Arsenic And Old LaceRating: PG 9+

Reviews

• James, 26

  3 out of 5

  By

  James, 26

  Date

  2011-03-22 19:25:00

  Originally written for the stage, the events of Arsenic and Old Lace take place almost entirely in one room over the course of a single day. This, combined with the small but excellent cast of characters gives the film a unique feeling of intimacy and allows the viewer to reap the benefits of its compact and ingenious plot. Two kindly old ladies, of the sort who are continuously helping others (whether they want to be helped or not), take their charity to new and disturbing lengths by deciding to ease the suffering of lonely old men by poisoning them with Arsenic and burying them in the cellar. Chaos ensues when this terrible series of murders is discovered by their nephew Mortimer, and things only get worse with the arrival of his long-lost brother (also a mass murderer) at the house. While this might seem like the plot of a horror film, it is actually a farcical black comedy. The humour is effective and varied and the characters compelling, so that I found this film both fascinating and genuinely funny. I would definitely recommend this film to fans of comedy.

• Zac, 12

  4 out of 5

  By

  Zac, 12

  Date

  2011-03-22 17:05:26

  This film is really funny for a 1944 film this is amazing the plot is really good and The twon old ladys made me laugh so much all the way through the film i highly recomend

• james, 13

  3 out of 5

  By

  james, 13

  Date

  2011-03-22 16:58:17

  This film was a bit boring. The plot was most admirable and it was hillarious with the old ladies killing old men that were lonely and had no family. Howerver it just went on to long and they could have shortend it.

• elizabeth, 13

  4 out of 5

  By

  elizabeth, 13

  Date

  2011-03-22 16:55:08

  This was a funny film with hilarious plot with horror which u can laugh at. I love the old women as killers thats the best bit!
  I think i can understand why the title is called Arsenic because its how they killed people,Old lace because of the old women! It was just a funny horror which i loved !

• Michael, 12

  4 out of 5

  By

  Michael, 12

  Date

  2011-03-21 19:52:58

  This film was hilarious and had some of the oldest kinds of jokes in the world(Which explains it's age!) and it had it's own jokes that I don't know from other films. It's story was very funny and was all intent on giving chances for jokes and gags of all kinds to lighten the mood of the worrying storyline. It also didn't have any recognisable actors but still there was a great display of comedey and masterful acting that really drew the viewer into the film and I really felt it worked well.

• Caroline , 54

  4 out of 5

  By

  Caroline , 54

  Date

  2011-03-21 09:52:16

  This film reminded me of "Keeping Mum" a film which my daughter introduced me to a couple of years ago. Both are full of gallows humour and delightfully eccentric characters. "Arsenic and Old Lace" has certainly stood the test of time and compares favourably with many of today's comic movies even though it was filmed on a shoestring budget (even by the more modest standards of the time). Cary Grant, better known for playing the suave man about town and one of the sexiest stars in film history, does a great comic turn with some extraordinary facial expressions. Full of madcap humour as it is, the film does invite us to reflect on the nature of evil - are the lovable maiden aunts just as wicked as Mortimer's repulsive brother? The debate about euthanasia has not been resolved to this day.