Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) -
as Jonathan: Replaced Boris Karloff, who was not released from his stage contract for the film.
: Mortimer’s brother who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt and is busy "digging the Panama Canal" (burying the aunts' victims) in the cellar.
The story follows (Cary Grant), a drama critic and famous bachelor who finally gets married on Halloween. When he returns to his family’s ancestral Brooklyn home to tell his aunts—the sweet and seemingly charitable Abby and Martha —the news, he makes a grisly discovery: a dead body hidden in the window seat. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
as Abby and Martha: Both actresses reprised their roles from the smash-hit Broadway play.
: Mortimer’s sociopathic, escaped-convict brother who has undergone botch plastic surgery (by the alcoholic Dr. Einstein ) that makes him look like horror icon Boris Karloff. Cast and Characters as Jonathan: Replaced Boris Karloff, who was not
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 features a mix of Hollywood stars and original Broadway cast members: When he returns to his family’s ancestral Brooklyn
: Based on the 1939 play by Joseph Kesselring, the film retains a fast-talking, door-slamming energy that keeps the 118-minute runtime moving at a breakneck pace.