Arsenic and Old Lace
Blu-ray
Criterion
1941 / 1.33: 1 / 118 Min.
Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane
Written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Directed by Frank Capra
Almost supernaturally handsome, Mortimer Brewster is quite the catch; a celebrated man about town and theater critic who saves his most acerbic reviews for matrimony, Mortimer’s latest bestseller is a typically curdled diatribe called Mind over Marriage. He’s a tough egg to crack but leave it to his childhood sweetheart, a pretty strawberry blonde named Elaine Harper, to cure Mortimer’s gamophobia—and what better time for a nervous bachelor to get hitched than Halloween?
Their honeymoon is just around the corner but first the newlyweds have family business in Brooklyn, home to Elaine and Mortimer’s childhood haunts. They don’t realize just how haunted; the cozy Brewster homestead has been transformed into a makeshift cemetery where bodies are stored away in...
Blu-ray
Criterion
1941 / 1.33: 1 / 118 Min.
Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane
Written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Directed by Frank Capra
Almost supernaturally handsome, Mortimer Brewster is quite the catch; a celebrated man about town and theater critic who saves his most acerbic reviews for matrimony, Mortimer’s latest bestseller is a typically curdled diatribe called Mind over Marriage. He’s a tough egg to crack but leave it to his childhood sweetheart, a pretty strawberry blonde named Elaine Harper, to cure Mortimer’s gamophobia—and what better time for a nervous bachelor to get hitched than Halloween?
Their honeymoon is just around the corner but first the newlyweds have family business in Brooklyn, home to Elaine and Mortimer’s childhood haunts. They don’t realize just how haunted; the cozy Brewster homestead has been transformed into a makeshift cemetery where bodies are stored away in...
- 11/1/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
I came to know playwright Joseph Kesselring's deliciously dark "Arsenic and Old Lace" quite well on accident, much like how its hero, Mortimer Brewster, accidentally stumbles upon his family's homicidal activities. My first exposure came in the form of my sister's high school production of the 1941 play, which was thoroughly entertaining. It was shortly after that I saw director Frank Capra's 1944 film version of Kesselring's farce, with Cary Grant starring as the (naturally) oft-flustered writer Mortimer. In hindsight, this might have also been my gateway to checking out more of Grant's work years later. What can I say? I'm a fan...
The post Cary Grant Landed His Arsenic And Old Lace Role In An Unusual Way appeared first on /Film.
The post Cary Grant Landed His Arsenic And Old Lace Role In An Unusual Way appeared first on /Film.
- 7/15/2022
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Based on the play by Joseph Kesselring, Frank Capra's 1944 film version of "Arsenic and Old Lace" may be the director's darkest movie. Playing like a comedic version of Hitchcock, the film is about a pair of kindly old sisters named Abby and Marth (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) who occasionally take in lodgers for the night in their remote home. If the lodgers reveal themselves to be sad, lonely, unhappy old men, Abby and Martha take it upon themselves to poison them -- using elderberry wine -- as an act of mercy. They then employ their nephew Teddy (John Alexander) to bury the bodies...
The post Frank Capra's Directing Style Didn't Sit Well With Cary Grant appeared first on /Film.
The post Frank Capra's Directing Style Didn't Sit Well With Cary Grant appeared first on /Film.
- 7/8/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein today announced additional cast members for the Gala Benefit Reading of the beloved classic comedy Arsenic Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, directed by Mr. Silverstein featuring an all-star cast. The one night only event in celebration of Keen's 20th anniversary will take place Monday, February 24th at 7 Pm at Theatre Row 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues.
- 2/12/2020
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rogers Theatre where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.
- 6/26/2016
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Raymond Massey ca. 1940. Raymond Massey movies: From Lincoln to Boris Karloff Though hardly remembered today, the Toronto-born Raymond Massey was a top supporting player – and sometime lead – in both British and American movies from the early '30s all the way to the early '60s. During that period, Massey was featured in nearly 50 films. Turner Classic Movies generally selects the same old MGM / Rko / Warner Bros. stars for its annual “Summer Under the Stars” series. For that reason, it's great to see someone like Raymond Massey – who was with Warners in the '40s – be the focus of a whole day: Sat., Aug. 8, '15. (See TCM's Raymond Massey movie schedule further below.) Admittedly, despite his prestige – his stage credits included the title role in the short-lived 1931 Broadway production of Hamlet – the quality of Massey's performances varied wildly. Sometimes he could be quite effective; most of the time, however, he was an unabashed scenery chewer,...
- 8/8/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rogers Theatre where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.
- 6/26/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad are both in producer Otis Sallid's sights to star in a revival of playwright Joseph O. Kesselring's "Arsenic and Old Lace," as the Brewster sisters who are at the center of the narrative. Aiming for a 2015-2016 Broadway bow, Sallid tells Playbill: "For the last four years, I've been trying to get this production up and running. It's always hard to get Phylicia and Debbie on board for the same thing. I thought it would be a brilliant, brilliant idea to get Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad in a Broadway production of 'Arsenic and Old Lace.' They, at this point, have agreed to do it." So, the...
- 12/22/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rogers Theatre where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.
- 6/26/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
It was only a matter of time until someone optioned M. William Phelps' The Devil's Rooming House for the big (or little) screen. The story of America's most prolific female serial killer is far too fascinating to pass up, after all.
Deadline is reporting that Peter Facinelli's A7SLE Films has optioned The Devil's Rooming House for the screen. An adaptation of M. William Phelps' novel, it tells the story of Amy Archer-Gilligan, a nursing home administrator responsible for a series of poisonings between 1907 and 1917. According to the article, bulk arsenic buyer “Sister Amy” was eventually found guilty of murder, with her story serving as the basis for Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 play Arsenic and Old Lace.
A7SLE’s Rob DeFranco negotiated the deal with Matthew Valentinas for Phelps.
While it's too early to talk about casting, it'll be interesting watching this project take shape. More to come.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Deadline is reporting that Peter Facinelli's A7SLE Films has optioned The Devil's Rooming House for the screen. An adaptation of M. William Phelps' novel, it tells the story of Amy Archer-Gilligan, a nursing home administrator responsible for a series of poisonings between 1907 and 1917. According to the article, bulk arsenic buyer “Sister Amy” was eventually found guilty of murder, with her story serving as the basis for Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 play Arsenic and Old Lace.
A7SLE’s Rob DeFranco negotiated the deal with Matthew Valentinas for Phelps.
While it's too early to talk about casting, it'll be interesting watching this project take shape. More to come.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
- 11/20/2013
- by Matt Serafini
- DreadCentral.com
As we inch closer towards the release date of August: Osage County, the movie adaptation of Tracy Letts‘ Pulitzer winner starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and everyone else I’ve ever loved, it’s time to give props to a dying art: movie versions of great plays. I personally loved Rabbit Hole (2010), but was ultimately underwhelmed by Pulitzer-based films Doubt (2009) and the unbelievably awkward Carnage (2011). To preserve the legacy of kickass play adaptations, here are ten legendary examples of stage triumphs that translated wonderfully on celluloid.
10. Amadeus
This Academy Award-winning epic (161 minutes) has a dynamic Mozart in Tom Hulce, but it’s impossible to think about Amadeus without first recalling the gripping and one-of-a-kind work of F. Murray Abraham as his adversary Salieri. (Wow, those two words sounds too much alike.) Jealousy is arguably the most recurring theme in great theater, but the command and despair of Abraham...
10. Amadeus
This Academy Award-winning epic (161 minutes) has a dynamic Mozart in Tom Hulce, but it’s impossible to think about Amadeus without first recalling the gripping and one-of-a-kind work of F. Murray Abraham as his adversary Salieri. (Wow, those two words sounds too much alike.) Jealousy is arguably the most recurring theme in great theater, but the command and despair of Abraham...
- 10/3/2013
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rogers Theatre where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.
- 6/26/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Today in 1986, Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rogers Theatre where it ran for 221 performances. Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.
- 6/26/2012
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
From vampires to zombies to werewolves, now witches. Variety is reporting that Warner Bros is adapting a novel called A Discovery of Witches, written by Deborah Harkness, and they've lined up quite a prolific writer to take on the task. Playwright David Auburn, winner Joseph Kesselring Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Drama Desk Award, and the Tony Award for "Proof", has been hired to adapt the script for WB. The studio acquired the rights to adapt the film last year, and has producers Denise Di Novi (Crazy Stupid Love, Nights in Rodanthe, The Lucky One) and Allison Greenspan developing the project. Sounds fascinating. A Discovery of Witches, the first in the All Souls Trilogy, which is of course a key component to this project's development at the studio, was published in 2011 by Deborah Harkness, her first her first work of fiction. "A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic...
- 1/10/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Look up on that marquee. Whose name do you see? László Löwenstein! Then you shake your head and wonder, “Who is László Löwenstein?” To film audiences around the world and until the day he died, he was known as Peter Lorre, one of my favorite actors and sadly not enough people know him apart from the Looney Tunes caricature that, while pretty brilliant, doesn’t show a fraction of his acting ability.
Today is a special day because his birthday is June 26th and he would be a ripe 106 years old. So here at the Criterion Cast, I would like to share with you my top 10 Peter Lorre films that I just absolutely adore. This isn’t a definitive list, so if you have any suggestions yourself, please list them down below in the comments section.
10. The Raven (1963)/ The Comedy of Terrors (1964)
Are these great films? Not at all, to be honest.
Today is a special day because his birthday is June 26th and he would be a ripe 106 years old. So here at the Criterion Cast, I would like to share with you my top 10 Peter Lorre films that I just absolutely adore. This isn’t a definitive list, so if you have any suggestions yourself, please list them down below in the comments section.
10. The Raven (1963)/ The Comedy of Terrors (1964)
Are these great films? Not at all, to be honest.
- 6/27/2010
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films, as ranked by the users of the biggest movie Internet site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of The Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Barry) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our eighteenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project. Again another week of great...
It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Barry) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.
This is our eighteenth update, a rundown of my next five movies watched for the project. Again another week of great...
- 5/24/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Rs 399.00 Shipping Time: in 7 days Shipping Region: India Shipping Cost: Rs.35 Colour/B&W: B&W Dearcinema Recommends
Based on Joseph Kesselring’s play, the black comedy is about a drama critic (Cary Grant) who must cope with his bizarre extended family on his wedding day, including his two spinster aunts who have an unusual habit of poisoning lonely old men.A filmmaker who effectively captured the mood of America going through the depression, he made movies which were immensely popular both with the masses and the classes. A creative tsunami behind films like It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) And It's A Wonderful Life (1946), he knew the pulse of a nation, rather a planet.
Based on Joseph Kesselring’s play, the black comedy is about a drama critic (Cary Grant) who must cope with his bizarre extended family on his wedding day, including his two spinster aunts who have an unusual habit of poisoning lonely old men.A filmmaker who effectively captured the mood of America going through the depression, he made movies which were immensely popular both with the masses and the classes. A creative tsunami behind films like It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) And It's A Wonderful Life (1946), he knew the pulse of a nation, rather a planet.
- 12/26/2009
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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