Review of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) by Adrian Z — 14 Nov 2012

Frank Capra also did black comedies! Crant is frantically funny as a writer who disovers his aunts have been murdering lonely male visitors and burying them in the basement with the help of a loon who thinks he's Teddy Roosvelt (Alexander).

Complications abound as a long lost brother (Massey) who happens to be criminally insane, escapes the law and tries to hide out with in the same house. The performances are all delightful; Peter Lorre as Massey's accomplice, John Alexander, but most of all Josephine Hull and Jean Adair as the genuinely "lovely" aunts.

Also, funny script based on a theatrical play (which explains why most of the movie is shot in one set).