Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) Apr 2026

: The film is a rare Capra project that avoids his usual "social consciousness" (as seen in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ) in favor of "good old-fashioned theater".

as Jonathan: Replaced Boris Karloff, who was not released from his stage contract for the film. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

as Mortimer Brewster: Grant famously disliked his own performance, calling it "over-acting," though critics often cite it as a masterclass in physical comedy. : The film is a rare Capra project

as Dr. Einstein: Jonathan’s nervous, enabling companion. as Mortimer Brewster: Grant famously disliked his own

Released in 1944 and directed by , Arsenic and Old Lace is a definitive dark comedy and screwball classic. Though filmed in late 1941, its release was delayed for three years due to a contract with the original Broadway production. The film is celebrated for its macabre humor, frantic pacing, and a career-high (if eccentric) performance by Cary Grant. Plot Overview

The story follows (Cary Grant), a drama critic and famous bachelor who finally gets married on Halloween. When he returns to his family’s ancestral Brooklyn home to tell his aunts—the sweet and seemingly charitable Abby and Martha —the news, he makes a grisly discovery: a dead body hidden in the window seat.

as Abby and Martha: Both actresses reprised their roles from the smash-hit Broadway play.