Overview
A darkly comedic tale where family bonds are tested by a deadly secret.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- frantic
- macabre
- witty
- classic movie night
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as highly entertaining macabre farce, praising its writing, direction, ensemble performances, and successful theatrical adaptation, though some find its energy overstated.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The aunts poison lonely old men and bury them in the cellar while the film maintains a playful, manic comic register.
Mortimer's family home contains the cellar, bodies, aunts, criminals, and the escalating chaos of the plot.
Mortimer's city-hall wedding is immediately disrupted by his discovery of his aunts' murderous hobby and his family's instability.
Viewers share awareness of the aunts' killings and the cellar's bodies as Mortimer struggles to process the revelations around him.
Films like Arsenic and Old Lace, and why
The Ladykillers
shares frantic screwball timing, eccentric family dynamics, and darkly comic treatment of murder
Kind Hearts and Coronets
shares macabre humor, escalating misunderstandings, and a claustrophobic domestic setting
His Girl Friday
shares wartime-era screwball energy, marriage-centered comedy, and rapid-fire verbal wit
Movie Details
- Director
- Frank Capra
- Release Date
- 1944-09-01
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (1078)
Cast
- Cary Grant
- Priscilla Lane
- Josephine Hull
- Jean Adair
- Raymond Massey
- John Alexander
- Peter Lorre
- Jack Carson
- Edward Everett Horton
- James Gleason
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Arsenic and Old Lace about?
- A newlywed writer discovers that his charming aunts have turned their Brooklyn cellar into a repository for murdered lonely men, unleashing a manic family farce.
- What is Arsenic and Old Lace like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Arsenic and Old Lace as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Arsenic and Old Lace violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Arsenic and Old Lace as mild.
- What did critics think of Arsenic and Old Lace?
- Critics broadly regard the film as highly entertaining macabre farce, praising its writing, direction, ensemble performances, and successful theatrical adaptation, though some find its energy overstated.
- Which films are like Arsenic and Old Lace?
- Films with a similar feel include The Ladykillers, Kind Hearts and Coronets, and His Girl Friday.
- How long is Arsenic and Old Lace?
- Arsenic and Old Lace runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Arsenic and Old Lace?
- In United States, Arsenic and Old Lace is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
