Fresh
Despite the fact that picture runs 118 minutes, Frank Capra has expanded on the original play [by Joseph Kesselring] to a sufficient extent to maintain a steady, consistent pace.
Variety Staff, Variety
Arsenic and Old Lace
She Passed Out On Cary! No Wonder . . . She's just discovered his favorite aunts have poisoned their 13th gentleman friend!
1944 · 1h 58m · Approved
Comedy, Crime
Directed by
Frank Capra
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Arsenic and Old Lace
Overview
Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!
Director and cast
- Frank Capra Director
- Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster
- Priscilla Lane as Elaine Harper Brewster
- Josephine Hull as Aunt Abby Brewster
- Jean Adair as Aunt Martha Brewster
- Raymond Massey as Jonathan Brewster
- John Alexander as 'Teddy Roosevelt' Brewster
- Peter Lorre as Dr. Einstein
- Jack Carson as Officer Patrick O'Hara
- Edward Everett Horton as Mr. Witherspoon
- James Gleason as Lt. Rooney
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
86%
Tomatometer
Rotten
The timing is abysmal throughout, turning fast pace into numbing frenzy.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Dusty but gentle entertainment.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
Good macabre fun.
New York Times
More films
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Comedy · Crime · Not Rated
When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself tor...
- Runtime
- 1h 44m
- Director
- Robert Hamer
- Cast
- Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Alec Guinness
IMDb
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes
100%
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
Crime · Mystery · Not Rated
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
- Runtime
- 1h 29m
- Director
- Fritz Lang
- Cast
- Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern
IMDb
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes
81%
The Thursday Murder Club (2025)
Comedy · Crime · Mystery · PG-13
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
- Runtime
- 1h 58m
- Director
- Chris Columbus
- Cast
- Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
77%
Metacritic
60
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Comedy · Crime · Mystery · Passed
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers,...
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Director
- W.S. Van Dyke
- Cast
- William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson
IMDb
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
The Dream Team (1989)
Comedy · Crime · Thriller · PG-13
Four mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperone, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
- Runtime
- 1h 53m
- Director
- Howard Zieff
- Cast
- Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
50%
Metacritic
54
Snow (1963)
Documentary · N/A
Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are ...
- Runtime
- 8m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.0
Rail (1967)
Documentary · N/A
"Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrification, or the wider promotion of diesel-power on remaining lines, became a matter of to...
- Runtime
- 14m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.4
Locomotion (1975)
Documentary · N/A
Collage film about the history of trains set to music.
- Runtime
- 16m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.2
Shell Spirit (1963)
N/A
Directed by Geoffrey Jones.
- Runtime
- 2m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
6.8
Comments
Talk about the film with other members