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
Lavender and Old Lace Lavender and Old Lace Lavender and Old Lace is an Edwardian romance novel written by Myrtle Reed and published in September 1902. It tells the story of some remarkable women, each of whom has a unique experience with love. The book follows in Reed’s long history of inciting laughter and tears in her readers through provocative prose. She was often witty in dialogue and dispensing in advice, while gingerly skirting any moral issues. Miss Jane Hathaway is an astute pillar of a quaint coastal community, where her house sets atop a hill. She has long overcome the scandal created by