Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Cary Grant
Honors:
It took three long years of sitting of the preverbal movie
shelf, but 1944 would finally see the release of the Frank Capra screen
adaption of Arsenic and Old Lace. A
dark comedy starring Cay Grant Arsenic
and Old Lace adapts a popular Broadway play that takes a humorous look at
family and murder. Apart from the entertainment of the story, the picture’s
place in history when it was released adds additional fascinating notes to its
backstory. Today it remains one of the Hollywood’s top classic comedies.
Arsenic and Old Lace
is a screwball comedy about relatively popular social critic who discovers
dark, deadly secrets of his family and his frantic attempt to cover them up. Following
the marriage of Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) to his childhood neighbor Elaine
(Priscilla Lane) he returns to the house he grew up in to visit the two aunts
that raised him and brother. Mortimer begins to fear his family bloodline as realities
about his family begins to unravel into truths both mad and deadly.
Long has it been known that his brother Teddy (John
Alexander) believed himself to be Theodore Roosevelt, but only assumed to be an
innocent mental illness. However, Mortimer discovers that his inconspicuous and
all-around lovable aunts Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair) are
making a habit of poisoning lonely men and having their bodies buried in the
cellar by Teddy. Meanwhile, Mortimer’s other brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey),
a fearsome murderer on the run, returns home with his accomplice and hack
surgeon Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre) and threatens Mortimer and the family.
The friendly, but bumbling police arrive as Mortimer
scrambles to have Jonathan arrested, Teddy institutionalized to a facility ran
by Edward Everett Horton along with the aunts while still keeping the secret of
the graves in the cellar from being discovered. Mortimer fears the blood of his
family will one day infect his own mind, only to be informed that he is adopted,
much to his delight as he gleefully whisks Elaine away to their honeymoon.
The picture is a peculiar screwball comedy with a dark twist
to it. Cary Grant’s performance is over the top as he hams it up for the camera
far greater what audiences are used to from an actor such as Grant. With the
story taking place primarily in a singular location, a house in Brooklyn, it is
clear this screenplay was an adaptation of a play, yet under the watchful eye
of a couple of talented screenwriters and one of Hollywood’s best directors.
The result is one of the more entertaining comedies to come out during the
World War II years.
The Broadway comedy premiered in January 1941 to positive
reviews and Warner Bros. gained the rights to make the film adaption very soon
thereafter, quickly lining up the very successful Frank Capra to direct. Coming
off many surprise box office hits while with the small studio Columbia
Pictures, Arsenic and Old Lace was to
be his first picture under the much heftier Warner Bros. Studio, despite this
film’s content to not be quite the same cup of tea audiences were used to out
of the filmmaker.
The script was penned by the Epstein Brothers, Julius J. and
Philip G, who tightened up the story to fit the conventions of the movie screen,
making the energy fit for motion picture audiences. For the most part the story
would still takes place within the confines of the house, with only a few short
scenes outside the residence. With hope to best adapt the stage version Warner
Bros. looked to barrow as much as they could from Broadway production in term
of casting, with the addition of a big Hollywood name for the headliner.
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| Massey in his "Karloff" make-up |
Supporting cast members Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, and John
Alexander came from the Broadway play and were given leave to perform in the
motion picture reprising the roles of Aunt Abby, Aunt Martha, and Teddy. Boris
Karloff, who played the villainous Jonathan, however was kept back in New York,
with the Broadway producers feeling that he was too big of a name for the stage
version to take off the marquee even for the few months during the film’s
production. His replacement was portrayed by Raymond Massey under heavy
make-up. A running joke in the film is that his character looks like Boris
Karloff, much to Jonathan’s dismay, reminding knowing audiences of whom Raymond
Massey was taking Karloff’s place of in this film adaptation.
For the lead role Warners wished to cast comedian Bob Hope,
but Paramount was unwilling to loan the star actor for the role. Jack Benny and
Ronald Reagan were also considered before Cary Grant was made available for
Mortimer. Throughout production Frank Capra had Cary Grant overact his role in
this screwball comedy which did not sit well with the writers, producers, and
Grant himself. Dailies revealed the over-hamming up by Grant and Capra was
asked to possibly cut back on his overacting performance with possible editing.
As production came to a close the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor
and Frank Capra was enlisted in the US Army making the completion of the
picture tight as he relatively quickly wrapped up the editing process, leaving
it in the form it would ultimately release as and we see today.
Frank Capra finished Arsenic
and Old Lace in early 1942 and went to work for the Army, primarily working
on his Why We Fight series. Despite
the film being ready for premiere contractual stipulations kept the film from
being released. The agreement had Warner Bros. holding onto the finished film
until the Broadway production had completed its run, which would not happen
until June of 1944 after a successful number of over 1400 performances.
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| The aunts attempting to use their preferred way of death, poisoned wine |
With the exception of a playing to military audiences
overseas, Arsenic and Old Lace would
premiere to general audiences finally in September of 1944 to positive
reviews. Critics and audiences praised
the picture, while a select few were not fans, namely Cary Grant and Frank
Capra. Grant hated his acting in the picture and considered it one of his least
favorite movies, while Capra generally left the film behind him, not giving it
much thought as he continued forward with his career after the war attempting
to work as an independent filmmaker. By the time of the film’s release Priscilla
Lane, Grant love’s interest in the picture, had long left Warner Bros., making
it her final picture with the studio.
Through the years Arsenic
and Old Lace has become a comedy classic; a darker comedy with twists and
whimsy beyond others comedies of the period. Contemporaries name it as one of
the finest American comedies of all time, but it appears that favorability of the
picture wains back and forth in the hearts of film historians and critics with
their love of Cary Grant comedies, the unique subject manner, and Grant’s
polarizing overacting at times.
Ultimately it remains a cherished comedy in the minds of film lovers for
long to come.
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