Off the top of my head, I can only think of two words to describe this film: Comedic Masterpiece. It truly deserves the label of “Classic Film”. The combination of Frank Capra’s focused and seamless directing, Cary Grant’s rapid-fire line delivery and animated facial expressions, and a wonderfully humorous script from Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein (which was based on the play of the same name by Joseph Kesselring) result in a hilarious tale of insanity (literally).
The story focuses on Cary Grant’s character of Mortimer Brewster, an eternal bachelor who has finally decided to get married (on Halloween, of all days). As he stops over at his aunts’ house to visit them before his honeymoon, he learns that they’ve been killing lonely old men and having Mortimer’s brother Teddy bury them down in the cellar. All at once, Mortimer’s world is knocked upside down. Now he has to figure out what to do about his aunts and brother and get back to his bride in time for the honeymoon to start. And to complicate matters, Mortimer’s other brother, Jonathan has arrived with a creepy new associate (played by Peter Lorre) and a corpse of his own.
But this isn’t some dark, macabre tragedy. It’s a comedy. Mortimer’s aunts only kill the old men because the men have no other family and the ladies think that they’re performing a “charity” for them. Teddy believes himself to be President Theodore Roosevelt and the graves that he digs are the “locks” in his own little Panama Canal. It’s bizarre, and yet very funny. Trust me, it is.
Frank Capra’s directing is excellent. It doesn’t get too focused on spectacle or waste the audience’s time. Capra has a story to tell and he tells it beautifully. And the film’s pacing is great. The film is roughly two hours long, but it flows so smoothly and quickly, that you don’t ever feel your attention waning. In my opinion, that’s the mark of a great director.
Then there’s Cary Grant. The man both carries and steals the show. Grant’s portrayal of Mortimer had me in stitches! Every moment that he was on screen was brilliant! His physical performance and facial expressions were so huge and over the top, they’d make Tex Avery jealous! On top of that, he would fire off lines of dialogue like a machine gun. If you like the speedy dialogue of Sportsnight, Gilmore Girls, or The West Wing, I highly recommend that you check out Grant’s performance. Even when he mumbled he was hilarious!
But Grant’s isn’t the only great performance. Everyone added something and all were completely committed to their roles. It was wonderful to behold. John Alexander made you believe that he genuinely thought he was Teddy Roosevelt and watching him charge up the stairs (you have to see it) every time was a blast!
Josephine Hull and Jean Adair perfectly conveyed a sense of kindness and naiveté as Mortimer’s aunts…who poison lonely old men…and then give them a Christian burial…in the cellar. You’d love to have them as your own aunts (except for the whole poisoning part).
As for Peter Lorre’s character of Doctor Einstein, You really feel sorry for him. Lorre plays him as a man stuck between a rock and a hard place. He doesn’t want to kill people or help Jonathan kill them, but he has no choice.
And you can’t forget the cops. First, there’s the Rookie whose aspirations of becoming a playwright seem to get in the way of his police-work. Then there’s the Seasoned Veteran who must constantly work to keep the rookie in line. And lastly, there’s the Captain who’s been hunting Jonathan since his escape from prison. Their interactions with Mortimer and Teddy are some of the funnier moments of the film.
I could go on and on describing parts of the story and attempting to retell jokes that you really need to see to enjoy, but I won’t. I’ll just tell you watch the film. I don’t care how you obtain it (but I would prefer that you use legal methods), just watch it. You won’t regret it.
