ridiculous rating

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Second entry in the Hildegarde Withers series sees teacher Withers (Edna May Oliver) discovering the body of a murdered fellow teacher in her school. After the police arrive, led by her beau Inspector Piper (James Gleason), they find the body has disappeared. So they investigate and eventually find the body in a particularly gruesome place for a 1934 movie. Now it's up to Hildegarde to ferret out the murderer.As with the last Withers film, the real treat in watching is not with the mystery itself as much as Oliver's enjoyable performance and her banter with Gleason's Piper. Oliver's actually even funnier in this one than in the first movie. I think this is my favorite of the series. It's got a quick pace and lots of funny lines. The murder mystery part is pretty good too. Love the part where Withers explains the school's fire escape to Piper. Little stuff like that fascinates me when I watch older movies. There's even a diagram with directions!

"Murder On The Blackboard", the second Hildegarde Withers film is, frankly, a disappointment. There is some amusing banter between Edna May Oliver and James Gleason, a bigger role and a couple of funny bits for Edgar Kennedy, the rather strikingly modern-looking, and modern-acting, Gertrude Michael (who also stole the show in another mystery film made the same year, "Murder At The Vanities") in a supporting role as a suspect....and not much beyond that. The whole mystery never really grabs you, and its solution is pretty ho-hum. Worst of all, the film moves so slowly that it becomes a struggle to keep watching it sometimes (a lot of screen time seems to be consumed by the characters wandering around a dark cellar). Leonard Maltin's 3-star rating is a bit too generous in my opinion, I don't think this film is any better than the Ellery Queen films that he so heavily bashes; I give it ** out of 4.

There were many, many B-detective series films through the 1930s and 40s--ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Ellery Queen to Charlie Chan to The Falcon--and many, many more. Despite the wide variety, these film are quite similar and the plots are rather interchangeable. However, I always look forward to a Hildegarde Withers film starring Edna May Oliver, as her films, regardless of the plot, have a lot more going for them than the rest of the pack. That's because Ms. Oliver was simply a delight to watch--as her detective was given the snappiest and most sarcastic dialog and her delivery was always wonderful. While she appeared at first much like a Jessica Fletcher-style character, you soon discovered she wasn't so cuddly or sweet and was more of a "dame" in the best sense of the word.This particular film is about a dead body that is discovered but then disappears at a school. Later, the body is found in the most grisly fashion and it's up to Miss Withers and her sidekick, the Inspector (James Gleason) to solve the crime. The film isn't quite as good as their previous film, THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER and interestingly enough they actually refer back to that case--something you don't often see in these films. Watch it--it's exciting, funny and different.Sadly, despite the higher than usual quality of these films, Ms. Oliver only made three and the studio tried replacing her with Helen Broderick and Zasu Pitts--pale imitations of the original.

This was the second of 3 films Edna May Oliver made at RKO starring as that indomitable school teacher/sleuth, Miss Hildegarde Withers. As always, Miss Oliver steals the show, sticks it in her handbag and walks off with it.This time she attempts to track down a murderer right in her own New York City school. With her gimlet eye & no-nonsense manner, the killer never really stands a chance.Miss Oliver, as always, is a joy to watch. James Gleason returns as the harried police detective Oscar Piper, now Hildegarde's boyfriend. Also on hand are Edgar Kennedy, Bruce Cabot & Tully Marshall. But, as in the other Withers films, Edna May is the real reason to watch.