The Penguin Pool Murder

The Penguin Pool Murder

9/12/1932 1h 10m 5.6/10

Overview

New York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium.

Director

George Archainbaud

Top Billed Cast

James Gleason

James Gleason

Police Inspector Oscar Piper

Robert Armstrong

Robert Armstrong

Barry Costello

Edgar Kennedy

Edgar Kennedy

Officer Donovan

Mae Clarke

Mae Clarke

Gwen Parker

Donald Cook

Donald Cook

Philip Seymour

Edna May Oliver

Edna May Oliver

Miss Hildegarde Martha Withers

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

12/3/2023

7/10

There is something Marple-esque about Edna May Oliver's portrayal of the meticulous, no-nonsense, schoolteacher "Miss Withers". There's also something hideous about some of the fish in the aquarium where the police discover the corpse of the pretty universally disliked "Parker". It turns out that his wife (Mae Clarke) has a boyfriend (Donald Cook), and that both were present at the time of death. Looks like a bit of a no-brainer for "Insp. Piper" (James Gleason) but his chance meeting with the razor-sharp mind of the prim and proper "Withers" soon makes him think again. Despite his initially polite disdain, he realises that she is quite an insightful assistant as this turns out to be anything but as straightforward as everyone had hoped. The mystery itself is also very much in the vein of Agatha Christie - loads of red herrings and a victim about as popular as toothache. The production is kept moving along by some pacy direction and some pithy banter between the two investigators. Will they get to the bottom or not? Never in doubt, but not really important - this is a drama about characters and Oliver and Gleason gel well and engagingly for seventy minutes of sparring, spatting and... solving.

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