Arsenic And Old Lace
Beginning with acts such as Abbott and
Costello, and episodes of "I Love
Lucy," humor is often the result of a
misunderstanding. In the movie,
"Arsenic and Old Lace," the plot combines
murder and insanity.
"Arsenic and Old Lace," seemingly outlines a mystery or
drama, however
with the addition of misunderstanding, it becomes a comedy.
The humor is drawn
from the characters' relationships with one another as
well as the characters
themselves, being misunderstood. The movie centers on
two sisters, Abby and
Martha, and their nephew Mortimer. The
misunderstanding lies between the sisters
and the townspeople. Abby and
Martha are known as sweet, kind, and charitable,
however, the town is
oblivious to the sisters' hobby of poisoning old men and
burying them in
their cellar. There is even a misunderstanding with the sisters
themselves,
as they see nothing wrong with what they do, and make no attempt to
hide it.
Yet, the humor of the movie is when their nephew, Mortimer, finds the
bodies,
and is quite flustered to discover how his aunts treat it with
such
nonchalance. Humor is also found in the misunderstanding between
Mortimer and
his Brewster family. Throughout the entire movie, Mortimer finds
himself ashamed
of his Brewster name. He discovers that his aunts keep twelve
bodies in the
basement. Mortimer also receives a visit from his lunatic
brother John, who,
like his aunts, murders people. While Mortimer discovers
more about his insane
family, he still must deal with his brother Theodore,
who believes that he is
President Roosevelt. Finally, Mortimer commits
his brother Theodore along with
his aunts to an insane asylum. The humor in
this scene is at the very end of the
movie when Mortimer finds out from his
aunts that he is not really a Brewster,
rather a son of a sea boat captain.
"Arsenic and Old Lace," is not the
typical comedy, yet contains all of the
elements necessary to fit into the humor
genre. The idea of being
misunderstood is one so common; it has appeared in many
films, both drama and
comedy. "Arsenic and Old Lace" contains a plot
that is unique. The movie's
ideas alone are common, yet together they mix an
unusual blend of humor.