Murder on the Blackboard

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.

Edna May Oliver, (Hildegarde Withers) was a fantastic actress and her supporting actor was also a great actor, James Gleason, (Inspector Oscar Piper). In this film Hildegarde investigates a murder in a New York City School which involved a very pretty young teacher who was involved in some very dark secrets. There is a blackboard that plays a very important role in this murder mystery which was musical notes placed on a C staff which reveal an important clue to the person who committed this murder. Edna May Oliver and James Gleason give an outstanding performance with very quick wit of words between each other and it is also very comical and funny to watch two great veterans doing what just comes very natural for both of them. Don't miss this great film Classic from 1934.

Decidedly dated, early mystery starring Edna May Oliver as the irrepressible sleuth Hildergard Withers, Murder on the Blackboard is all fun. Oliver excels as the wise-cracking "Lady" teacher sleuth who finds that a young, pretty music teacher has been killed in her school - as both have stayed late working. Oliver enlists the help of detective James Gleason(an always reliable character actor) and the one-liners between the two begin to ensue as the track down the murderer. The writing in this film is witty, sharp, and rapid-fire and both Gleason and Oliver do more than justice to their respective roles. The list of suspects is limited(really only four people) but amongst them are Bruce Cabot and Tully Marshall. Because it was made in 1934 it is somewhat stagy and creaky, but the film is elevated by the two acting leads. Oliver on screen is pure magic as she is able to look oh so dour and be oh so sarcastic at every turn. A crackling whodunit in the old-fashioned sense of the word.

There were many, many B-detective series films through the 1930s and 40s--ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Ellery Queen to Charlie Chan to The Falcon--and many, many more. Despite the wide variety, these film are quite similar and the plots are rather interchangeable. However, I always look forward to a Hildegarde Withers film starring Edna May Oliver, as her films, regardless of the plot, have a lot more going for them than the rest of the pack. That's because Ms. Oliver was simply a delight to watch--as her detective was given the snappiest and most sarcastic dialog and her delivery was always wonderful. While she appeared at first much like a Jessica Fletcher-style character, you soon discovered she wasn't so cuddly or sweet and was more of a "dame" in the best sense of the word.

This particular film is about a dead body that is discovered but then disappears at a school. Later, the body is found in the most grisly fashion and it's up to Miss Withers and her sidekick, the Inspector (James Gleason) to solve the crime. The film isn't quite as good as their previous film, THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER and interestingly enough they actually refer back to that case--something you don't often see in these films. Watch it--it's exciting, funny and different.

Sadly, despite the higher than usual quality of these films, Ms. Oliver only made three and the studio tried replacing her with Helen Broderick and Zasu Pitts--pale imitations of the original.

If anybody thinks that teachers' lives are dull, you need to watch this film. Louise Halloran, the school's young music teacher, is found bludgeoned to death, by Miss Hildegarde Withers (Edna Mae Oliver), at the school. She has a student call Detective Oscar Piper (James Gleason), with whom she worked on the Pengun Pool Murder. First the body disappears, and Piper thinks Hildegarde crazy - that there never was a murder. But then the murderer makes some mistakes - digging a grave in the cellar, hitting another policeman over the head, trying to dispose of Louise's body in the school incinerator and not quite beating the police to it, and then escaping out of the school emergency exit chute. So now Oscar knows the crime is real - as Louise may have died from the blow to the head, but she would have died anyways since the medical examiner determines that she was dying from pernicious anemia of the bones at the time of her death, which could have been induced by slow poisoning. Could there have been two different killers, each one unaware of the other's plot? Hildegarde pretty much solves this crime herself. Being a Renaissance woman who notices everything and has a variety of hairpins to help with tricky locks helps her along.

And she'll need her powers of observation. Because everybody has a motive. Louise's roommate, fellow teacher Jane Davis, has won the Irish Sweepstakes with Louise and her death allows Jane to keep all of the money. Then there was a romance between Louise and teacher Addison Stevens the previous summer that Stevens broke up so he could take up with Jane. Then there is principal McFarland who tried to take up with Louise also, wrote her love letters, and Louise would not let him have them back. McFarland is married, but that hasn't put a damper on him going after the younger female schoolteachers. Finally there is the school janitor who has tunneled his way into a warehouse of booze and has been taking some and selling it to the schoolteachers. Louise refused to pay him right before her death, claiming if she outed him he'd be fired.

Basically it boils down to Oscar controlling the cops and Hildegarde controlling the investigation. After they succeed at solving the crime they are having breakfast at a diner, and let's just say that Oscar has the last laugh as Hildegarde's sensibilities are shocked about how long it takes to grieve the loss of a loved one before replacing that loved one with another.

I'd say this didn't seem quite as good as Penguin Pool Murder, because the first one was such a welcome surprise, but it was certainly a worthwhile entry.

An aside - At the conclusion of Penguin Pool Murder it was insinuated that Oscar and Hildegarde were on their way to get married after a very rushed pretty much mutual marriage proposal. Here they are just friends. Being a married couple would have painted the humor into a corner, and it works better with them being allied, maybe even being a little bit romantically interested, but never really doing anything about it. Recommended.