When Arsenic and Old Lace opened January 10, 1941 on Broadway the critics raved about the show. The New York Times proclaimed it, "swift, dry, satirical and exciting. Arsenic and Old Lace kept the first-night audience roaring with laughter," and the Sun's critic stated "you wouldn't believe (that) mania could be so funny."

If you're not swayed by the critics, consider this: Arsenic and Old Lace ran for 1444 performances over a three year period on Broadway... and it ran for over 1300 performances in London's West End. This was during the London Blitz of the Second World War, making it one tough show to beat! Today (over 50 years later) Arsenic and Old Lace is considered a classic as it has played in many different languages throughout the world.

Cary Grant Serves Arsenic at the Box Office

If you didn't get to see Arsenic and Old Lace on Broadway you may remember Frank Capra's 1944 screen adaptation starring Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster. Other notable names involved with Arsenic are Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Canadian born Raymond Massey (Dr. Kildare, How the West was Won) and Josephine Hull. Like the Broadway original, the film was a blockbuster success, and was recently named one of the 30 best comedies of all time by the American Film Institute.