NekoHomey
Purely Joyful Movie!
ReaderKenka
Let's be realistic.
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Ortiz
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
JohnHowardReid
NOTES: Third of the "Hildegarde Withers" series of six films, all produced by RKO and all based on works by the character's creator, Stuart Palmer. The first three films starred Edna May Oliver. On completing this assignment (for which she received rave notices), Miss Oliver accepted a tempting offer to sign with MGM. RKO, unwilling to pay MGM's price for Miss Oliver's continued service, teamed James Gleason with Helen Broderick in film number four, and with ZaSu Pitts in films five and six. To quiet public outrage at these substitutions, RKO put it out that Miss Oliver was "too ill" to continue with the role. This lie fooled no-one except, it seems, present-day critics who still repeat this canard from time to time in various books and reviews.COMMENT: By common consensus, this one has always been regarded as the best of the series. Directed by Lloyd Corrigan, the actor/writer, who whipped out around a dozen films in the 1930s before resuming his acting career, Murder on a Honeymoon boasts some very fine performances, both comic and dramatic, which help to bolster an already intriguing script. Seton I. Miller supplied the drama, Robert Benchley the comedy and both blend perfectly together. Atmospheric photography also helps.
However, not everyone will agree that Edna May Oliver outshines the rest of the cast. Some might even go so far as to suggest that her highly mannered portrayal seems both old-fashioned and out of place. Certainly the rest of the players are far more realistic in their approach, be it with comedy (Spencer Charters, Willie Best, Arthur Hoyt) or suspense (Lola Lane, Leo G. Carroll, DeWitt Jennings). However, as far as I'm concerned, the player who walks away with the acting honors is the little-known Dorothy Libaire, with equally unknown Harry Ellerbe not far behind. I also enjoyed seeing Robert Homans without his customary patrolman's cap, and sitting behind a desk for once!
As with the first two entries, production values are high. Plane connoisseurs and nostalgia buffs will both revel in the flight to Catalina Island.
GManfred
Interesting casting; a dowdy British matron teams up with a wisecracking New York City detective to solve a mystery. Turns out it was a great idea, and you wish they could have made a whole series, like the Charlie Chans, instead of just three of them. And that is our loss.Edna May Oliver is entertaining in anything she appeared in and the same goes for James Gleason. Together they are great fun and play well off each other, with neither giving any ground and holding their own as verbal sparring partners. "Murder On A Honeymoon" was even co-scripted by Robert Benchley and directed by Lloyd Corrigan - not too shabby on the credits.The plot is a good one and you will be hard-put to guess the murderer. There is some plot contrivance toward the end of the picture, but if you're like me you'll just go with it. It's like that with many good movies that hold your interest throughout, a trademark of the way Hollywood used to make movies.
Spikeopath
Murder on a Honeymoon is directed by Lloyd Corrigan and adapted to screenplay by Robert Benchley and Seton I. Miller from the novel The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree written by Stuart Palmer. It stars Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane and George Meeker. Music is by Alberto Colombo and cinematography by Nick Musuraca.During a flight to Catalina Island a passenger falls sick and dies. Hildegard Withers (Oliver) smells a rat but has trouble convincing the authorities that murder is evident. Help is on the way, though, in the shape of Hildegard's side-kick, Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason).The third and last outing for Oliver as fun crime solver Hildegard Withers, Murder on a Honeymoon gets in and does a grand job for entertainment purpose. The by-play between Oliver and Gleason is very precious, harking back to a cinematic time when actors attacked their roles with brio, and here the actors are helped by having humourist Benchley at the writing table. The mystery element is strong, and this even though we only have a small group of suspects, while the big reveal is a genuine surprise as the plot twists into crafty avenues.Phsyical froth meets murder mystery shenanigans. Nice. 7/10
Neil Doyle
This time a murder takes place on a seaplane enroute to Catalina Island and all of the passengers become suspects. Needless to say, a few red herrings are thrown into the plot but it's all eventually solved after Hildegarde Withers (Edna May Oliver) calls in detective Piper (James Gleason) to assist her in solving the case.Another minor entry in the Hildegarde Withers series with Edna May giving her all to a plot-heavy number of names and suspects. Better just sit back and watch Oliver at work, stealing every scene with assurance and almost making us believe in the baffling proceedings. Leo G. Carroll does a nice job as a harried movie director. Lola Lane is a pleasant distraction but it's Edna May's movie all the way.