Le Mystère de l'allée Cavalière

This fourth movie in the Hildegarde Withers-Oscar Piper series has Helen Broderick replacing Edna May Oliver in the Withers role. She's the most sophisticated of the three who played the role (the other was ZaSu Pitts) but I still enjoyed the banter she has with James Gleason, who played Piper in the entire series. The plot is a bit hard to follow (I watched it twice to clear up some points) and it is impossible to determine or even guess who the killer is. That didn't bother me, since I had fun with lots of comedy in the film. Willie Best has his usual steroetyped negro role and James Donlan plays the more-or-less inept detective. I particularly enjoyed the red herring of the pipe, which eventually reveals how to tell if a person has false teeth.

Murder on a Bridle Path (1936)

** (out of 4)

The fourth film in RKO's Hildegarde Withers series was the first after Edna May Oliver stepped away from the part and was replaced by Helen Broderick for the first and only time. In the film a society woman is out riding her horse when she's thrown from it and then murdered. Detective Piper (James Gleason) thinks it's a simple case of her being killed by the fall but Withers comes across the scene and notices that the woman was murdered after the fall. The two team up to track down the usual suspects. MURDER ON A BRIDLE PATH isn't as bad as its reputation but at the same time there's no question that it's a major fall from the previous three movies. There's no doubt that Broderick isn't nearly as good as Edna May Oliver but she isn't too bad here. I thought she was decent for what was being asked as she has no problem playing the smart woman and she at least makes us believe she's a lot smarter than Piper for what that's worth. As usual Gleason is very good in his part as the rather slow Detective who is always one step behind the lady. While both actors do a fine job, the same can't be said with their comic timing and chemistry. I think what really hurts the movie is the fact that the two don't share the same spark as in the previous three films. The screenplay isn't the greatest thing either because there's never any clear case of who the killer is and when he's revealed it really seems like a stretch. As is the case in most weaker written mysteries, the police and Withers would have never found out had the killer not given himself away and of course breaking to the point where he tells everything. In the end this film is pretty much on par with the majority of "B" mysteries that were released throughout the decade but at the same time it also makes you appreciate the first three films for how special they were.

Violet Feverel is found dead on the Central Park bridle path. Police Insp. Oscar Piper (James Gleason) is ready to declare it an accident until his friend, amateur detective Hildegarde Withers (Helen Broderick), uncovers more clues. Together, they work to solve the case.

It's the fourth movie in the Hildegarde Withers series. This is Broderick's only performance in the lead role. She plays it like a strict school teacher. It's fine. She's no Edna May Oliver. She's not having enough fun with the role. The investigation is rather slow and static. Without Edna May, there isn't enough in this one.

... you never saw its three predecessors in which Edna May Oliver played schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers, partner in sleuthing to police detective Oscar Piper (James Gleason). There was something very special about the chemistry between these two. However, Helen Broderick is a more than adequate stand-in who manages to get a few good zingers in at the expense of Piper, which was the trademark of Withers when Oliver played the part.

In this entry in the series, a pretty but difficult young woman makes enemies of everyone around her, although we're told about this more than we see it - the girl barely gets more than a scene before she is murdered while riding her horse one morning. Only the homicide investigation turns up the most likely suspect - a rich ex-husband who was a husband in the first place only because the murdered woman wanted a big payoff in the form of alimony. Piper thinks he's on to something until he learns that the man in question was in jail for non payment of alimony at the time, and that the man's only close living relative, his father, who also hates the girl for what she has done to his son, is an invalid incapable of traipsing around parks early in the morning. There are other numerous less likely suspects introduced just to keep you guessing.

As usual, Hildegarde out-sleuths Piper at several key junctures, but she also makes a key miscalculation that leads up to a big joke at her expense in the last scene, after the mystery is solved. The fact that this one word - applesauce - could ever have been considered a curse word of sorts may seem strange to modern audiences. Stranger still was that the production code was so sensitive at the time that the film had to make the retort to Hildegarde appear to have two meanings.

This one is an above average mystery and well acted, just don't expect the magic of the ones with both Gleason and Oliver starring.

When the body of Violet Feverel is discovered on the Central Park bridle path, Inspector Oscar Piper is about to declare her death accidental from a thrown horse, until his friend and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers locates the horse and discovers blood on the horse.

Helen Broderick gives Hildegard a very different slant than did Edna May Oliver - she's more energetic and even more sharp tongued with plenty of great one liners, but I miss Oliver whose arched expressions of dismay at the police stupidity; I loved her voice, too. But Broderick does her best and comes across being on the ball. It's a good mystery, plenty to be puzzled over till the case is solved.