Penguin Pool Murder
1932 | 70m | English
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | George Archainbaud |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Willis Goldbeck, Stuart Palmer, Lowell Brentano |
| Staring: |
| New York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium. | |
| Release Date: | Dec 09, 1932 |
|---|---|
| Director: | George Archainbaud |
| Writer: | Willis Goldbeck, Stuart Palmer, Lowell Brentano |
| Genres: | Comedy, Romance, Mystery |
| Keywords | amateur detective, aquarium, penguin, murder, pre-code, murder investigation |
| Production Companies | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 Entered: Apr 27, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Edna May Oliver | Miss Hildegarde Martha Withers |
| Robert Armstrong | Barry Costello |
| James Gleason | Police Inspector Oscar Piper |
| Mae Clarke | Gwen Parker |
| Donald Cook | Philip Seymour |
| Edgar Kennedy | Officer Donovan |
| Clarence Wilson | Bertrand B. Hemingway |
| James Donlan | Security Guard Fink |
| Gustav von Seyffertitz | Von Donnen / Dr. Max Bloom |
| William Le Maire | MacDonald |
| Joe Hermano | Chicago Lew |
| Guy Usher | Parker |
| Rochelle Hudson | Telephone Operator |
| Wilfrid North | Judge |
| Sidney Miller | Student with Glasses Isadore Marks (uncredited) |
| A.S. Byron | Jailer Strauss (uncredited) |
| Edith Fellows | Little Girl at Aquarium (uncredited) |
| Chuck Hamilton | Jack, Policeman (uncredited) |
| Mary Mason | Parker's Secretary (uncredited) |
| Dorothy Vernon | Purse Snatching Victim at Aquarium (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Willis Goldbeck | Screenplay |
| George Archainbaud | Director |
| Max Steiner | Music Director |
| Chuck Hamilton | Stunts |
| Stuart Palmer | Novel |
| Russell Metty | Camera Operator |
| Dick Stockton | Casting Assistant |
| Lowell Brentano | Story |
| Henry W. Gerrard | Director of Photography |
| Jack Kitchin | Editor |
| Fred Schuessler | Casting |
| Ray Lissner | Assistant Director |
| Robert Margolis | Assistant Director |
| Hugh McDowell Jr. | Sound Recordist |
| Harry Redmond Sr. | Special Effects Supervisor |
| Willard Barth | Assistant Camera |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| David O. Selznick | Executive Producer |
| Kenneth Macgowan | Associate Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
Trending Position
There is something Marple-esque about Edna May Oliver's portrayal of the meticulous, no-nonsense, schoolteacher "Miss Withers". There's also something hideous about some of the fish in the aquarium where the police discover the corpse of the pretty universally disliked "Parker". It turns out that hi ... s wife (Mae Clarke) has a boyfriend (Donald Cook), and that both were present at the time of death. Looks like a bit of a no-brainer for "Insp. Piper" (James Gleason) but his chance meeting with the razor-sharp mind of the prim and proper "Withers" soon makes him think again. Despite his initially polite disdain, he realises that she is quite an insightful assistant as this turns out to be anything but as straightforward as everyone had hoped. The mystery itself is also very much in the vein of Agatha Christie - loads of red herrings and a victim about as popular as toothache. The production is kept moving along by some pacy direction and some pithy banter between the two investigators. Will they get to the bottom or not? Never in doubt, but not really important - this is a drama about characters and Oliver and Gleason gel well and engagingly for seventy minutes of sparring, spatting and... solving.