Arsenic and Old Lace

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Arsenic and Old Lace

Released Sep 23, 1944

1h 58m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

86%

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35 Reviews

91%

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25,000+ Ratings

Writer and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.

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Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

Arsenic and Old Lace trenchantly lays bare the hypocrisies and prejudices of the upper-middle class that often remained concealed beneath the façade of good manners.

Oct 11, 2022

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Cary Grant et al are on sparkling form in this classic darkly twisted comedy.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 22, 2013

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Variety Staff

Variety

Despite the fact that picture runs 118 minutes, Frank Capra has expanded on the original play [by Joseph Kesselring] to a sufficient extent to maintain a steady, consistent pace.

Aug 13, 2007

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Michael Calleri

Niagara Gazette

Director Frank Capra, one of Hollywood’s great filmmakers and a man whose films appreciated the serious troubles society can inflict on people, clearly wanted to make a no-holds-barred comedy that thrives on lunacy. He succeeded.

Apr 30, 2023

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

It is full of wicked humor that keeps the macabre tone throughout the movie and was yet another notch on Frank Capra’s belt of hit comedies.

Feb 14, 2023

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Michael Barrett

PopMatters

One of the film’s rewards is that, upon rewatching and rethinking, there’s all that subconscious evidence buried in the story’s basement, and much of the audience’s satisfaction rests in the desire to keep it concealed.

Oct 31, 2022

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Curtis M

I went into this film with high expectations, given its reputation as one of the great—yet underrated—screwball comedies of the 1940s. While “Arsenic and Old Lace” did get a few laughs out of me, its premise drifts so far into absurdity that I struggled to stay fully engaged. Cary Grant’s energetic performance was certainly a highlight, and I did appreciate some of the plot elements, but overall the film felt overlong, tiring to keep up with, and weighed down by jokes that too often came across as repetitive or overplayed. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for “Arsenic and Old Lace”, and I can’t imagine it will stay with me for long.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

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Dawn R

Im not sure what caught my eye to make me watch this movie. But I'm sure glad I did. Its funny, zany & never a dull moment. I love that the characters dont even recognize how crazy they are, even the leading man. Definitely one of my favorites.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/12/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 58 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

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Isaiah Y

Classic Capra comedy with a great performance by Cary Grant

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

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Christian J

A personal favorite: wickedly funny, with no reliance on heavy effects, rapid cuts, or green screen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/25

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Micah H

Old ladies murder lonely men seeking lodging—and it’s hilarious.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

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Frank Capra

Director

Cary Grant

Mortimer Brewster

Raymond Massey

Jonathan Brewster

Priscilla Lane

Elaine Harper

Peter Lorre

Dr. Einstein

Jack Carson

Officer Patrick "Pat" O'Hara

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Synopsis

Writer and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.

Director: Frank Capra
Producer: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Joseph Kesselring, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Distributor: Warner Bros., Criterion Collection, Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2008
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1), 35mm

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