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At the local aquarium, Gerry Parker (Guy Usher), a rich businessman, is
murdered and his dead body dropped into the penguin pool in broad
daylight. And even though the aquarium was full of visitors at the time of
the crime, police inspector Piper (James Gleason) seems to be unable to
find a single clue or witness, only two prime suspects, Parker's wife Gwen
(Mae Clarke) - who has a lawyer, Barry Costello (Robert Armstrong), on
hand incredibly quick -, and her lover Philip (Donald Cook). Oh, and then
there's nosey schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers (Edna May Oliver), with
whose hatpin Parker was murdered.
But Miss Withers is a very resolute woman, so soon enough she takes
investigations into her own hands and seems to disagree with the inspector
on his prime suspects. Sullivan the lawyer however seems to be hellbent on
putting the blame on Philip for his client's sake, and he even almost
manages to pin the murder of a prime witness - Chicago Lew (Joe Hermano),
who was held in the cell next to Philip - on Philip.
But somehow, his line of evidence doesn't hold and in court he tries a
different strategy and tries to pin the whole thing on Hildegarde Withers
... which he shouldn't have done, since when trying to make the case
against her, he gives away some details proving that he himself is the
murderer. Actually, he was Gwen#s lover and tired to make some money from
the life-insurance of her husband. He is arrested in court ...
At the end, Philip waits for his lover Gwen in front of the prison gate
... how romantic, until he slaps her - for being a cheating slut - and
walks off.
Still, the hero gets the girl, as at the very end of the film,
inspector Piper proposes to Hildegarde ...
First in a series of 6 films about Hildegarde Withers (who was later
played by Helen Broderick, then ZaSu Pitts), this convoluted murder
mystery is actually a ather dull affair. Much of it is just talk talk
talk, with everything supposed to be held together by eccentric
schoolteacher Miss Withers, who after some time comes off annoying rather
than anything else, once the novelty of her character wears off. Most of
the investigations and clues too, seem to lead to nowhere in the bigger
picture, while for everyone used to watch murder mysteries, the killer is
given away way too soon. Not really worth watching.
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