Frank Capra (Director)

CAST
Cary Grant
Priscilla Lane
Raymond Massey
Josephine Hull
Jean Adair
John Alexander
Peter Lorre

Based on the play “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring

Review

This was my first Cary Grant movie. I kind of knew the name, I’d heard about him, even though I thought his first name was Gary. This 1944 movie is amazing, I went in blind, I knew the time of the showing – yes I saw it in a movie theater with an audience -, the title, and that it was based on a book or a play – it was a play. What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be.

I was almost instantly pulled into the story Grant is magnetic, but the story is good and the rest of the cast is excellent. The performances aren’t quite like what we’re used to today but that’s a detail. Now that I know it’s adapted from a play, the way they played it makes more sense. It’s a comedy first and a crime thriller second, several people in my audience were laughing out loud – I understood why, I had a smile on my face – but I was more captivated.

The setup is simple but effective, Grant is Mortimer Brewster, a famous writer and critic who has written many books criticizing the institution of marriage, one of his books is called “Mind over Matrimony” – I F’ing love that. On this Halloween day, he secretly marries Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), the daughter of a pastor who happens to be Mortimer’s benevolent aunt’s neighbor.  His aunts are known as the sweet old ladies who are always ready to help others. They raised him and his brother Teddy (John Alexander), who’s not mentally sound and who still lives with them. While his new bride goes to pack for their honeymoon, Mortimer visits his aunts where he accidentally discovers the dead body of a man hidden in the window seat, and that’s when tension and hilarity ensue.

There’s an even more sinister version of this movie in there somewhere that probably already exists – I haven’t checked – if not it maybe should. This movie could have been an exciting crime thriller and/or horror movie, yet it 100% works as a comedy. The situation, paired with how quirky the characters are written makes this fun and engrossing. The sweet and nonchalant nature of Hull and Adair as the Aunts and his brother Teddy’s cluelessness contrasted really well with Mortimer’s apprehension. When the day started his biggest worry was risking his anti-Mariage reputation to then wonder if and when he’ll lose his mind.

It’s a farcical, slapstick comedy with a lot of dark humor and witty dialogue, as vintage comedies go it’s the best one yet but it’s not like I’ve seen many.

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