Arsenic and Old Lace poster

Cast

Cary Grant profile

Cary Grant

Mortimer Brewster

Priscilla Lane profile

Priscilla Lane

Elaine Harper Brewster

Josephine Hull profile

Josephine Hull

Aunt Abby Brewster

Jean Adair profile

Jean Adair

Aunt Martha Brewster

Raymond Massey profile

Raymond Massey

Jonathan Brewster

John Alexander profile

John Alexander

'Teddy Roosevelt' Brewster

Peter Lorre profile

Peter Lorre

Dr. Einstein

Jack Carson profile

Jack Carson

Officer Patrick O'Hara

Edward Everett Horton profile

Edward Everett Horton

Mr. Witherspoon

James Gleason profile

James Gleason

Lt. Rooney

Grant Mitchell profile

Grant Mitchell

Reverend Harper

Edward McNamara profile

Edward McNamara

Sergeant Brophy

Garry Owen profile

Garry Owen

Taxi Cab Driver

John Ridgely profile

John Ridgely

Officer Saunders

Vaughan Glaser profile

Vaughan Glaser

Judge Cullman

Chester Clute profile

Chester Clute

Dr. Gilchrist

Charles Lane profile

Charles Lane

Reporter at Marriage License O...

Hank Mann profile

Hank Mann

Photographer at Marriage Licen...

Spencer Charters profile

Spencer Charters

Marriage License Clerk

Sol Gorss profile

Sol Gorss

New York Pitcher (uncredited)

Lee Phelps profile

Lee Phelps

Umpire (uncredited)

Raymond Walburn profile

Raymond Walburn

Drummer at baseball game (uncr...

Spec O'Donnell profile

Spec O'Donnell

Young Man in Line (uncredited)

Leo White profile

Leo White

Man in Phone Booth (uncredited...

Details

Status

Released

Original language

en

Countries

US

Budget

$1,120,175

Reviews

John Chard profile pic

A review by John Chard 9

July 1, 2019

Frenetic roller-coaster ride - Capra style!

The Broadway show this film is based on ran for something like four years, such was the yearning for riotous rompathons in the 40s, and thus here the Capra adaptation is pretty much non stop mania. Led by the perfectly cast Cary Grant, the film barely pauses for breath, stopping only briefly to put a bit of creepy menace into the otherwise insane plot. Oh yes the plot, the elderly Brewster sisters are the dear hearts of the neighbourhood, but...

barrymost profile pic

A review by barrymost 10

January 19, 2020

There are thirteen bodies in the cellar! Oh, piffle.

Drama critic Mortimer Brewster has just gotten married. But his newfound wedded bliss is interrupted by the disturbing discovery that his sweet old spinster aunts have been murdering lonely old men with their homemade elderberry wine, and burying the bodies in the cellar. This demented screwball comedy was the film that introduced me to Cary Grant. The utterly black comedic treatment never gets old, and the laughs never let up. ...

Filipe Manuel Neto profile pic

A review by Filipe Manuel Neto 10

December 3, 2023

An extraordinary comedy that stands out for its unpretentiousness.

I didn't have high expectations when I decided to watch this film, and I think this increased the impact it ended up having even more: based on a successful play, the film is an extraordinary comedy full of bizarreness and mischief, without a single dead moment and full of twists and turns that make us laugh and amuse us.

The script begins with the sudden marriage of Mortimer Brewster, a famo...

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