Spikeopath Murder on a Honeymoon is directed by Lloyd Corrigan and adapted to screenplay by Robert Benchley and Seton I. Miller from the novel The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree written by Stuart Palmer. It stars Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane and George Meeker. Music is by Alberto Colombo and cinematography by Nick Musuraca.During a flight to Catalina Island a passenger falls sick and dies. Hildegard Withers (Oliver) smells a rat but has trouble convincing the authorities that murder is evident. Help is on the way, though, in the shape of Hildegard's side-kick, Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason).The third and last outing for Oliver as fun crime solver Hildegard Withers, Murder on a Honeymoon gets in and does a grand job for entertainment purpose. The by-play between Oliver and Gleason is very precious, harking back to a cinematic time when actors attacked their roles with brio, and here the actors are helped by having humourist Benchley at the writing table. The mystery element is strong, and this even though we only have a small group of suspects, while the big reveal is a genuine surprise as the plot twists into crafty avenues.Phsyical froth meets murder mystery shenanigans. Nice. 7/10

arthursranch This, and Penguin Pool Murder, are just plain fun and pleasant. Both are well written, surprisingly well photographed and edited. As I get older, I like less drama and more mystery, and more characters. Not a bad format for a TV mystery, like a light-hearted Columbo.I did not have an appreciation of James Gleason until viewing these two. He is often a minor character actor as is Edna May Oliver (sometimes Mae). Both fare very well as lead actors. It was fun to see a younger Leo G Carroll.These old movies give one a glimpse of early 1930's America, although perhaps an inaccurate one (it was Depression time). Murder on a Honeymoon shows Catalina Island offshore of Los Angeles in 1935 and of travel/commute by seaplane. It hasn't changed much except that the seaplanes are gone.

csteidler Murder on a Honeymoon opens aboard a seaplane flying several passengers out to a vacation destination: it's a neat opening scene that sets the plot in motion with a murder and introduces us to all of the suspects as well. Among those passengers is Hildegarde Withers, played one more time by the great Edna May Oliver, who is a bit sick during the flight but recovers nicely when the plane lands and it is discovered that a fellow passenger is dead.James Gleason returns as Inspector Oscar Piper; it seems the murdered man was involved in a case his department is on, so he hops a flight himself and quickly joins his old collaborator Miss Withers. ("Hildegarde, you get screwier every day" is practically the first thing he says to her when they meet, thus quickly re-establishing their outwardly adversarial, genuinely affectionate personal relationship.) Good photography—both of island scenes and in some atmospheric shadowy night shots—adds sparkle to a script that neatly balances comic banter with murder. A solid supporting cast features Leo G. Carroll as a big shot movie director (who carries a flask with two compartments in it—one containing the good booze he drinks, one stocked with the cheap stuff he shares with others) and Lola Lane as an aspiring actress hoping to catch his eye.Overall, the suspense is a bit more taut, the solution more surprising than in the two previous Withers-Piper pictures; it's a top-notch B mystery. Oliver, especially, is at her very best, especially when dealing with those who underestimate her—for example, the local police chief and doctor, who are beginning the murder investigation while still in their bathing suits: "Don't try to be impressive in that rig, my man," Miss Withers snaps when one attempts brusqueness. "You can't frighten me until you've put on your trousers."

Michael_Elliott Murder on a Honeymoon (1935) *** (out of 4) Third film in the series has Edna May Oliver returning as Hildegarde Withers, the school teacher who once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. While on vacation Withers and Inspector Piper (James Gleason) investigate the murder of a man on an airplane who at first just got violently sick but then ended up dying. There's no question that this third film is a step down from PENGUIN POOL MURDER and MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD but thanks to the leads its still worth watching. Once again we get Oliver and Gleason working perfectly together and coming up with some terrific comic timing as well as that wonderful chemistry that only they could deliver. The screenplay gives both of them plenty of banter towards the other but it also has them working even better together as the majority of the laughs take a backseat to the actual mystery being unfolded. I think the story here is a fairly good one but the biggest problem with the screenplay is that it really doesn't come up with very many good supporting characters. WE have the idiot cop on the island who can't do a thing right. We have an uptight director, a couple on their honeymoon and we even have one woman who will stop at nothing to become an actress. None of these characters really stood out, although I will admit that Lola Lane was extremely easy on the eyes as the actress. Gleason once again steals the film as the cigar-chomping Inspector who is always almost right but always needs that added help to get anything done. Corrigan's direction gets things done well enough but it doesn't contain that ultimate punch to keep things moving as well as they should and I do think he should have done a little more visually. With that said, this entry is still a good one and fans of these types of pictures should find themselves entertained. This is, of course, due in large part to Oliver and Gleason.