Edna May Oliver was one of a kind. Yes, that sniff of disapproval was funny, and her oh-so-uppity voice could stop fools in their tracks. But this was a woman filled with life and the desire to kick it up a notch whenever she felt like it. Being at the wrong place at the right time was par for the course for Miss Withers who, like Jessica Fletcher afterwards, was a heroine Agatha Christie would love. EMO was the first of four actresses to play the role of Hildegard Withers, and the best. Zasu Pitts and Helen Broderick would add their own take to it for single appearances at RKO, and Eve Arden would bring the character back in a TV movie 40 years later, but other than Arden, who had the benefit of years between the character's appearance, Pitts and Broderick were both too different than Oliver to make the character seem to be the same person, especially with James Gleason around as her initial foe and later beau Oscar Piper for all five of the RKO series.
In "The Penguin Pool Murder", an aquarium is the spot for murder, and leave it to chance for Hildegard Withers to be there. Manager Clarence Wilson is angry over loosing in the stock market, and his broker is having marital spats with his cheating wife (Mae Clarke). When a penguin's feeding time is disturbed by the sudden fall of a dead body, pandemonium erupts. Miss Withers is suspect too when it is discovered that her previously missing hat pin might be the weapon. The way the murder occurred is horrific, so beware of the cringing feeling you will get once it is revealed. Once Oliver and Gleason start going at it as Withers and Piper, you've got a pre-Nick and Nora team that will be filled with exchanges of barbs you'd never expect such a prim and proper lady as Miss Withers to disclose. These two really are the whole show as they are scene-stealers extraordinaire. Even Edgar Kennedy as a cop can't win with Oliver's nose twitching or Gleason's New York drawl answering Oliver's insults with retorts of his own. And as the affection between Oliver and Gleason grows, you know you're in for a treat.
In "The Penguin Pool Murder", an aquarium is the spot for murder, and leave it to chance for Hildegard Withers to be there. Manager Clarence Wilson is angry over loosing in the stock market, and his broker is having marital spats with his cheating wife (Mae Clarke). When a penguin's feeding time is disturbed by the sudden fall of a dead body, pandemonium erupts. Miss Withers is suspect too when it is discovered that her previously missing hat pin might be the weapon. The way the murder occurred is horrific, so beware of the cringing feeling you will get once it is revealed. Once Oliver and Gleason start going at it as Withers and Piper, you've got a pre-Nick and Nora team that will be filled with exchanges of barbs you'd never expect such a prim and proper lady as Miss Withers to disclose. These two really are the whole show as they are scene-stealers extraordinaire. Even Edgar Kennedy as a cop can't win with Oliver's nose twitching or Gleason's New York drawl answering Oliver's insults with retorts of his own. And as the affection between Oliver and Gleason grows, you know you're in for a treat.