hwg1957-102-265704 A good mystery story based on the novel by Stuart Palmer and directed by George Archainbaud. A school teacher and a police inspector join forces to discover the murder of a man found dead in a penguin pool at an aquarium. It moves at a good pace with salty dialogue and able acting leading to the final courtroom revelation. Only seventy minutes but worth every minute.Playing the school teacher turned detective Hildegarde Withers for the first time (two further films followed with her in the lead) Edna May Oliver is perfectly cast. Not quite the prim school teacher she appears to be, Oliver gives the character depth and feeling. Supporting her as the police inspector is James Gleason, irascible at first but grows in admiration for Miss Withers. The beautiful Mae Clarke is wasted as the wife of the murder victim. In minor but effective roles are Edgar Kennedy, Rochelle Hudson and Gustav von Seyffertitz. (Great name!)There were six Hildegarde Withers films in the thirties and one TV film in the seventies. Hopefully the other films are as good as this.

Michael_Elliott Penguin Pool Murder (1932) *** (out of 4) The first film in RKO's Hildegarde Withers series features Edna May Oliver in the role who teams up with Inspector Piper (James Gleason) to try and find the murderer of a stockbroker whose body turned up in a penguin pool. Suspects includes the man's wife (Mae Clarke), her former lover (Donald Cook) and even the aquarium owner (Clarence Wilson). Oliver was one of the most colorful supporting players from this era of Hollywood so this series, which has sadly been forgotten, at least gave people the opportunity to see her in a leading role. There's no question that a lot of the film's magic is due to her wonderful performance as she manages to be smart, fun and her dry wit is unforgettable. The film offers up a pretty good story but what makes it even better is that we're given some great characters and terrific actors who really bring them to life. Oliver is perfect as Withers but it's her chemistry with Gleason that really makes this film stand out. The two work so well off one another that you can't help but have a smile on your face from their first scene to the last. A lot of these mystery flicks show the cops to be complete idiots but that's not necessarily the case here. Yes, he overlooks a lot of key evidence and he's certainly not as smart as Withers but I think the screenplay gets several added pluses simply because the two are rather equals and this makes their chemistry even better. Fans of Clarke might be disappointed that she's only in the first ten minutes and then disappears until the end but while she's on screen she certainly packs a nice punch. The same can be said for Robert Armstrong who offers up a strong performance as her lawyer. Cook, Wilson and Edgar Kennedy all add great support and it's hard to deny the power this terrific cast of character actors give. The actual mystery of who the killer is will hold your attention until the very end when in a very clever way the secret is revealed. There are several twist and turns throughout the film and the screenplay has a fun time delivering them in sly ways. The dialogue is another major plus because the one-liners are often very funny and we even get a few pre-code jokes including one dealing with a lesbian. PENGUIN POOL MURDER isn't all that well known today, which is a real shame because it's certainly one of the better murder/mysteries out there.

bkoganbing When Edna May Oliver took her class on a field trip to the aquarium she and the kids did not realize that they would wind up in the middle of a murder mystery. When young Sidney Miller and Oliver both notice a body in the penguin pool, the game's afoot.The body is that of the late Guy Usher and as in the case of most murder mysteries a lot of people who would like him dead happen to be in the aquarium. Edna has the presence of mind to call the cops and lock the doors so we also have a closed set of suspects.Usher was a stockbroker who lost the money that aquarium director Clarence Wilson took from the budget to play the market with. Usher's wife Mae Clarke and her boyfriend Donald Cook are also there as well as a smooth lawyer in Robert Armstrong and a notorious pickpocket Joe Hannon who is a deaf mute. That does not stop Hannon from making a lucrative living as a dip.The Penguin Pool Murder's biggest asset is the chemistry between polar opposites aristocratic Edna May Oliver and the plebeian police inspector James Gleason who investigates the homicide. As this is the first time these two met, Edna's a suspect briefly as well because her hat pin was part of the crime. But we know it couldn't be here.In fact with the Penguin Pool Murder the guilty party is a rather obvious one. That party is like Clifton Webb in Laura busy trying to pin the crime on Vincent Price. That kind of let's out all the suspense.Still fans of Oliver and Gleason and I do love both will be pleased with Penguin Pool Murder.

mark.waltz Edna May Oliver was one of a kind. Yes, that sniff of disapproval was funny, and her oh-so-uppity voice could stop fools in their tracks. But this was a woman filled with life and the desire to kick it up a notch whenever she felt like it. Being at the wrong place at the right time was par for the course for Miss Withers who, like Jessica Fletcher afterwards, was a heroine Agatha Christie would love. EMO was the first of four actresses to play the role of Hildegard Withers, and the best. Zasu Pitts and Helen Broderick would add their own take to it for single appearances at RKO, and Eve Arden would bring the character back in a TV movie 40 years later, but other than Arden, who had the benefit of years between the character's appearance, Pitts and Broderick were both too different than Oliver to make the character seem to be the same person, especially with James Gleason around as her initial foe and later beau Oscar Piper for all five of the RKO series.In "The Penguin Pool Murder", an aquarium is the spot for murder, and leave it to chance for Hildegard Withers to be there. Manager Clarence Wilson is angry over loosing in the stock market, and his broker is having marital spats with his cheating wife (Mae Clarke). When a penguin's feeding time is disturbed by the sudden fall of a dead body, pandemonium erupts. Miss Withers is suspect too when it is discovered that her previously missing hat pin might be the weapon. The way the murder occurred is horrific, so beware of the cringing feeling you will get once it is revealed. Once Oliver and Gleason start going at it as Withers and Piper, you've got a pre-Nick and Nora team that will be filled with exchanges of barbs you'd never expect such a prim and proper lady as Miss Withers to disclose. These two really are the whole show as they are scene-stealers extraordinaire. Even Edgar Kennedy as a cop can't win with Oliver's nose twitching or Gleason's New York drawl answering Oliver's insults with retorts of his own. And as the affection between Oliver and Gleason grows, you know you're in for a treat.