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.

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.

MartinHafer It's really too bad that they only made a few Hildegarde Withers mysteries and that only a few of these starred Edna May Oliver. The bottom line is that in the 1930s, no woman in Hollywood was more fun to watch in colorful supporting roles than Miss Oliver, so it was a real treat to see her in a starring role--and one that allowed her cool screen persona to shine! Instead of the usual somewhat insipid detective series films, her Miss Withers was a smart-aleck and tough lady--not some pampered playboy or Chinese detective. Plus, it was a great casting decision to have her work with police detective James Gleason and give him better than usual writing for such a role. In practically every B-detective series, the police are complete morons--so much so that the films lack any suspense or chemistry at times. Usually you KNOW the cops are all idiots and the amateur sleuth knows everything, but here she is assisted by a reasonably capable cop and they work on the case together. Because of this, it was cute to see that through the course of the film, Gleason's character fell for Miss Withers--he grew to love and respect her just like the audience did throughout the film.For the genre, this is about as good a film as you'll find--plus, it has cute penguins and Edna May Oliver!! What more could you ask for in a movie?!?!