Murder on a Honeymoon

This time a murder takes place on a seaplane enroute to Catalina Island and all of the passengers become suspects. Needless to say, a few red herrings are thrown into the plot but it's all eventually solved after Hildegarde Withers (Edna May Oliver) calls in detective Piper (James Gleason) to assist her in solving the case.

Another minor entry in the Hildegarde Withers series with Edna May giving her all to a plot-heavy number of names and suspects. Better just sit back and watch Oliver at work, stealing every scene with assurance and almost making us believe in the baffling proceedings. Leo G. Carroll does a nice job as a harried movie director. Lola Lane is a pleasant distraction but it's Edna May's movie all the way.

Another fun Hildegarde Withers mystery starring the great Edna May Oliver. This is the third and final Withers film starring Oliver. She would be replaced by two other actresses in the other films. Those don't match up to the Oliver entries in the series but are watchable. The plot here is about Hildy flying on a plane when one of the passengers is mysteriously killed. When the plane lands Hildy wastes no time starting her investigation. She contacts Inspector Piper (James Gleason), who quickly comes to help. Oliver and Gleason are terrific, as always. Their banter and chemistry is the primary reason to watch these movies. Nice cast includes Leo G. Carroll and the lovely Lola Lane. Willie Best also appears in one of his stereotypical parts that will make some modern viewers uncomfortable.

Murder On A Honeymoon finds Edna May Oliver on holiday to Catalina Island where on the small plane she's traveling on, a witness in a mob case from New York is poisoned. The case piques the interest of Oliver's old friend Inspector James Gleason of the NYPD for him to come out and help the Catalina PD.

In these three films Edna May is a virtual stand-in for Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple who is constantly making fools of the police wherever they may be. But she and Gleason have a really effective chemistry in the three films they did. Sad to say Edna May did not want to continue the series. She and Gleason would have been a great weekly series in the age of television.

Murder On A Honeymoon may have been the best of the three films because based on the other two, I thought I had the perpetrator all picked out. But I was completely wrong and I think other viewers will fall in the same trap. Two other murders occur before Gleason and Oliver finally figure it out. By the way the clue here is in how the crime was committed. And a big red herring is also served up for the audience to convince you of the perpetrator's apparent innocence.

Even on vacation it seems as though Edna May's Hildegarde Withers can't get away from murder.

Edna Mae Oliver and James Gleason are a perfect team. Their exchanges are hilarious.

The supporting cast are also first rate and the murder mystery storyline is done well.

This, and Penguin Pool Murder, are just plain fun and pleasant. Both are well written, surprisingly well photographed and edited. As I get older, I like less drama and more mystery, and more characters. Not a bad format for a TV mystery, like a light-hearted Columbo.

I did not have an appreciation of James Gleason until viewing these two. He is often a minor character actor as is Edna May Oliver (sometimes Mae). Both fare very well as lead actors. It was fun to see a younger Leo G Carroll.

These old movies give one a glimpse of early 1930's America, although perhaps an inaccurate one (it was Depression time). Murder on a Honeymoon shows Catalina Island offshore of Los Angeles in 1935 and of travel/commute by seaplane. It hasn't changed much except that the seaplanes are gone.