Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The aunts believe they are performing an act of charity by poisoning lonely old men with arsenic-laced elderberry wine. They think they are freeing these men from their suffering by giving them a peaceful death, then burying them in the cellar. This 'hobby' has claimed thirteen victims by the time Mortimer discovers their secret.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, the aunts are shown as warm, doting relatives who keep a tidy house and serve wine to their 'roomers,' establishing their seemingly benign facade.

• aunts
• murders
• charity
• poison
• elderberry wine
• motive

Mortimer discovers that Teddy, his delusional younger brother who believes he is President Theodore Roosevelt, has been unknowingly helping conceal the aunts' crimes by burying bodies in the cellar. To protect the aunts from discovery and prevent Teddy from accidentally exposing the murders, Mortimer attempts to have Teddy legally declared insane and committed to an asylum.

Foreshadowing: Teddy's repeated charges up the stairs, shouting 'Charge!' while blowing his bugle, establish his disconnect from reality early on.

• Teddy
• Happy Dale
• asylum
• mental institution
• commitment

Jonathan Brewster is Mortimer's older brother, a notorious serial killer with at least twelve murders to his name. He arrives at the house with his accomplice Dr. Einstein, who has surgically altered Jonathan's face while drunk, giving him a monstrous appearance. Jonathan plans to kill Mortimer to prevent him from exposing his crimes and to hide his latest victim, Mr. Spenalzo.

• Jonathan
• serial killer
• Dr. Einstein
• murder
• criminal

Dr. Einstein, Jonathan's alcoholic accomplice, attempted to perform plastic surgery on Jonathan while drunk. The botched operation left Jonathan with a grotesque, Frankenstein-like appearance that serves as a dark mirror to the aunts' own murders. This grotesque transformation makes Jonathan even more menacing when he arrives at the house.

Foreshadowing: The film hints at Jonathan's violent history through references to his Wanted posters and reputation as a dangerous fugitive.

• Einstein
• plastic surgery
• botched operation
• face
• appearance

The aunts bury the poisoned men in the cellar after killing them with arsenic-laced elderberry wine. They consider this a merciful act and keep the bodies hidden beneath the family home. Teddy, believing he is Theodore Roosevelt working on the Panama Canal, helps transport the bodies and actually thinks he is burying yellow fever victims, which further obscures the crime.

Foreshadowing: The aunts keep an unusually tidy house and cellar, maintaining an outward appearance of normalcy despite the macabre activities happening beneath the floorboards.

• bodies
• cellar
• burial
• yellow fever
• Teddy

By the time Mortimer discovers their secret, Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha have murdered thirteen lonely old bachelors. They lured victims with a 'Room for Rent' sign, served them poisoned elderberry wine, and buried them in the cellar, a body count that shocks even the hardened criminal Jonathan Brewster.

Foreshadowing: The eerie cheerfulness of the aunts when Mortimer visits, combined with their oddly hospitable nature toward 'roomers,' hints at their deadly hospitality.

• victims
• body count
• thirteen
• murders
• elders

Officer O'Hara arrives at the house after neighbors complain about Teddy's loud bugle blasts, which sound like gunfire or other disturbances. He becomes confused when he witnesses strange events unfolding, eventually mistaking the entire chaotic situation for an elaborate play or performance. His presence adds comedic tension as he attempts to understand what is happening.

Foreshadowing: Teddy's repeated bugle charges throughout the film establish the noise complaint that inevitably draws police attention.

• O'Hara
• police
• officer
• noise complaint
• bugle

Teddy Brewster believes he is President Theodore Roosevelt leading the charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. He dresses in costume, carries a toy bugle, and charges up and down the stairs shouting 'Charge!' This delusion makes him unable to recognize the gravity of the actual murders happening in his home, as he interprets the body burials as part of his yellow fever cure mission at the Panama Canal.

Foreshadowing: Teddy's first appearance establishes his presidential persona immediately, with his bugle and heroic posturing setting the tone for his throughout the film.

• Teddy
• Theodore Roosevelt
• delusion
• San Juan Hill
• bugle

No, Mortimer is not a true Brewster by blood. The aunts reveal at the end that his mother was the family cook and his father was a chef on a steamship. This means Mortimer has no biological connection to the Brewster family, despite being raised by Abby and Martha. The revelation gives him a sense of outsider status within his own family history.

• Mortimer
• lineage
• birth
• family secret
• cook
• chef

Jonathan is arrested by Lieutenant Rooney after the police discover the thirteen bodies buried in the cellar and recognize Jonathan from Wanted posters as an escapee from an Indiana mental asylum. Dr. Einstein escapes after signing the aunts' commitment papers, fleeing the house while the chaos unfolds. Neither criminal faces the fate they intended for Mortimer.

Foreshadowing: Einstein's earlier mocking of the aunts' body count and Jonathan's threat to kill Mortimer set up their ultimate comeuppance.

• Jonathan
• Einstein
• arrested
• escape
• police
• Rooney

Despite learning about the aunts' murders, his brother's criminal background, and his own questionable lineage, Mortimer decides to proceed with his marriage to Elaine. He chooses to leave the madness behind and take Elaine on their planned honeymoon to Niagara Falls, literally whisking her away from the macabre situation with a kiss. His love for her persists despite the family's dark secrets.

Foreshadowing: Mortimer's initial resistance to marriage and his description of it as an 'old-fashioned superstition' contrast with his ultimate commitment to Elaine despite everything.

• Elaine
• marriage
• honeymoon
• love
• Niagara Falls

The aunts avoid traditional legal consequences for their crimes. Instead of being arrested, they accompany Teddy to Happy Dale asylum, where they will live together as a family unit. This resolution treats their fate as a whimsical, almost happy ending rather than a tragic one, fitting the farcical tone of the film.

Foreshadowing: The aunts' cheerful acceptance of their 'charity' work and their insistence on protecting family suggest they would face an unconventional fate.

• aunts
• consequences
• asylum
• happy ending
• family