Hildegarde Withers first appeared in novels with The Penguin Pool Murders in 1931 and was based on author's Stuart Palmer's high school teacher. She was described as a tall, bony spinster ex-school teacher who wore unusual hats and carried a black furled umbrella. Her unofficial partner as well as friend was crusty Inspector Oscar Piper of the NYPD who actually proposed to her at one time but retracted the offer at the last moment. Novels and short stories would continue into the 1960s until Palmer's death in 1968. Hildegarde was portrayed in the movies by Edna May Oliver, Helen Broderick and Zazu Pitts and Oscar was portrayed by James Gleason. In this film, Eve Arden was chosen because physically she looks much like how the character is described in the stories. The teleplay is based on the novel "Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene" which was completed by Fletcher Flora upon Palmer's death and released in 1969. So here we see a much more liberated Hildegarde in a much more liberated time. This is a pilot for a proposed "rotating" series called The Great Detectives which would have alternated with Sherlock Holmes and Nick Carter. I think Hildegarde could be adapted for contemporary times much like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple has been done from time to time, but most fans of her in fiction would find this adaption a bit jarring. The novels spanned from 1931 to 1954. In 1963 there was an additional novel penned by Craig Rice under Palmer's direction and in 1969 Fletcher Flora completed what was found of Palmer's notes for the final Hildegarde novel.
Review of A Very Missing Person
A Very Missing Person
(1972 TV Movie)
Based on the final Hildegarde novel completed from Stuart Palmer's notes.
29 August 2013