DETECTIVE COMEDY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20477, 1 December 1934, Page 30 (Supplement)

DETECTIVE COMEDY.

“ Murder on the Blackboard ” at Majestic.

“ Murder on the Blackboard.” with Edna May Oliver and James Gleason, a sequel to “ The Penguin Pool Murder,” heads to-day’s new programme at the Majestic Theatre. In this bright detective comedy Edna May Oliver is again seen in the delightful role of Hildegarde Withers, the school teacher with shrewd ideas about crime detection, Gleason plays Police Inspector Oscar Piper, a fast-talking detective. They are excellent foils for each other, and with an effortless technique which is a delight to behold, make the most of a story rich in laughs, thrills and sentiment, Bruce Cabot again demonstrates that he is one of the screen’s outstanding young actors, and Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomev, Edgar Kennedy, Tully Marshall, Fredrik Vogeding and Barbara Fritchie perform splendidly in difficult supporting roles. A school is the setting for a baffling crime in “Murder on the Blackboard.” A beautiful young teacher is slain; her body is burned in the furnace; a detective is attacked from behind in a dark cellar; and the murderer attempts to cut down Hildegarde with a hatchet. These events involve several suspects. Weird escapes and hilarious comedy alternate right up to the climax, when Hildegarde Withers reveals the murderer to the dumbfounded police. Box plans at the D.I.C.