Arsenic & Old Lace

Director: Frank Capra
Written by: Julius J. Epstein, based on the play by Joseph Kesselring
Year: 1944
Genre: Farcical black comedy
My rating: 4 and a half out of 5

A majority of the events in "Arsenic & Old Lace" take place in the home of the Brewster sisters: Aunt Abby (Josephine Hull) and Aunt Martha (Jean Adair). Being aunts, they have three nephews: Teddy, who lives with them and thinks that he is Theodore Roosevelt (he thinks that the stairs are San Juan Hill, and yells "Charge!" every time he goes up); Jonathan, who was disturbed as a child and ran away; and Mortimer, a drama critic famous for his anti-marriage books. The plot begins on Halloween with Mortimer (Cary Grant) returning to his childhood home in Brooklyn to announce his marriage to the woman who grew up and lives next door, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). Everything is going smoothly until Mortimer discovers a body underneath the window seat. At first he suspects Teddy, but Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha soon pleasantly confess to the murder. Without the slightest change in their cheery demeanor, they explain to Mortimer that they have taken up the habit of renting out a room to lonely old men, and then killing them with elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, strychnine, and "just a pinch of cyanide." So far, they have killed 12 men, all of which have been buried by Teddy (who thinks they are yellow fever victims) in holes in the cellar (which he thinks are locks for the Panama Canal). After several minutes of bumbling, Mortimer tries to protect his aunts by getting Teddy admitted to Happydale Sanitarium. While he is out, Jonathan (Raymond Massey) shows up with his alcoholic accomplice, Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre) the plastic surgeon. A recent botched operation (Dr. Einstein was drunk, you see) left Jonathan looking Boris Karloff in his Frankenstein makeup, a frequently-made comparison in the film. Psychotic murderers themselves, they have brought a body with them, and when Dr. Einstein finds the hole Teddy dug in the cellar for Abby and Martha's latest victim, they are astounded at their good fortune. The rest of the film features Mortimer frantically trying to get signatures required to get Teddy into Happydale, Jonathan and Dr. Einstein trying to get their body in the house and then figure out how to kill Mortimer, Elaine getting constantly blown off by her new husband, police randomly stopping by, and Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha not being bothered much by anything.

As an idea, "Arsenic & Old Lace" sounds somewhat appalling, especially in a time when it was hard to get away with anything in Hollywood. It seems only a few (more contemporary) filmmakers have the gift of being able to make death funny. However, it goes off without a hitch. Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha's unflinching view of murder is made funny by Mortimer's complete bewilderment. Raymond Massey's Jonathan (actually played by Boris Karloff in the Broadway production) is both humorous and frightening, and there is one scene in particular that is incredibly suspenseful but quickly becomes funny. The Teddy character is a stroke of genius on Joseph Kesselring's part, although according to the Happydale director, they have three Teddy Roosevelts at the moment and it could cause trouble. Morbid moments aside, "Arsenic & Old Lace" is a very enjoyable film, for the audience and no doubt the cast alike.


Structure/Form:
Why does the film start in the way that it does?
It starts with a non-sequitur: a fistfight erupts at a baseball game. I think this may be there to set the violent and chaotic mood.

Are there any repeated scenes, images, dialogue, etc.? What purpose do they serve?
Jonathan's appearance is often compared to Boris Karloff, and pretty much everything Teddy does is repeated. Most of these repetitions play an important role in the plot. There are also some unimportant running gags, such as a taxi driver waiting outside to be payed for the whole film.

Is sound used in any vivid ways to enhance the film?
Sometimes when Abby and Martha move across the room, light and dainty music is played.

What specific scene constitutes the film's climax? How does this scene resolve the central issue of the film?
In the same scene, Jonathan is arrested, Teddy and Abby and Martha are all admitted to Happydale Sanitarium, and Mortimer finds out he is not really a Brewster and therefore not insane.

Does the film leave any disunities at the end? If so, what does it suggest?
Maybe a few, but nothing that's very important to the central issue of the movie.


Theme:
How does the film relate to the issues presented or developed? What questions are evoked by the film? Does the film present a clear point of view on an issue? How?
There seems to be a theme of traits like insanity being genetic. The film doesn't really have any doubt that this is true, actually. When Mortimer discovers he's not insane, it's because he discovers he's not a Brewster.


Mise en Scene:
From the stairs, Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha confront Jonathan and Dr. Einstein after they come in.

Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first? Why?
Aunt Abby, because she is closer to the camera and has more light on her face.

Lighting key: High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these?
The only light in the room is coming from candles on the dining table, so there is a bit of an eerie glow coming from below and in front of them.

Shot and camera distance: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
The camera is set up at the bottom of the stairs and looks up on the two of them.

Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
We notice Aunt Martha's worried expression.

Density: How much visual information is packed into the image?
We understand that Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha don't recognize Jonathan.

Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized?
Aunt Abby is close to the bottom of the stairs, doing the talking, and Aunt Martha is a few steps up, clutching the banister nervously.

Framing: Tight or loose? Do the characters have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
It looks fairly tight, but there is a little room on Aunt Martha's side.