Edna May Oliver is one of those ubiquitous character actors seen in films of the 30's and early 40's. You're probably familiar with her from the 1933 classic
Little Women with Katherine Hepburn (she played Aunt March) and
Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Greer Garson (she played Lady Catherine). Before she moved over to the greener pastures of MGM, she was a contract player at RKO, where she was cast as the lead in a series of films based on the Stuart Palmer novels about a crime solving schoolmarm. There were three of them, beginning with the
Penguin Pool Murder (1932), followed up by
Murder on the Blackboard (1934) and
Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Assisted ably by her detective/boyfriend played by James Gleason, Hildegarde perseveres to solve the crime and save the day.
The films are pretty fluffy, but have a fun, 1930's quality to them that makes them enjoyable to watch. They were recently on TCM in a celebration of Ms. Oliver's birthday. But while the books are still available, the films are not released on DVD. When Ms. Oliver decamped for MGM they tried to recast Ms. Withers with Helen Broderick and Zasu Pitts, but no one could embody Hildegarde like Edna May - at least until 1972 when the inimitable Eve Arden played the part in a made-for-TV movie that has persisted in eluding me. Watch for a post on that one sometime in the future! The poster above can be purchased at
MoviePosterShop.com.
Obscurity factor: 7 (not available on DVD, occasionally aired on television, not available on YouTube)
This series of movies is wonderful! Yes, they are dated, but Ms. Oliver was one of those actresses who steals any scene she is in. (Margaret Rutherford also falls into this category.) It is good to see that she was offered leading roles with these movies (as was Ms. Rutherford in the Miss Marple series, which are a must-see).
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. She's such a great character and it's fun to see her playing younger than she usually did.
ReplyDeleteI see that Zasu Pitts played this character at least once. It will be shown soon on TCM.
ReplyDeleteOops...I see you already mentioned that!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the Eve Arden TV pilot was a misfire. For some reason Arden played whimsical and almost silly instead of her usual smart and sharp. The whole point to Miss Withers is that she's a tough old girl who whips murderers and mobsters into line exactly as if they were fifth graders. Helen Broderick might have made a go of it with a better movie, but dear Zazu's standard character would have been eaten alive by even a mildly rowdy elementary school class.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight. It's too bad Arden wasn't on her game for it. It's such a fun concept. Edna May Oliver is such fun in the role...
ReplyDelete