Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Retro Review #45: An un-enlightened film showcasing how much fun mental illness can be.
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
+ Feature film, bw, 1h 58m
+ Based on play Arsenic and Old Lace (1941)❗🔜 ⭐ by Joseph Kesselring
A+>
Grade: A+> (20.0) / HOF: 90
EQ 👍A+ | 📖A+ 👥A+ 📽️A+ 🎼A
DW 😎😎10.1 | 🌚11 🌝10
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R 💻⬇️1️⃣ 👀⬇️🔽 🛐⬇️1️⃣
Everybody is at least a little bit crazy, and isn’t that OK? At least that’s the question posed by Arsenic and Old Lace in this classic black-and-white dark comedy that we identify as Pure Dark Whimsy.
Well, no, it really isn’t OK when you’re insane enough to be a serial killer. But if you’re a couple of sweet old ladies, who have good intentions, and are just trying to end the mortal suffering of lonely old men, well, that’s not so bad, right?
Well, no, it’s still really bad.
It can also be really funny.
Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane play a great-looking couple in love who get married on Halloween and plan to scoot off to Niagara Falls. The plans go comically awry when Mortimer Brewster (Grant) learns the truth about his aunts. Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway roles as the sweet old ladies with a fondness for poisoning lonely old men.
Mortimer’s two brothers also play significant roles in the story. The older brother, Jonathan, brings the Dark—a menacing criminally insane killer—while the younger brother, Teddy, brings the Whimsy. Teddy doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but is the nuttiest of the whole clan, believing himself to be President Theodore Roosevelt.
Peter Lorre is his usual iconic self as Jonathan’s sidekick, and director Frank Capra does a great job showcasing the screwball antics of the whole cast. Grant was known for his comic timing and his performance here certainly contributed to that reputation.
It’s tough to earn respect when you’re a work of Dark Whimsy that isn’t aimed at kids. You start by losing two categories of the audience: those who are uncomfortable facing the darkness, and those who are too “adult” to allow themselves to enjoy a whimsical approach.
The left-leaning Common Sense Media points out “This isn't in any way meant to be an enlightened view of families grappling with mental illness.” No, it’s meant to be funny. Good grief! Name a comedy that is meant to be an enlightened view on any topic, and I’ll name a comedy that probably isn’t very funny. (For that matter, most of us don’t want your “enlightened” dramas, either, “enlightened” being their code word for “our opinions are superior to yours.”)
In their times, Arsenic and Old Lace, both the play and film, did rather well with the public for Dark Whimsy. By using crazy adult characters instead of children to supply Whimsy, adult viewers are given permission to embrace it. And as with all great Dark Whimsy, the Whimsy balances and softens the Dark, making the Dark easier to deal with.
The Dark elements of this adaptation of the play get briefly intense in spots, so they could bother young or sensitive viewers. The black-and-white cinematography is superb, adding to the gloomy mood, and the family home, strategically next door to a graveyard, feels just creepy enough that it might be haunted.
As far as I can tell, unlike many other old black-and-white classics, this film has never been professionally colorized, although amateur colorized versions exist on YouTube. This film should have been left alone. But by the same token, this classic has been left behind by modern audiences that shun b&w oldies.
Now I have a close relationship with the original play. It was my chosen play for a play directing course in college, so I lived with it for a semester, doing a complete analysis and full plan for directing a production, as well as casting and directing one key scene.
So this is a rare case of a classic film I’d love to see remade and brought to a modern audience. It could be filmed in a brightly-colored setting that brings out the Whimsy. There are other ways to bring the Dark, says Rick Retro, with just a hint of a smile.
But don’t wait for a remake, or murder someone, or be a color snob! Therein lies insanity. Just be a little bit crazy and watch Arsenic and Old Lace, the old movie, in black-and-white.
Onwards!
last viewed (2) 2025-02-11, HDX7, 1.37, 1M
+ first viewed 1983, sd2, 1.37v, 1
+ 🎈🎃👤🚔🌑🥸🤪🎢
+ ✅0️⃣ Mostly OK for teens and adults. | Approved
+ 😡+0 😵💫+0 🤬+2 🤭+2 🫣+1
+ 👀⬇️🔽 ➖(😍)
+ ✝️ +0 ➕(💒🩸) ➖(💣)
+ ✡️ -0 ➖(🌓🚨)
+ 🗽 +0
Last updated 2025-04-14
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I hope to watch this again