''The Penguin Pool Murder'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

starring

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

as Hildegarde Withers, a witness in a murder case at the New York Aquarium, with

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Life and career Gleason w ...

as the police inspector in charge of the case, who investigates with her unwanted help, and Robert Armstrong as an attorney representing Mae Clarke, the wife of the victim. Oliver's appearance was the first film appearance of the character of Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher and sleuth based on the character from the 1931 novel ''The Penguin Pool Murder'' by

Stuart Palmer Stuart Palmer (June 21, 1905 – February 4, 1968) was a mystery novel writer and screenwriter best known for his character Hildegarde Withers. He also wrote under the names Theodore Orchards

. It is the first in a trilogy including ''

Murder on the Blackboard ''Murder on the Blackboard'' is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery/ comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. ...

'', and ''

Murder on a Honeymoon ''Murder on a Honeymoon'' is a 1935 American mystery film starring Edna May Oliver and James Gleason. This was the third and last time Oliver portrayed astute schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers; the two previous films were ''The Penguin Pool Murder ...

'', in which Oliver and Gleason team up for the lead roles."Notes"
on TCM.com

Plot

Gwen Parker (Clarke) meets her former boyfriend Philip Seymour ( Donald Cook) at the local aquarium, and asks him for some money so she can leave her husband, stockbroker Gerald Parker, but Mr. Parker receives an anonymous telephone call tipping him off to the rendezvous. When he confronts the pair, Seymour knocks him out with a punch. As no witnesses see the altercation, he hides the unconscious man in the room behind an exhibit. Schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers (Oliver) takes her class on a field trip to the aquarium. Shortly after tripping up fleeing pickpocket "Chicago" Lew (though he gets away), she loses her hatpin; one of her students finds it. Then Miss Withers sees Parker's now-dead body falling into a pool housing a penguin. Police Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) arrives and uncovers several suspects: the widow and Seymour; Bertrand Hemingway ( Clarence Wilson), the head of the aquarium, who had financial dealings with the deceased; Chicago Lew, found near the scene; and even Miss Withers herself, as it is later determined that her hatpin was driven through the man's right ear into his brain. Bystander and lawyer Barry Costello ( Robert Armstrong) catches Gwen Parker when she faints, and acquires a client when she is taken in for questioning. Seymour confesses to protect Mrs. Parker, but Miss Withers does not believe him. She convinces Piper to notify the press that the murder was committed with a thrust through the ''left'' ear. Later, Costello passes along a message from Chicago Lew, in which he claims to know the identity of the killer. When Piper and Miss Withers go to see him at the jail, though, they find him dead from hanging. Costello concocts a way in which Seymour could have escaped from his nearby cell using a duplicate key (which is found), strangled Lew, and hanged him with wire without entering Lew's cell. At the murder trial of Philip Seymour and Gwen Parker, while questioning Miss Withers, Costello slips up, showing that he knew that Gerald Parker was killed via the right ear. The motive is that he is Gwen Parker's current lover. When Gwen Parker is released, the waiting Seymour slaps her in the face, to the amusement of Piper and Miss Withers. Piper then unexpectedly asks Miss Withers to marry him. She accepts. (In the sequel, ''Murder on the Blackboard'', they are still single.)

Cast

as Miss Hildegarde Martha Withers * Robert Armstrong as Barry Costello *

as Inspector Oscar Piper * Mae Clarke as Gwen Parker * Donald Cook as Philip Seymour *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as Policeman Donovan * Clarence Wilson as Bertrand B. Hemingway * James Donlan as Security Guard Fink *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

as Von Donnen/Dr Max Bloom *Joe Hermano as Chicago Lew * Guy Usher as Gerald Parker * Rochelle Hudson as Parker's Telephone Operator *

Wilfrid North Wilfrid North (16 January 1863 – 3 June 1935), also spelled Wilfred North, was an Anglo-American film director, actor, and writer of the silent film era. He directed 102 films, including short films; acted in 43 films; and wrote the story for ...

as The Judge

Cast notes

*Oliver reprised her role in two sequels, ''

'' (1934) and ''

'' (1935) *Gleason played the role of Piper in all six films in the series.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews in 1932. In his assessment of the production on December 27,

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934."M.H." ourdant Hall(1932). "Two Pictures", reviews, ''The New York Times'', December 26, 1932, p. 26.

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

Historical Newspapers; subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. Hall, though, contends that the film's frequent "levity" fails to be counterbalanced by an engaging or even moderately challenging mystery:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penguin Pool Murder 1932 films 1930s comedy mystery films American comedy mystery films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by George Archainbaud Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films Hildegarde Withers 1932 comedy films 1930s American films