Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Written by: Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein

Directed by: Frank Capra

What it's about: Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) must deal with his eccentric family, including his aunts Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair), who poison lonely bachelors with arsenic, and his homicidal brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey), whose face has been mangled by a drunk plastic surgeon.

Warner Bros. / Via screendrift.tumblr.com

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Written by: Robert Hamer and John Dighton

Directed by: Robert Hamer

What it's about: Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) vows to avenge his mother after she is disowned by her aristocratic family, the D'Ascoynes. Louis begins to off members of the family, all played by Alec Guinness, one by one, until he finally becomes the duke — shortly before he's charged and convicted of murder.

Criterion / Via smallnartless.tumblr.com

All About Eve (1950)

Written by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

What it's about: Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) has just turned 40 and worries about the future of her career. She meets Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), who purports to be a fan, but turns out to be an incredibly ambitious actor who forces her way into Margo's life and eventually becomes an even bigger success.

20th Century Fox / Via damnafricawhathappened.tumblr.com

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Written by: Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

What it's about: In the war room, President Merkin Muffley of the United States (Peter Sellers) and his advisers — including General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) and Dr. Strangelove (Sellers) — debate a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union that will bring about a nuclear apocalypse.

Columbia Pictures / Via jacknicholson.tumblr.com

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