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Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Actors: Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre
Directed By: Frank Capra
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 118 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 1944
DVD Release Date: August 29, 2000
Format: DVD
Genres: Classics

You'll die laughing! Frank Capra directs Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre and stellar cast in the hit Broadway farce about a nutcase family with well-intentioned homicidal tendencies.

movie review

Amazon.com Editorial Review:
Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach to killing was probably cathartic. --Tom Keogh