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
Arras lace old patterns. Arras lace Arras lace refers to a form of pure white bobbin lace that was made at Arras, France, from the 17th to 19th centuries. It is similar to, but stronger than Lille lace. Arras also produced gold lace and a lightweight lace called mignonette. "Orris" is another term for gold or silver bobbin lace, derived from the word Arras. The lace of Arras reached its peak during 1804 to 1812 and then declined. In 1851, there were 8,000 lace-makers in a radius of eight miles round the city. By 1881, only one house was making a speciality