Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)

A schoolteacher and amateur sleuth suspects foul play when a fellow passenger on a sea-plane gets sick and dies.

Director:

Lloyd Corrigan

Writers:

Seton I. Miller (screenplay), Robert Benchley (screenplay),

Stars:

Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Edna May Oliver	...	Hildegarde Withers
James Gleason	...	Inspector Oscar Piper
Lola Lane	...	Phyllis La Font
George Meeker	...	Tom Kelsey, Alias Roswell T. Forrest
Dorothy Libaire	...	Kay Deving
Harry Ellerbe	...	Marvin Deving
Chick Chandler	...	Dick French
Willie Best	...	Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Joseph B. Tate
DeWitt Jennings	...	Captain Beegle
Spencer Charters	...	Chief Of Police Britt
Arthur Hoyt	...	Dr. O'Rourke
Matt McHugh	...	Madden
Morgan Wallace	...	McArthur aka Arthur Mack
Brooks Benedict	...	Roswell T. Forrest

Storyline

On vacation, schoolteacher/detective Miss Withers flies to Catalina Island; on landing, a passenger is found mysteriously dead. With local authorities unwilling to make waves over a natural (they hope) death, Miss Withers interests her old friend Inspector Piper in the case; for reasons of his own, he flies out to take over the investigation. He should know better than to try taking over from Miss Withers...

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Plot Keywords:

schoolteacher | catalina island california | sequel | hired killer | detective | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crime na Lua de Mel

Filming Locations:

Avalon Casino - 1 Casino Way, Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

A shoe with a "K" carved on the heel would leave an impression with the "K" reversed. The "K" in the heel print in the movie is not reversed, showing that it's not really a heel print.

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Quotes

Oscar Piper: I suggest using your head a little.
Hildegarde Withers: That'd be nice work for you, Oscar, if you could get it.

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Connections

Follows Penguin Pool Murder (1932)

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Soundtracks

"The Wedding March"
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Hummed by Brooks Benedict

User Reviews

Not As Good as the First Two but Still Entertaining

Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Third film in the series has Edna May Oliver returning as Hildegarde Withers, the school teacher who once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. While on vacation Withers and Inspector Piper (James Gleason) investigate the murder of a man on an airplane who at first just got violently sick but then ended up dying. There's no question that this third film is a step down from PENGUIN POOL MURDER and MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD but thanks to the leads its still worth watching. Once again we get Oliver and Gleason working perfectly together and coming up with some terrific comic timing as well as that wonderful chemistry that only they could deliver. The screenplay gives both of them plenty of banter towards the other but it also has them working even better together as the majority of the laughs take a backseat to the actual mystery being unfolded. I think the story here is a fairly good one but the biggest problem with the screenplay is that it really doesn't come up with very many good supporting characters. WE have the idiot cop on the island who can't do a thing right. We have an uptight director, a couple on their honeymoon and we even have one woman who will stop at nothing to become an actress. None of these characters really stood out, although I will admit that Lola Lane was extremely easy on the eyes as the actress. Gleason once again steals the film as the cigar-chomping Inspector who is always almost right but always needs that added help to get anything done. Corrigan's direction gets things done well enough but it doesn't contain that ultimate punch to keep things moving as well as they should and I do think he should have done a little more visually. With that said, this entry is still a good one and fans of these types of pictures should find themselves entertained. This is, of course, due in large part to Oliver and Gleason.