Murder on the Blackboard
| Murder on the Blackboard | |
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Danish theatrical poster
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| Directed by | George Archainbaud |
| Produced by |
Pandro S. Berman (exec. producer) |
| Screenplay by | Willis Goldbeck |
| Based on |
Murder on the Blackboard by Stuart Palmer |
| Starring |
Edna May Oliver James Gleason |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Edited by | Archie Marshek |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Murder on the Blackboard is a 1934 American Pre-Code mystery/comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. It was based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Palmer. It features popular actor Bruce Cabot in one of his first post-King Kong roles, as well as Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey and Edgar Buchanan.
Murder on the Blackboard was the second of three films teaming Oliver and Gleason as Withers and Piper, following The Penguin Pool Murder and preceding Murder on a Honeymoon. Director George Archainbaud also directed the first film in the series.
Miss Withers (Edna May Oliver) discovers the dead body of her colleague, music teacher Louise Halloran (Barbara Fritchie), in a schoolroom. She summons her old friend, Inspector Oscar Piper (James Gleason), but by the time he arrives, the corpse has disappeared. Having watched the only entrance (other than a fire exit with an alarm), Miss Withers knows the killer must still be inside. When the police search the building, Detective Donahue (Edgar Kennedy) is knocked out in the basement. Meanwhile, Miss Withers notices various clues, including a tune on the blackboard in Halloran's classroom. The body is found being burned in the basement furnace. Then, the fire alarm goes off; the murderer has escaped.
Oscar Schweitzer (Frederick Vogeding), the school's drunkard janitor, had some financial quarrel with Halloran. Piper arrests him, but Miss Withers does not believe he is the one they are after. She goes to the dead woman's apartment, which she had shared with her friend and school secretary, Jane Davis (Gertrude Michael). There she discovers that Halloran held one of the tickets for the Irish Sweepstakes. A newspaper account reports it is for the favorite in the race and is already worth $50,000. If the horse were to win, the amount would be $300,000. Davis claims she had a half share in the ticket, giving her a motive for murder. Fellow teacher Addison Stevens (Bruce Cabot) admits that Halloran was attracted to him. MacFarland (Tully Marshall), the womanizing head of the school, asks Withers to investigate the crime, but suspiciously suggests she leave town to check out Halloran's relatives. Snooping around, she finds a fragment of a burnt love letter from him to Halloran.
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