Arsenic and Old Lace

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Arsenic and Old Lace

1944

1h 58m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

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

Oct 11, 2022

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.

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Oct 22, 2013

4/5

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

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Variety Staff

Variety

Aug 13, 2007

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.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Mar 17, 2026

2/4

A bit of a whiff for Frank Capra...

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Feb 28, 2026

7/10

This comedy is all about the timing, and few do it better than Grant, who got his start in the music hall.

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Michael Calleri

Niagara Gazette

Apr 30, 2023

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.

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Gretchen R

@grtchn Sep 18, 2026

I thought this movie was fantastic. I loved the cast.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 14, 2026

Arsenic and old Lace = a 4.5 star Movie!

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Maguy L.

@MagsTheFrog Jun 26, 2026

Charming movie about a couple of kind murdering old ladies :D and their lovely nephew.

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Kiami T

@Kiami Feb 24, 2026

It's just very funny and enjoyable to watch. Rare to see a horror that's fun for all the family.

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Patrick S

@PatrickStruik Jan 2, 2026

Extremely funny screwball comedy.

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aya t

@ayaueta Dec 3, 2025

my most favorite screwball comedy! cary grant (a former acrobat) as mortimer brewster, who's shocked when he discover a body in the windowseat & runs around panicking. he thinks his crazy brother, theodore (who looks like & acts like teddy roosevelt), killed him so he tries to hide it from his elderly sweet aunts but theres a twist. dark comedy based on the popular play.

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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

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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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