Arsenic and Old Lace brutally shames modern comedies. It gives them a swirlie, and an atomic wedgie, and double Indian burns, while successfully hitting on to their moms.

There is a rumour that Cyd Charisse (The very leggy women in green from Singin' in the Rain) had her legs insured for 5 million dollars. I think that Cary Grant should have gotten a similar insurance policy for his face, because with his facial expressions alone, he makes me laugh more than I do when watching most recently released comedies.

Capra’s comedy classic casts Cary Grant as the carefree nephew of two kindly old women who, he learns just as he prepares to leave on his honeymoon, have secretly euthanized some twelve elderly men to spare them their loneliness. Watching His Girl Friday offered plentiful indication of Grant’s abilities as font of comic lines; here he takes a more reactionary role, his face contorting with horror at each new revelation. The scene in which he first discovers his aunts’ crimes is side-splittingly funny, their deadpan matter-of-factness as ludicrously entertaining as his overblown hysteria. While the remainder of the film isn’t quite as wildly amusing, Arsenic and Old Lace is never long without a laugh, the arrival of a Boris Karloff-lookalike brother, his nervous sidekick (played by Peter Lorre), and a trio of policemen adding indelibly to the rapid comic flow.

Hilarious screwball comedy that is paced perfectly, and is highlighted by a great ensemble cast, with Cary Grant playing the straight man to great results.

One of the great screwball comedies of the 40's. It's humor is sharp, constant, and quite black for its time; Capra brings it out very well. Cary Grant is in top form here.

A story about me: Walking down the street with the man I had been crushing on for forever. We had first really bonded forever ago over our mutual high regard for Cary Grant. His eyes had twinkled when lil' ol' me referenced the movie Charade. Fast forward to us walking down that street. I gleefully exclaim my love for Arsenic and Old Lace. He says the movie was stupid. Crush fades ever so slightly yet significantly. The end.

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How anxious this flick made me, egads, and hardly ever in an enjoyable way. That Arsenic and Old Lace is consciously aware of its ridiculosity makes for easily the funniest moments, but these are unfortunately few and far between the manic shouting and pigheaded insanity.

"There's a BODY in the WINDOW SEAT"
A celebration of Cary Grant's facial expressions. He carries the entire thing, of course.

Cary Grant's funniest movie

I loved the first act. It was downright hilarious, with such a silly premise that worked well. However, the movie turned once the lost brother came into the story. It lost me after that. The tone changed too much and it didn't fit well.

There is a rumour that Cyd Charisse (The very leggy women in green from Singin' in the Rain) had her legs insured for 5 million dollars. I think that Cary Grant should have gotten a similar insurance policy for his face, because with his facial expressions alone, he makes me laugh more than I do when watching most recently released comedies.