Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
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60% of users liked it
(108 ratings)
Edna May Oliver makes the first of three appearances as Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher/sleuth created by mystery writer Stuart Palmer. While conducting her students on a tour of the Battery Park Aquarium, Hildegarde spots a dead body in the penguin pool. Police inspector Piper (James Gleason)… More Edna May Oliver makes the first of three appearances as Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher/sleuth created by mystery writer Stuart Palmer. While conducting her students on a tour of the Battery Park Aquarium, Hildegarde spots a dead body in the penguin pool. Police inspector Piper (James Gleason) believes it's an open-and-shut case when he collars the faithless wife (Mae Clarke) of the victim, but Hildegarde suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye. Detective and teacher mellow from antagonists to friends in the course of the investigation, the denouement of which isn't revealed until the suspect is put on trial, where she is defended by her attorney-lover (Robert Armstrong). The murderer's identity isn't too surprising, but Penguin Pool Murder takes several unexpected twists all the same, including a neat reversal on the old "reunited lovers" finale. At the end, Hildegarde and Piper are contemplating marriage, but in the subsequent Edna May Oliver/James Gleason "Hildegarde Withers" films (Murder on the Blackboard, Murder on a Honeymoon) they retain their single status. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- George Archainbaud
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 9, 1932 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Most engaging crime detective narrative.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Edna May Oliver
as Hildegard Withers
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James Gleason
as Inspector Oscar Piper
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Mae Clarke
as Gwen Parker
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Robert Armstrong
as Barry Costello
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Clarence H. Wilson
as Bertrand B. Hemingway
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Edgar Kennedy
as Donovan
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Mary Mason
as Secretary
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Rochelle Hudson
as Telephone Operator
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Guy Usher
as Gerald Parker
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William Le Maire
as MacDonald
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Donald Cook
as Philip Seymour
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James Donlan
as Fink
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Gustav von Seyffertitz
as Max Von Donnen
- Sidney Miller
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Wilfred North
as Judge
