A frantic, darkly hilarious descent into madness where sweet domesticity masks serial murder. The film dances on the edge of a grave, serving up pure screwball panic with a poisoned glass of elderberry wine.

Arsenic and Old Lace

"She Passed Out On Cary! No Wonder . . . She's just discovered his favorite aunts have poisoned their 13th gentleman friend!"

01 September 1944 United States of America 118 min ⭐ 7.6 (1,017)

Director: Frank Capra

Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey

Crime Comedy

The Facade of Civility and Respectability The Absurdity of Morality and Justice Family Legacy and Determinism Sanity vs. Insanity

Budget: $1,120,175

Arsenic and Old Lace - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details

Easter Eggs

The 'Archie Leach' Tombstone

During a scene in the cemetery next to the Brewster house, one of the tombstones clearly bears the name Archie Leach. This is Cary Grant's actual birth name, serving as a brilliant, macabre inside joke about his Hollywood reinvention.

Constant Boris Karloff References

The film features a running gag where characters tell Jonathan Brewster that he looks exactly like Boris Karloff. This is a massive meta-joke, as Boris Karloff originally played Jonathan in the Broadway play and was an investor in the production, profiting from the joke even while absent from the screen.

George Washington Slept Here

Officer O'Hara jokingly asks if George Washington ever slept in the Brewster home. This is an inside nod to Warner Bros. studios, as the massive, expensive Brewster house set was later remodeled and reused for the 1942 film George Washington Slept Here.

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