According to Rotten Tomatoes , the film is a "sparkling" example of dark comedy, maintaining a high fresh score. It is a perennial Halloween favorite due to its spooky setting, graveyard proximity, and "insouciant attitude" toward death.
: The film is a rare Capra project that avoids his usual "social consciousness" (as seen in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ) in favor of "good old-fashioned theater". Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Released in 1944 and directed by , Arsenic and Old Lace is a definitive dark comedy and screwball classic. Though filmed in late 1941, its release was delayed for three years due to a contract with the original Broadway production. The film is celebrated for its macabre humor, frantic pacing, and a career-high (if eccentric) performance by Cary Grant. Plot Overview According to Rotten Tomatoes , the film is
Mortimer soon learns that his aunts have been "charitably" poisoning lonely old men with elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, strychnine, and cyanide. Matters escalate with the arrival of: Smith Goes to Washington ) in favor of
as Dr. Einstein: Jonathan’s nervous, enabling companion.