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The Penguin Pool Murder

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5.6/10 • 12

1932-12-091h 10m

ComedyMysteryRomance

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.

Directors
George Archainbaud
Editors
Jack Kitchin

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Edna May Oliver

    Edna May Oliver

    Miss Hildegarde Martha Withers

  2. Robert Armstrong

    Robert Armstrong

    Barry Costello

  3. James Gleason

    James Gleason

    Police Inspector Oscar Piper

  4. Mae Clarke

    Mae Clarke

    Gwen Parker

  5. Donald Cook

    Donald Cook

    Philip Seymour

  6. Edgar Kennedy

    Edgar Kennedy

    Officer Donovan

  7. Clarence Wilson

    Clarence Wilson

    Bertrand B. Hemingway

  8. James Donlan

    James Donlan

    Security Guard Fink

  9. Gustav von Seyffertitz

    Gustav von Seyffertitz

    Von Donnen / Dr. Max Bloom

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Dec 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.

Media

  • The Penguin Pool Murder backdrop
  • The Penguin Pool Murder backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
aquariumamateur detectivepenguinmurderpre-codemurder investigation