Murder on the Blackboard (1934)

A week or so ago I watched "The Penguin Pool Murder", which was made 2 years earlier in this series. On the one hand, that film was, quite simply, a better mystery and in a more unique setting -- the New York City Aquarium. But, "Murder On The Blackboard" has characters that have been fleshed out better, and you can see an improvement in production values here (although, it appears that the soundtrack on this film has deteriorated).As with "The Penguin Pool Murder", the delight here is Edna May Oliver and her facial expressions and lovable verbal barbs, and playing off James Gleason, whose role here is much improved. The other actors and actresses are fine, but the real focus is on Oliver and Gleason.The mystery itself is decent, with a storyline that works and, at the end, the two lead characters do tie up a few loose ends. Key to a good murder mystery is developing it so that two or more characters had logical motives for the murder, and this film does that. I was never quite positive which of 3 characters did it in this film, right up until the very end.Recommended for a view, but probably not on your DVD shelf.

Gossip, intrigue, jealousy—and murder? It's all happening in the dark old elementary school where Hildegarde Withers instructs the children by day and keeps an eye on her colleagues after school. But the murder mystery is secondary in this film; the real fun here is watching Miss Withers and Inspector Oscar Piper team up for another round of professional discourtesy and friendly insults—with, just by the way, a murder investigation thrown in.Hildegarde and Oscar (as they have grown close enough to call each other) are of course played by the great Edna May Oliver and James Gleason. The verbal interaction between the two is delightful (Oscar: "Well, we caught him quicker than I thought." Hildegarde: "Almost anything could be done quicker than you think, Oscar."). The physical interplay between the two is just as much fun to watch—sometimes subtle, sometime broad, consistently mischievous. (The scene where they search classroom closets—Oscar opens a door and peers in, Hildegarde noses and squirms her way in around him, he pretends to shut the door on her—is just hilarious.) The rest of the cast is fine; it's your basic array of suspects, more or less. Edgar Kennedy does lend notable support as an assistant detective. Poor Officer Kennedy—he gets conked on the head early in the picture and winds up in the hospital, then later in the movie is set up as bait! And of course no one listens to his protests….My favorite Gleason line (to Oliver, of course): "Just because you found the body, you think you're Mrs. Sherlock Holmes!" Good fun for fans of great character actors.

Murder on the Blackboard (1934) *** (out of 4) The second of six films in RKO's Hildegarde Withers (Edna May Oliver) series has the wannabe detective working at a school when a music teacher is shot dead. Inspector Oscar Piper (James Gleason) is soon helping on the case, which features the usual suspects including one played by Bruce Cabot. I've got the first film in the series, Penguin Pool Murder, recorded but haven't watched it yet so this is the first film from the series that I've actually watched. There's nothing overly special about this film but it does stand apart from the countless other mystery films of the decade. For one, Edna May Oliver plays her role pretty well and while it's somewhat over the top she never goes way past that line to where the character becomes obnoxious. She manages to bring a few laughs to the film and keeps the film going throughout. The actual mystery is also done pretty well with some nice atmosphere trapped in the small school.

This was the second of 3 films Edna May Oliver made at RKO starring as that indomitable school teacher/sleuth, Miss Hildegarde Withers. As always, Miss Oliver steals the show, sticks it in her handbag and walks off with it.This time she attempts to track down a murderer right in her own New York City school. With her gimlet eye & no-nonsense manner, the killer never really stands a chance.Miss Oliver, as always, is a joy to watch. James Gleason returns as the harried police detective Oscar Piper, now Hildegarde's boyfriend. Also on hand are Edgar Kennedy, Bruce Cabot & Tully Marshall. But, as in the other Withers films, Edna May is the real reason to watch.