Arsenic and Old Lace (film) that the deep theme of the play and film is the conflict in American history between the liberty to do anything (which the Brewsters demand), and America's bloody hidden past. The contemporary critical reviews were uniformly positive. "The New York Times" critic summed up the majority view, "As a whole, "Arsenic and Old Lace", the Warner picture which came to the Strand yesterday, is good macabre fun." "Variety" declared, "Capra's production, not elaborate, captures the color and spirit of the play, while the able writing team of Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein has turned in a very workable, tightly-compressed
Old Lace (comics) could not give commands to Gert in the same fashion. Old Lace was unconditionally loyal to Gert, even to the point of fighting against the team; Old Lace once lashed out at Nico without Gert's orders when Gert and Nico had their brief falling out. Gert and Old Lace's empathic bond allows them to share more than just thoughts, but physical pain as well. If Gertrude were to be hurt, Old Lace would feel the pain and vice versa. This is the reason why in "Runaways" volume 2, issue 7, Gert refuses to fight Swarm because she is allergic to