What is the story of Arsenic and Old Lace?

Writer and notorious marriage detractor Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) falls for girl-next-door Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), and they tie the knot on Halloween. When the newlyweds return to their respective family homes to deliver the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in a window seat. With his eccentric aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), disturbed uncle (John Alexander), and homicidal brother (Raymond Massey), he starts to realize that his family is even crazier than he thought.
Arsenic and Old Lace/Film synopsis

Is Boris Karloff in Arsenic and Old Lace?

Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 American black comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant. Capra had also approached Jack Benny and Richard Travis before learning that Grant would accept the role. On the Broadway stage, Boris Karloff played Jonathan Brewster, who is said to “look like Boris Karloff”.

Who played Arsenic and Old Lace on Broadway?

Boris Karloff
It starred Boris Karloff, recreating his stage role as homicidal maniac Jonathan Brewster. Helen Hayes and Billie Burke played his not-so-innocent aunts, Abby and Martha. Peter Lorre and Edward Everett Horton repeated their roles as Dr. Einstein and Mr.

What happens to Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace?

Just then, Lieutenant Rooney bursts in and recognizes Jonathan as an escapee from a prison for the criminally insane. He was an illegitimate child and thus can marry Elaine without fear of passing the Brewster insanity on to his children.

Where do they hide the poison in Arsenic and Old Lace?

It gets worse. Newly-married Mortimer Brewster visits his two aunts in Brooklyn. To everyone they are sweet, generous, caring old ladies but Mortimer soon discovers that they are serial killers. What’s worse, the body of their latest victim is hidden in a chest in their living room, where anyone could find it.

What is the climax of Arsenic and Old Lace?

Climax: The police arrive in time to save Mortimer and end up in a brawl with Jonathan, who takes offense when one of them claims “he looks like Boris Karloff.” The police chief takes Jonathan into custody after realizing he’s a wanted man.

Why is arsenic harmful to humans?

Breathing in high levels of arsenic can cause a sore throat and irritated lungs. Swallowing high levels of arsenic can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness and cramping, skin rashes, and other problems. Exposure to high enough amounts of arsenic can be fatal.

Who is the antagonist in Arsenic and Old Lace?

Abby and Martha Brewster are two central antagonists in the stage-show and movie Arsenic and Old Lace.

How many people died in Arsenic and Old Lace?

It’s estimated that at least 20 people, and some estimate as many as 100, including her husbands, died by her hand. Yet, 20 years after her crimes were revealed, a playwright, Joseph Kesselring, would find it all terribly funny, and pen a comedy destined to become a classic – “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

What is the main conflict of Arsenic and Old Lace?

Even though the story revolves around the premise of the aunts’ mercy killings, the central conflict is with Jonathan. Without Jonathan’s arrival as the primary antagonist, there would be few to no real obstacles between Mortimer and his goal of protecting his aunts and committing Teddy.

When did arsenic and Old Lace come out?

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.

What is the natural history of metallic arsenic?

Natural History. The white oxide of Metallic Arsenic. AS2 O3. Solution and trituration. Clinical. Abscess. Acne rosacea. Alcoholism. Amenorrhoea. Anaemia. Aphthae. Asthma. Atrophy. Bronchitis.

Why are there 12 bodies in the basement in Arsenic and Old Lace?

Capra scholar, Matthew C. Gunter, argues that the deep theme of both the play and film is America’s difficulty in coming to grips with both the positive and negative consequences of the liberty it professes to uphold, and which the Brewsters demand. Although their house is the nicest in the street, there are 12 bodies in the basement.

Who are the characters in Arsenic and Old Lace?

Jean Adair, Josephine Hull and Cary Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace. Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant), a writer who has repeatedly denounced marriage as “an old fashioned superstition”, falls in love with Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane), the minister’s daughter who grew up next door to him. On Halloween day, Mortimer and Elaine marry.