History Theatre / ArsenicAndOldLace

Then the third Brewster brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious [[RuleofThree (and likely insane)]] murderer who harbours an intense dislike for Mortimer; with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], he plans to fulfill a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of victims in one fell swoop -- ''just'' as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he currently looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some room in the cellar...

Then the third Brewster brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious [[RuleofThree (and likely insane)]] murderer who harbours an intense dislike for Mortimer; with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], he plans to fulfill a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- ''just'' as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he currently looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some room in the cellar...

** The comments about Jonathan looking like Boris Karloff in the play--Creator/BorisKarloff originated the role on the stage. In fact, the only reason Karloff didn't play the role in the film was that he couldn't get out of his contract playing that role in the Broadway production. The producers of the play were worried ticket sales would drop if they lost their big-name star, even for a short time.

Since all, or almost all, of the bad things that his family does are directly related to a type of [[ItRunsInTheFamily hereditary madness]], Mortimer has to try to keep Abby and Martha out of trouble even as [[UnusualEuphemism "Yellow Fever victims"]] start piling up in the cellar, buried there by Mortimer's transparently insane older brother Teddy (who strongly resembles, and thinks he ''is'', [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt the late President by that nickname]]). Attempting to keep Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon, as well as trying to avoid one of the neighbourhood cops, Officer O'Hara, an amateur dramatist who ''really'' wants Mortimer to review his play.

Then the third Brewster brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious [[RuleofThree (and likely insane)]] murderer who harbours an intense dislike for Mortimer; with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], he plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- ''just'' as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he currently looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some room in the cellar...

* BetterThanABareBulb: Thanks to being a theater critic, Mortimer's dialogue is sprinkled with references to how characters in plays act or ought to act in various situations, which are of course precisely applicable to the situations he finds himself in. Unfortunately, [[GenreBlindness he doesn't realize that he, himself, is a character in a play.]]

** Another radio version, performed on the program ''Best Plays'' in 1952, can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiW7F56V4NI&t=4s here]].

** Another audio version, perfomed by the radio program ''Best Plays'', can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiW7F56V4NI&t=4s here]].

** ''The Screen Guild Theater'' aired a radio adaptation in 1946, starring Creator/EddieAlbert as Mortimer and Creator/BorisKarloff as Jonathan.
** Another audio version, perfomed by the radio program ''Best Plays'', can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiW7F56V4NI&t=4s here]]

* AudioAdaptation: Perfomed by the radio program "Best Plays" can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiW7F56V4NI&t=4s here]]

Since all, or almost all, of the bad things that his family does are directly related to [[ItRunsInTheFamily hereditary madness]], Mortimer has to try to keep Abby and Martha out of trouble even as [[UnusualEuphemism "Yellow Fever victims"]] start piling up in the cellar, buried there by his blatantly insane older brother Teddy (who strongly resembles, and thinks he ''is'', [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt the late President by that nickname]]). Attempting to keep Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon, as well as trying to avoid one of the neighbourhood cops, Officer O'Hara, an amateur dramatist who ''really'' wants Mortimer to review his play.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The aunts have this in regards to their actions. Killing lonely old men is an act of charity, but burying a foreigner next to a Methodist just cannot be done, and one aunt is [[FauxHorrific horrified]] that Mortimer would accuse them of ''telling a fib!''

* WrongGenreSavvy: Played for laughs-- Mortimer is an expert in theater tropes and [[DiscussedTrope continually comments]] on how things would turn out if he were actually in a play and trapped in a house with murderers... happily ignoring the fact that that's exactly what's going on.

Theatre critic Mortimer Brewster doesn't realize it, but he is the [[OnlySaneMan most normal]] member of his family. As the action opens, he has decided to surprise his family with his marriage, and shows up with his new bride Elaine at his aunts' house in [[BigApplesauce Brooklyn]]. Unfortunately, no sooner is he ensconced in their parlor than Mortimer accidentally uncovers the dark secret of the Brewster insanity; his two sweet old aunts, Abby and Martha, like serving homemade elderberry wine to lonely old men... and sometimes put arsenic in it. ''Twelve'' times, to be precise.

* ForWantOfANail: In the backstory, if the first tenant the aunts took in hadn't had a heart attack and died, they never would have been inspired to become serial killers. In the story proper, if Reverend Harper hadn't come over for tea, meaning Abby had to hide the body of her latest victim in the window seat rather than in the cellar, and if Mortimer hadn't later opened that window seat by chance, the whole plot would have gone very differently.

Then the third Brewster brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious [[RuleofThree (and likely insane)]] murderer who harbours an intense dislike for Mortimer; with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], he plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- ''just'' as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some room in the cellar...

** Poor Dr. Einstein's alcoholism is a running gag throughout, and seems to have been a deliberate, clever device to heighten suspense whenever the elderberry wine is within reach. It's also partly responsible for Jonathan's ghastly appearance.

* RunningGag: Let's see, there's Teddy's bugle playing (and charging), the constantly disappearing and reappearing body in the window seat, Elaine misunderstanding Mortimer's behavior, the cabby and his ever-escalating fare, Dr. Einstein's drinking, everyone trying to get Mortimer to review their plays, the obliviousness of the police, who's "going to Happy Dale"...

Since all, or almost all, of the bad things that his family does are directly related to [[ItRunsInTheFamily hereditary madness]], Mortimer has to try to keep them out of trouble even as [[UnusualEuphemism "Yellow Fever victims"]] start piling up in the cellar, buried there by his blatantly insane older brother Teddy (who strongly resembles, and thinks he ''is'', [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt the late President by that nickname]]). Attempting to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon, as well as trying to avoid one of the neighbourhood cops, Officer O'Hara, an amateur dramatist who ''really'' wants Mortimer to review his play.

Since all, or almost all, of the bad things that his family does are directly related to [[ItRunsInTheFamily hereditary madness]], Mortimer has to try to keep them out of trouble even as [[UnusualEuphemism "Yellow Fever victims"]] start piling up in the cellar, buried there by his blatantly insane older brother Teddy (who strongly resembles, and thinks he ''is'', [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt the late President by that nickname]]). Attempting to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon, as well trying to avoid one of the neighbourhood cops, Officer O'Hara, an amateur dramatist who ''really'' wants Mortimer to review his play.

Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an intense dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- ''just'' as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some space in the cellar...

Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some space in the cellar...

Theatre critic Mortimer Brewster doesn't realize it, but he is the [[OnlySaneMan most normal]] member of his family. As the action opens, he has decided to surprise his family with his marriage, and shows up with his new bride Elaine at his aunts' house in [[BigApplesauce Brooklyn]].

Unfortunately, no sooner is he ensconced in their parlor than Mortimer accidentally uncovers the dark secret of the Brewster insanity; his two sweet old aunts, Abby and Martha, like serving homemade elderberry wine to lonely old men... and sometimes put arsenic in it. Since all, or almost all, of the bad things his family does are directly related to [[ItRunsInTheFamily hereditary madness]], Mortimer has to try to keep them out of trouble even as [[UnusualEuphemism "Yellow Fever victims"]] start piling up in the cellar, buried there by his blatantly insane older brother Teddy (who strongly resembles, and thinks he ''is'', [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt the late President by that nickname]]).

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate [[CharacterNameAlias 'Dr. Einstein']], plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some space in the cellar...

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate Dr. Einstein, plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's still some space in the cellar...

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate Dr. Einstein, plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking the fact that (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) [[BerserkButton he looks like Boris Karloff.]] Good thing there's plenty of room in the cellar...

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road and fends off all her attempts to set off on their honeymoon. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate Dr. Einstein, plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking his current resemblance (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) to Boris Karloff. Good thing there's plenty of room in the cellar...

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate Dr. Einstein, plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of Jonathan's latest victim, Mr. Spinalzo, who made the fatal error of mocking his current resemblance (thanks to the aforementioned plastic surgery) to Boris Karloff. Good thing there's plenty of room in the cellar...

Trying to keep his bride Elaine in the dark while also keeping her safe, Mortimer stuffs her back into her old room in her father's home across the road. Then his ''other'' older brother, Jonathan, returns after a long exile and some plastic surgery... and things get truly dangerous. Because Jonathan is a vicious murderer/possible serial killer who harbours an ''intense'' dislike for Mortimer and, with the extremely unwilling aid of his associate Dr. Einstein, plans to fulfil a childhood dream and add Mortimer to his tally of kills in one fell swoop -- just as soon as they figure out to do with the body of their late and unlamented associate Mr. Spinalzo. Good thing there's plenty of room in the cellar...