It's the end of the road for Hildegarde Withers

Forty Naughty Girls (1937)
Starring: James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Frank M. Thomas, Joan Woodbury, Alan Edwards, Tom Kennedy, Marjorie Lord,  and Stephen Chase
Director: Edward F. Cline
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Oscar and Hildegarde (Gleason and Pitts) are enjoying a night at the theatre when not one but two murders happen during the show... the second one taking place on stage, in full view of the entire audience and cast and crew backstage.

This was the last of the Hildegarde Withers films, and it is also the weakest. While it's not terrible, it is far down the quality scale from where the series began with "The Penguin Pool Murders." Where there is plenty to like here, the good does not quite outweigh the bad.

First, the good: Someone working on the film during pre-production finally remembered that Oscar and Hildegarde are involved in a relationship, and they used it as a central motivator to get the story started. Also, the film has a strong supporting cast, with Tom Kennedy (basically playing the same dumb cop he portrays in the "Torchy Blane" series), Joan Woodbury (at the height of her B-movie stardom, playing an actress who was in a love triangle between the first murder victim and the show'd producer, a friend of Oscar's), and Marjorie Lord (at the very beginning of her career in a small but crucial part) shining particularly brightly. In fact, Kennedy is so amusing in this picture that I found myself wishing that he was star rather than James Gleason.

And that takes us to the bad. While the writers may  have remembered that Oscar and Hildegarde are a couple, but they forgot they were intelligent people, and that they worked as a team (mostly) when solving crimes. That has been completely lost in the script for "Forty Naughty Girls". What has also been lost is any unique flavor that was present in previous installments of this series. While the Hildegarde Withers films were always B-movies, this is the first one that felt like it was just another cheap mystery/comedy, with a dumb cop bumbling his way through his "investigation" while a clever trickster actually solves the crime. (Except in this case, the trickster--Hildegarde--is just as big a bumbler as Ocsar is portrayed as.) Oscar spends the movie making wild accusations with almost no evidence--and is proven wrong either by himself or other characters, while Hildegarde pratfalls her way to uncovering clues. While amusing--especially since the comedy does play to ZaSu Pitts' strengths as a performer--it doesn't serve the characters nor the Hildegarde Withers series well. It doesn't even serve the film itself well but just drags it down.

"Forty Naughty Girls" could have been a very clever mystery where the main characters have to solve a double murder in real time, as the musical the film is named after unfolds on stage. It also had all the pieces to return the characters of Oscar Piper and Hildegarde Withers to the height of dorky coolness they were at when the series started. Heck, given the strong supporting cast, this film had all the elements to make it the best in the series. Instead, all those quality ingredients were slapped together lazily and sloppily and the end result was just another generic 1930s comedy-mystery... and instead of going out on a high note, the "Hildegarde Withers Mysteries" series ended almost as bad as it got. (It's better than "Murder on the Bridle Path", but only because it's funnier.)

'The Plot Thickens' with a new Hildegarde

The Plot Thickens (1936)
Starring: James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Louise Latimer, Owen Davis Jr., Barbara Barondess, Paul Fix,  Arthur Aylesworth, Lew Kelly, Agnes Anderson, and Richard Tucker
Director: Ben Holmes
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

When a wealthy man with a mysterious background (Tucker) is shot to death in his car, but is found the next day sitting in his study, the mysteries that need to be solved by homicide detective Oscar Piper (Gleason) and his friend Hildegarde Withers (Pitts) keep expanding and multiplying. Who's the mruderer?; the damsel in distress (Latimer), the jealous boyfriend (Davis)... or perhaps this time it was actually the butler (Aylesworth) who did it? And how does the mysterious Frenchman, with whom the victim was seen arguing, and the victim's connection to an unsolved art heist fit into the picture?

With "The Plot Thickens", the fifth movie in the "Hildegarde Withers" series of mystery-comedies, ZaSu Pitts becomes the third actor to play the school teacher amateur detective and semi-official consultant to New York City's homicide squad. Since the excellent first installment, "The Penguin Pool Murder", each film that followed has fallen short its prececessors. I sat down to watch this one hoping that pattern wouldn't hold.

And for the most part, it didn't. While it's no "The Penguin Pool Muder", it's a far better film than the previous two entries in the series and almost as good as "Murder on the Blackboard". The humor is still not as strong as it was during the first couple of films, but the mysteries present here are meaty and plentiful--something the script-writers mostly manage to pull off without triggering my common complaint of the film seeming rushed or too crowded with characters. The screen-writers also restored the character of Oscar Piper to what he had been in the initial movies, which was a cranky but intelligent detective, instead of the dimwitted incompetant bully he was portrayed as in "Murder on the Bridle Path". The writers also reinstituted the personal relationship between Oscar and Hildegarde, which had almost been forgotten in the previous two films; they may not be romantically involved, but they are at the very least friends beyond the context of the grim task of catching killers.

On the downside, I think ZaSu Pitts may have been miscast as Hildegarde Withers. I can't say how someone for whom this is the first encounter with the character might view her, but it took me a while to get used to Pitts in the role. This isn't because Pitt's a bad actress, but it's because she isn't as forceful a presence as either Edna May Oliver or Helen Broderick who portrayed the character before her, and as a result she is overwhelmed by James Gleason's blustery Oscar Piper. By the end of the picture, I had gotten used to the more sedate (but equally sharp-tongued). Pitts and Gleason were far better together in "The Crooked Circle" where they are the best part of a forgettable film.

To a small degree, Pitt was also badly served in her first outing as Hildegarde by a bizarre tendency that was introduced for the character in the previous film: She steals items from crime scenes for no good reason--and in this instance it might actually have threatened the police investigation of the case. I think the writers were trying to capture elements in the initial films where she also picked up items from scenes, but these were obvious clues and she grabbed them to perserve them. It this film, the item she absconds with had no obvious connection to the murder until later, and she seems to take it only because it was an interesting item on the murder victim's desk.

In the end, though, Hildegarde's cleptomania is only a minor issue. A far bigger problem with the film is its resolution. While the pieces come together and all the plots and mysteries as solved, I was left with two questions that I don't see an answer to: First, why was the body moved? Second, how did the killer manage to commit the murder? If the writers had even attempted to offer plausible explanations to either of those questions, "The Plot Thickens" might have rated a low Seven of Ten Stars instead of the Low Six I am giving it.

'Murder on the Bridle Path' disappoints

Murder on the Bridle Path (1936)
Starring: James Gleason, Helen Broderick, Louise Latimer, John Carroll, Owen Davis Jr., Christian Rub, Leslie Fenton, John Miltern, Willy Best, and Sheila Terry
Directors: William Hamilton and Edward Killy
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

When the murder of a young woman (Terry) is disguised to look like a riding accident, Police Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) once again receives assistance from his friend and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers (Broderick) in sorting truth from lies and shady characters from murderers.

"Murder on the Bridle Path" is the fourth film in the Hildegarde Withers series and the first one to feature an actress other than Edna May Oliver in the role of sleuthing school marm Ms. Withers. It's also the weakest entry so far.

While the replacement of the self-described "horse-faced" Oliver with the "moon-faced" and younger Helen Broderick is an immediately noticeable change, it's not actually the problem that does the movie in; Broderick actually does a good job as the acerbic school teacher. No, what damages this movie beyond saving is its script.

The Hildegarde Withers movies are detective movies, but they are also comedies. While the detective side of things is passable, the attempts at comedy are absolute and total disasters. I don't think I have seen a movie where almost every single laugh line is a complete dud--and the only remotely funny one is responded to  by a character with "are you trying to be funny?" (To which I actually said to the screen, "Yes! And he's the only one who's succeeded so far!")

Another drawback is that Oscar Piper is portrayed as an absolute moron in this film. It's like the character, who was previously shown to be a good and intelligent police officer that sometimes goes for the first obvious suspect due to pressure from his superiors, was replaced with the stock stupid cop character that so often infests B-movie murder mysteries. This is even worse than the unfunny quips, because even if you can't write comedy to save your life, you can at least get established characters right when working on a series.

On the positive side, Helen Broderick is actually a nice replace for Oliver, since she has Hildegarde Withers' crisp and caustic attitude down pat. Broderick was also an accomplished comedic actress, so this SHOULD also have been a positive. Unfortunately, the material she has to work with in this film is so unfunny that you can't tell. Perhaps her comedic gifts saved this film from being even more miserable than it is... but I think it's more likely that it proves that even a good actor can't save bad material (no matter what the saying says).

'Murder on the Honeymoon' needed work

Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)
Starring: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane, George Meeker, Spencer Charters, Dorothy Libarie, Leo G. Carroll, Arthur Hoyt, and Harry Ellerby
Director: Lloyd Corrigan
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

When a fellow passenger dies on a puddle-jumper flight to Catalina Island, vacationing school teacher Hildegarde Withers (Oliver) suspects foul play. She reaches out to her friend Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason), who flies out to investigate as it appears to be a contract killing with connections back to New York City.

"Murder on a Honeymoon" is the third film to star Edna May Oliver and James Gleason as bickering sleuths, and it is yet another decline from the excellence that we saw in the first one, "The Penguin Pool Murder". While the beginning and end of the film are strong, almost everything in between is underdeveloped. There are several neat plot-threads inhabited by interesting murder suspects, but they are never completely followed nor even properly developed or connected. Worse, the characters of Withers and Piper are shells of their former selves. The mature relationship that we saw begin in "Penguin Pool" is nowhere to be seen and instead we're left with a pair of mean-spirited characters that makes you wonder at times why they even like each other.

As disappointing as this movie is on many fronts, when it's good, it's really good. Although poorly developed, the mystery of the film is solid in its foundation and the way Withers and Piper solve it is logical (even if it almost gets them killed). And speaking of getting killed, the film is at its best during a sequence where our heroes are investigating a closed casino and encounter some of the suspects there; it's well-filmed and well-written and all-around tense. The same is true for a scene where Ms. Withers is literally at the mercy of a contract killer. Finally, the Big Reveal of the murderer is handled in a different and thrilling way that what is typical for mysteries of this kind--there's no "let's get all the suspects together in a room", so it comes as a surprise. (The identity of the murderer may not be surprising if you've been paying attention, but that may make the scene even more satisfying for you.)

The acting is solid all around, with the supporting cast being so strong that it's a shame none of their characters are given more time in the spotlight. The film would have been a bit stronger if we'd seen more of the honeymooners referenced in the title (Dorothy Libarie and Harry Ellerby), as well as gotten a little more development and screen time for Lola Lane's mysterious fame-seeking (?) character.

While "Murder on the Honeymoon" is another step down in quality when compared to the launch of this series, it's still entertaining enough for you to take the time to watch. It's firmly at the low end of average, but it has just enough going for it.

It's an after-school killing with 'Murder on the Blackboard'

Murder on the Blackboard (1934)
Starring: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Gertrude Michael, Frederick Voeding, Bruce Cabot, Tully Marshall, Regis Toomey, and Barbara Fritchie
Director: George Archainbaud
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Murder hits close to home when one of Miss Withers' colleagues (Fritchie) is bludgeoned to death in the school where she teaches. As she and her friend, Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) investigate, they learn that many of the school's faculty and staff had reason to commit the carefully planned murder.

"Murder on the Blackboard" is a fast-paced, bare-bones mystery film full of witty dialogue that wastes no time in getting going; operates with a minimum of characters--just enough to obfuscate the identity of the murderer but no so many to make the film feel overcrowded--and locations; and not a moment wasted with filler material or even subplots. (Well, there are a couple kinda-sorta subplots that tie directly into the solution of the mystery, but they are more accurately "stub-plots" they are so minor and barely developed.)

There was one big drawback to the economic nature of how this film was executed and that is that we didn't get any of the quieter moments that showed the mutual romantic attraction developing between Hildegarde and Oscar. I thought that was one of the more appealing aspects of the first film in the series, because it was unusual to see characters like these get to be anything but the gruff cop and frumpy old maid sleuth. All that's left in this film is a sense that they grudgingly respect each others intellect, despite their constant bickering. Also missing from this film is the chance for Oscar to show that he's actually a good cop and a solid detective... it's almost entirely Hildegarde's show and she solves the mystery all on her own.

Speaking of solving the mystery... I also found the "key clue" to be more than just a little far fetched. I can't really comment beyond that without spoiling the mystery, but I can't even imagine the notion that it was a clue occurring to anyone, let alone using it to zero in on the killer's identity... except in a case where the writer told the character to have the idea in the first place.

"Murder on the Blackboard," despite not being as good as "The Penguin Pool Murder", is entertaining  and well worth the roughly 70 minutes it will take you to watch it.

'The Penguin Pool Murder' is a great start for Miss Withers

The Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
Starring: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Clarence Wilson, Mae Clarke, Robert Armstrong, Donald Cook, and Guy Usher
Director: George Archainbaud
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When a wife-beating, crooked stockbroker (Usher) is murdered, his wife (Clarke) and her one-time boyfriend (Cook) are the obvious suspects. Sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued school teacher Miss Hildegard Withers (Oliver), who found the body, thinks there's more to the situation, and she badgers Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) to keep digging into what seems like an open-and-shut case.

"The Penguin Pool Murders" is a breezy mystery with a cast so charismatic and likeable that one almost forgets the dark subject matter at its heart--spousal that may have led to murder. Because the cast is so likeable, I also find myself forgiving the film for, essentially, being a one-suspect mystery, and becoming evenmoreso when the character that I zero'ed in on as the murderer almost immediately starts becoming super-helpful with the investigation; the film is simply too much fun for that flaw to drag it down too much.

Another strength of the film is the interplay between the two main characters, Miss Withers and Inspector Piper. They start out with obvious disdain for each other, but when they realize that each is actually much smarter than they initially gave each other credit for, you can see the mutual respect develop between them... and by the end, a romantic relationship is under way. (And speaking of romance, the *obvious* one--the one we expect involving the young couple in the story--involves a couple nice twists that also make this film stand out.

"The Penguin Pool Murder" was the first of six films with Gleason as Inspector Piper, and of three with Oliver as Miss Withers. I hope every entry in the series is as strong as this one.