w/ Edna May Oliver, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, Mae Clarke, Donald Cook, Edgar Kennedy and Clarence Wilson. Plus Rochelle Hudson.
After Lorna's delightful (as usual) postings yesterday regarding Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Coupled with my weakness for 1930s/1940s detective series in general. Plus having time to kill before today's pair of NFL championship games. I decided it was the ideal moment to catch the first in this series of Hildegarde Withers movies.
DAW, THANKS!
THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER is the best of the series (and has some REALLY GREAT LIGHTING, love all the black and white reflections of the water in the aquarium set), but MURDER ON A HONEYMOON has the most surprising twists.
and again, although THE DETECTIVE proposes to MISS WITHERS (and she consents!) at the end of PENGUIN POOL, THERE IS NO MENTION OF THIS in ANY of the MISS WITHERS MOVIES that came after, which- I think- led to something of a missed opportunity in MURDER ON A HONEYMOON because they absolutely could have addressed this and had MISS WITHERS going on on a honeymoon by herself after being jilted by THE DETECTIVE.
although...
it really is SO OUT OF NOWHERE when JAMES GLEASON proposes to EDNA MAE OLIVER at the end of PENGUIN POOL and even moreso when she consents
Frankly, it's a mindf*** on a par with BUD ABBOTT professing his UNDYING LOVE to LOU COSTELLO at the end of one of their pictures and the next thing you know, they're in a passionate embrace while TCHAIKOVSKY'S ROMEO AND JULIET plays on the soundtrack.
Is it just me on a cold January morning, or does anyone else find it funny to ponder
what if...
BACK IN 1932, there was a MASSIVE SCREW-UP in the ART and MEDIA and PUBLICITY DEPTS over at RKO and all of the print ads and lobby cards and posters and promotional materials and press books for the film had the title as:
THE PENGUIN POO MURDER
...as the result of a typo.
and it was too late to fix it and they didn't have the money...so they just went with it.
BUT THEN
a nation weary from THE DEPRESSION became captivated as they all stopped to collectively ask: "you're gonna kill someone using what now?" and in doing so, forgot their troubles- not just for that moment- but throughout the day as they ask themselves and their neighbors just what the Hell that is all about and did they read that right or not.
and then, next thing you know: there are lines around the block.
like, it's the first BLOCKBUSTER, before GWTW and BEN HUR and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
it's MAMMOTH.
It makes $2.5 million, which back then was 1.6 billion, and RKO became a MEDIA POWERHOUSE THAT DOMINATED THE LANDSCAPE TO THIS DAY.
THE ARC OF HISTORY ALTERED FOREVER BECAUSE SOMEONE FORGOT TO PUT THE "L" AT THE END.
Lorna wrote: ↑January 29th, 2024, 9:33 am
ALSO ALSO
Is it just me on a cold January morning, or does anyone else find it funny to ponder
what if...
BACK IN 1932, there was a MASSIVE SCREW-UP in the ART and MEDIA and PUBLICITY DEPTS over at RKO and all of the print ads and lobby cards and posters and promotional materials and press books for the film had the title as:
THE PENGUIN POO MURDER
...as the result of a typo.
and it was too late to fix it and they didn't have the money...so they just went with it.
BUT THEN
a nation weary from THE DEPRESSION became captivated as they all stopped to collectively ask: "you're gonna kill someone using what now?" and in doing so, forgot their troubles- not just for that moment- but throughout the day as they ask themselves and their neighbors just what the Hell that is all about and did they read that right or not.
and then, next thing you know: there are lines around the block.
like, it's the first BLOCKBUSTER, before GWTW and BEN HUR and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
it's MAMMOTH.
It makes $2.5 million, which back then was 1.6 billion, and RKO became a MEDIA POWERHOUSE THAT DOMINATED THE LANDSCAPE TO THIS DAY.
THE ARC OF HISTORY ALTERED FOREVER BECAUSE SOMEONE FORGOT TO PUT THE "L" AT THE END.
or is it Just me?
LMREO!!!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't kill over Penguin Poo????
Hibi wrote: ↑January 29th, 2024, 1:22 pm
LMREO!!!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't kill over Penguin Poo????
oh!
It didn't occur to me that it could be a murder MOTIVATED by penguin poo. like "my neighbor's GD penguins keep pooing on my lawn, I am SO going to MURDER HIM in RETALIATION!!!!"
I was thinking of PENGUIN POO as being the instrument of death.
LIKE, burying someone you ESPECIALLY DISLIKE under many tons of it.
OR MAYBE SMEARING some on the TOP STEP and hoping they slip.
Hibi wrote: ↑January 29th, 2024, 1:22 pm
LMREO!!!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't kill over Penguin Poo????
oh!
It didn't occur to me that it could be a murder MOTIVATED by penguin poo. like "my neighbor's GD penguins keep pooing on my lawn, I am SO going to MURDER HIM in RETALIATION!!!!"
I was thinking of PENGUIN POO as being the instrument of death.
LIKE, burying someone you ESPECIALLY DISLIKE under many tons of it.
OR MAYBE SMEARING some on the TOP STEP and hoping they slip.
w/ Edna May Oliver, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, Mae Clarke, Donald Cook, Edgar Kennedy and Clarence Wilson. Plus Rochelle Hudson.
After Lorna's delightful (as usual) postings yesterday regarding Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Coupled with my weakness for 1930s/1940s detective series in general. Plus having time to kill before today's pair of NFL championship games. I decided it was the ideal moment to catch the first in this series of Hildegarde Withers movies.
DAW, THANKS!
THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER is the best of the series (and has some REALLY GREAT LIGHTING, love all the black and white reflections of the water in the aquarium set), but MURDER ON A HONEYMOON has the most surprising twists.
and again, although THE DETECTIVE proposes to MISS WITHERS (and she consents!) at the end of PENGUIN POOL, THERE IS NO MENTION OF THIS in ANY of the MISS WITHERS MOVIES that came after, which- I think- led to something of a missed opportunity in MURDER ON A HONEYMOON because they absolutely could have addressed this and had MISS WITHERS going on on a honeymoon by herself after being jilted by THE DETECTIVE.
although...
it really is SO OUT OF NOWHERE when JAMES GLEASON proposes to EDNA MAE OLIVER at the end of PENGUIN POOL and even moreso when she consents
The bizarre out-of-the-blue marriage proposal notwithstanding, I enjoyed THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER quite a bit when I first saw it last year.
I think it's interesting Miss Withers's own hatpin was the murder weapon, which (considering the butterfly effect phenomenon) makes one ponder if she had not been so careless and lost it at the aquarium would there have been a murder,
I remember liking THE HEARTBREAK KID, which represents Elaine May more favorably.
[/quote]
I Agree wth your whole post by the way it would have been great to see the Heartbreak Kid Eddie Albert is so good in it.
Lorna wrote: ↑January 29th, 2024, 9:33 am
ALSO ALSO
Is it just me on a cold January morning, or does anyone else find it funny to ponder
what if...
BACK IN 1932, there was a MASSIVE SCREW-UP in the ART and MEDIA and PUBLICITY DEPTS over at RKO and all of the print ads and lobby cards and posters and promotional materials and press books for the film had the title as:
THE PENGUIN POO MURDER
...as the result of a typo.
and it was too late to fix it and they didn't have the money...so they just went with it.
BUT THEN
a nation weary from THE DEPRESSION became captivated as they all stopped to collectively ask: "you're gonna kill someone using what now?" and in doing so, forgot their troubles- not just for that moment- but throughout the day as they ask themselves and their neighbors just what the Hell that is all about and did they read that right or not.
and then, next thing you know: there are lines around the block.
like, it's the first BLOCKBUSTER, before GWTW and BEN HUR and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
it's MAMMOTH.
It makes $2.5 million, which back then was 1.6 billion, and RKO became a MEDIA POWERHOUSE THAT DOMINATED THE LANDSCAPE TO THIS DAY.
THE ARC OF HISTORY ALTERED FOREVER BECAUSE SOMEONE FORGOT TO PUT THE "L" AT THE END.
or is it Just me?
May I add to this scenario: Joseph Breen dies of a massive stroke, and nobody else steps up to effectively enforce the 1930 Hays Code?
HoldenIsHere wrote: ↑January 29th, 2024, 8:59 pm
I think it's interesting Miss Withers's own hatpin was the murder weapon, which (considering the butterfly effect phenomenon) makes one ponder if she had not been so careless and lost it at the aquarium would there have been a murder,
"Young Man, bend over! I may have left my yardstick back in the classroom, but this fishing pole will suffice for giving you a thhhhhrrashing for your insolence!"
j.lunatic wrote: ↑January 30th, 2024, 6:38 am
May I add to this scenario: Joseph Breen dies of a massive stroke, and nobody else steps up to effectively enforce the 1930 Hays Code?
I like the way you think.
Although the HAYES CODE didn't kick in till 1934, so I think PENGUIN POO would have been allowed....maybe?
j.lunatic wrote: ↑January 30th, 2024, 6:38 am
May I add to this scenario: Joseph Breen dies of a massive stroke, and nobody else steps up to effectively enforce the 1930 Hays Code?
I like the way you think.
Although the HAYES CODE didn't kick in till 1934, so I think PENGUIN POO would have been allowed....maybe?
The Motion Pictures Production Code office began advising studios from its founding in 1930, but it was not until 1934 that they developed an effective enforcement mechanism. The Code was drafted to try to placate state- and city-level censorship boards (most of which would had fainting fantods in response to "PENGUIN POO"). Among the triggers for Code enforcement were Congress' threats to institute Federal restrictions.
(The MPPC, and its successor organization The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), are industry associations. I have never worked for the MPAA, but I have worked at other associations, and much of their function is to conspicuously demonstrate to governments that they ARE regulating themselves effectively; surely there's no need for Federal legislation?)
well, i guess i'm a little bummed to know that my PENGUIN POO scenario could never have happened, but thank you for the history lesson- I didn't realize the CODE OFFICE was formed in 1930!
(and i do recall, THE HAYES CODE specifically forbade mention of bodily functions or anything skatalogical (sp?)
Hell, I don't think you could show a toilet on screen until PSYCHO broke the boundary.
makes sense though, dunno if DEPRESSION AUDIENCES were ready for flushing toilets on screen, might've been riots at screenings like EXORCIST II....
Lorna wrote: ↑January 30th, 2024, 10:50 am
well, i guess i'm a little bummed to know that my PENGUIN POO scenario could never have happened, but thank you for the history lesson- I didn't realize the CODE OFFICE was formed in 1930!
(and i do recall, THE HAYES CODE specifically forbade mention of bodily functions or anything skatalogical (sp?)
Hell, I don't think you could show a toilet on screen until PSYCHO broke the boundary.
makes sense though, dunno if DEPRESSION AUDIENCES were ready for flushing toilets on screen, might've been riots at screenings like EXORCIST II....
And in a special salute (from 1958)....
Last edited by txfilmfan on January 30th, 2024, 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
