#james gleason

[mindsetmoviereviews]

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Penguin Pool Murder

Growing up on old movies, I knew Edma May Oliver as Shirley Temple’s nemesis in LITTLE MISS BROADWAY (1938, and thank you “Shirley Temple Theater”), the scene-stealing Nurse in ROMEO AND JULIET (1936) and the definitive Red Queen in ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1933), because that’s what was showing on Philadelphia’s network affiliates. It wasn’t until last night and thanks to TCM that I finally caught up with George Archainbaud’s PENGUIN POOL MURDER (1932, TCM), the first of three films in which she played Stuart Palmer’s crime-solving schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers opposite James Gleason’s Inspector Piper. The film is rather broadly acted, though expertly so, and it doesn’t have the tightest mystery plot. But watching Oliver and Gleason work together, with her nasal honk coming up against his guttural growl, is an utter joy.

Somebody has killed crooked stockbroker Gerald Parker in an aquarium conveniently filled with people who had a strong motive. The killer’s biggest mistake is doing it when Oliver is there on a class trip. She not only discovers the body but also effortlessly joins Gleason in the investigation. Is it the man’s unhappy wife (Mae Clarke, who spent half her career being manhandled by her leading men-handlers), the ex- (Donald Cook) who hopes to get her back, the aquarium director (Clarence Wilson) fleeced by the deceased or someone else. Hint: the solution involves information withheld by the writers until the last minute.

That last speaks to the film’s biggest problem. Although I solved the case based on gut instinct before they’d even assembled the evidence (casting will out), you can’t really do so based on the evidence. And though the writers have given Withers keen observational powers, she’s only tangentially instrumental in bringing the killer to justice. Rather, the miscreant makes a heat-of-the-moment mistake (for which Withers and Piper have set them up). But does that really matter when you can spend 66 minutes watching Oliver and Gleason mug their way into your heart. And it’s refreshing that this is the rare detective film where the police inspector welcomes the help of someone outside the force. The two may spar verbally, but they’re basically partners throughout the action. The film even ends with their running off to get married, though that would be forgotten in the sequels, two more with Oliver, one with Helen Broderick and two with ZaSu Pitts.

From the film’s subtext, any marriage between Withers and Pipers would likely have been tinged with lavender. Oliver always read rather butch (years later Marjorie Main would say she preferred the company of women, if you know what she means), and Withers’ tailored wardrobe does little to dispel that impression. And though Gleason doesn’t have a femme bone in his body, he has a line about a lawyer (Robert Armstrong) who collects penguin statuettes — “Well, I wouldn’t want to live with [a penguin fancier] if he kept bringing them home” — that suggests he’s not averse to sharing his life with a member of the same sex. In true pre-Code fashion, things get a little more overt when Withers quizzes the murder victim’s receptionist (Rochelle Hudson, no doubt looking for some imitation of life) about how she knew it was a man who called to tip her boss off that his wife was at the aquarium. “Well, it ain’t likely a woman would be calling me ‘Baby,’ is it?” she asks. And Withers quips, “No, not so far downtown as this.”

[citizenscreen]

Birthday remembrance - James Gleason #botd actor/writer

[thursdaymurderbub]

Silver Screen magazine, April 1936

James Cagney at the back?

[citizenscreen]

James Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959)

A mini tribute from #SUTS …

James Gleason makes his Summer Under the Stars Debut

James Gleason was adept at everything in entertainment. From the stage to the written page to the screen, Gleason’s work has entertained aud

[gatutor]

James Gleason-Audrey Totter "Man or gun" 1958, de Albert C. Gannaway.

[manyother]

1932. Edna May Oliver and James Gleason. The Penguin Pool Murder is a American  comedy/mystery film.

[ulrichgebert]

Im Krieg und in der Liebe muss alles sehr schnell gehen. Der junge Soldat hat nur 48 Studen Ausgang, bis er in den Krieg ziehen muss und trifft Judy Garland in einer dramatischen Rolle ohne Gesang. Möglicherweise überstürzt verlieben sie sich trotz aller möglicher Warnungen und Bedenken. Und heiraten schließlich möglicherweise noch überstürzter (wir werden es nie erfahren) und erschütternd unromantisch. Das habe ich ich merkwürdigerweise noch nie gesehen. Judy heiratete anschließend doch lieber den Regisseur und gebar ihm ein reizendes Töchterlein, das macht es für mich total relevant.