selling books about the phoniness of marriage, has just tied the knot with a minister's daughter (Priscilla Lane). His home life, on the other hand, is a bit more on the loopy side. His brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) is a murderous gangster who grew up torturing poor Mortimer. His other brother Teddy (John Alexander) is convinced that he's no less than Theodore Roosevelt himself.
To top it all off, Mortimer's just discovered that his sweet and kindly old aunts (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) have not only killed twelve men and buried them in their basement, they don't find anything the slightest bit wrong about it. It's no time at all before pure chaos erupts, as Mortimer scrambles to maintain his sanity, which becomes tested big-time by his anxious new bride, police officers that wander by whenever they please, and the sinister Jonathan's return to his childhood home.
Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull & Jean Adair
Arsenic and Old Lace is based upon a theatrical smash hit, so much of one that this film's release was delayed three years so its Broadway run could finish up. On the downside, however, it ends up sticking almost too closely to the show, at least in terms of setting. Like David Mamet's film version of his play Oleanna, Arsenic and Old Lace almost feels obligated to have just about the entire film take place in one set. It isn't such a bother for the latter film, since the close quarters contribute to the craziness that Grant's character accumulates over the course of the story. But it does get to a point that a shot outside of the Brewster home or the scant few times another environment is used (including an inexplicable opening shot at a Dodgers game) isn't so much a breather from the action at hand as it feels like a pittance. There's a certain staginess that simply can't be overcome, a slight but consistent jab that tells the viewers this would be even better done live.
As is, however, Arsenic and Old Lace still does quite an entertaining job of translating the show's darkly madcap spirit to the big screen. Grant plays the beleaguered Mortimer like a pro, bounding across the screen like he just guzzled a case of Red Bull and twisting his face into goofy expressions you'd never think to find given by the suave leading man of Notorious.
Just as dedicated and perhaps even more wily in their performances are Hull and Adair, who do a simply hilarious job of playing the sweetest, most cordial murderesses you've ever met. Alexander deserves much kudos for his part as the delusional Teddy, and Peter Lorre even gets into the action as Jonathan's reluctant partner-in-crime. One of the few parts of the picture I didn't care for, though, was Jonathan himself; his character seemed ripped away from a completely different show, as his whole demeanor and depiction didn't fit in the least with the film's overall tone. In a show where everyone else seems positively bonkers, he's played way too straight to integrate himself with the crowd.
Early on in Arsenic and Old Lace, after giving viewers just a taste of Mortimer's world, a title card informs them, "...you're on your own." I couldn't think of a better way to summarize Capra's approach to the material: just sit back, relax, and allow the inmates to take over the asylum.
There's nothing in Arsenic and Old Lace but sheer comedic insanity, glazed over with a coat of diabolical darkness that, in comparison to more free-spirited comedies of the era, makes it seem nothing short of ahead of its time.
Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, based upon the play by Joseph Kesselring
Cast: Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Priscilla Lane, John Alexander
Rating: No MPAA Rating (a few moment of scariness)
Classic Movie Guide Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Run Time: 118 minutes
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Format: Black-and-white, Full Screen
Photo credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
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