Murder on a Bridle Path

"It would be you," Inspector Piper nods the moment he turns and sees Hildegarde Withers arriving on the scene. "It's gotten so, Hildegarde, a person can't be killed within the city limits without your showing up."

This is, indeed, the fourth murder case on which Miss Withers assists, critiques, leads, follows, and just generally offers suggestions to her crusty detective friend. James Gleason's Oscar Piper is once again easily chagrined but grudgingly respectful of Miss Withers' detecting skills; Helen Broderick takes on the role of school teacher and amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers for the first and only time. This Withers is a bit less tart and somewhat more conscious of her own wittiness than the earlier Withers (as portrayed by Edna May Oliver). Broderick and Gleason quickly establish a rapport and relationship that—as in the earlier films in the series—is easily our primary reason for watching.

The plot involves the death of society girl Violet Feveral, played (albeit briefly) with delicious nastiness by Sheila Terry. Suspects abound—this Violet was, in the best whodunit tradition, wildly unpopular and had handed out insults and injuries to numerous other characters in the hours and days before her death. The familiar faces in the lineup of suspects include Louise Latimer as a sister to the victim; John Carroll as a family employee; and Leslie Fenton, who is quite good as the nervous ex-husband who has just been mysteriously released from jail. Willie Best stands out in his usual thankless role as a stable boy who may have a clue or two; his deadpan delivery when answering questions (What was he doing in jail? "Shooting craps." No, what was he in jail for? "Shooting craps.") squeezes the maximum out of a role that's otherwise a lame stereotype.

The mystery itself is not particularly inventive or suspenseful; however, the story moves along briskly and the actors and script are competent if not brilliant. The interaction between Gleason and Broderick is clearly presented as the center of the picture—and that relationship between a couple of pros is a lot of fun to watch. (One example: Oscar suggests that the murder was a "crime of passion," to which Hildegarde snaps, "Oscar, don't you think we'd better try to keep this case clean?")

Bonus: we are instructed what can be learned about a person from examining his pipe!

Veteran Dorothy Yost co-wrote this mystery, who penned many enjoyable films, including productions for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. So it's no surprise that Helen Broderick (who worked with the famous duo) was a shoe-in for the lead, replacing spunky Edna May Oliver as Hildegard Withers. Oliver left RKO for obviously bigger projects in her marvelous career, case in point having just appeared opposite WC Fields in DAVID COPPERFIELD and next A TALE OF TWO CITIES and ROMEO AND JULIET. What movies!

I do agree with the last reviewer that if you had NOT seen the earlier films starring Oliver, you would have apprecaited this entry even more. It's not all that bad, and even a tad creepy in spots, however Broderick's portrayal of the clever female detective is not the same as Olivers. While the latter employed wise-cracks and priceless frowns, Helen Broderick appears more calculating, seemingly taking mental notes of suspects, and strangely appears to have less dialogue. At times she is over-shadowed by detective James Gleason, who supplies all the one liners. Broderick, a very good actress in her own right, looks the part, but you are definitely thinking Edna May Oliver.

Still, it's an interesting late night mystery, all about an unpopular socialite who takes a horse ride --and never comes back. It will definitely keep you guessing (many suspects at large), and the suspenseful ending was exceptionally written. This is perhaps Broderick's best scene. Also, the supporting cast is very good. Comedian Zasu Pitts took over the lead in the next entry. This is in a super dvd box set of Hildegard Withers mysteries, not to be missed.

This fourth movie in the Hildegarde Withers-Oscar Piper series has Helen Broderick replacing Edna May Oliver in the Withers role. She's the most sophisticated of the three who played the role (the other was ZaSu Pitts) but I still enjoyed the banter she has with James Gleason, who played Piper in the entire series. The plot is a bit hard to follow (I watched it twice to clear up some points) and it is impossible to determine or even guess who the killer is. That didn't bother me, since I had fun with lots of comedy in the film. Willie Best has his usual steroetyped negro role and James Donlan plays the more-or-less inept detective. I particularly enjoyed the red herring of the pipe, which eventually reveals how to tell if a person has false teeth.

I was reading the review by Calvinnme and agree heartily. If the viewer never saw the previous Hildegard Withers films that starred Edna May Oliver, you might enjoy "Murder on a Bridle Path" even more. While Helen Broderick is very good in this role, Oliver was just better as Hildegard. Apparently, Oliver and the studio had a 'parting of the ways' and they unsuccessfully tried Broderick and later Zasu Pitts in Oliver's place. But, no matter how they tried, no one could match the charming crankiness of the original!

The film starts with a blonde lady being disagreeable with several folks--a clear giveaway that she'll soon be murdered (it's a standard cliché in mystery films of the time). VERY soon after, she's killed while out riding her horse. Again, Calvinnme was right--this character wasn't developed enough and her death came too quickly. The police assume she died by accident but soon they notice a few clues that indicate she was NOT killed by being kicked by a horse. Around this time, Hildegarde shows up and immediately begins digging for clues. Like any murder mystery of the era, there are lots of dead ends and twists--along with a VERY florid ending involving the murderer--and it's by far the best part of the movie.

This is a pretty good mystery film. Unfortunately, the snappy dialog from Withers isn't as obvious--not just due to Broderick but because the writing is a bit less snappy. Enjoyable but that's really about all.

... you never saw its three predecessors in which Edna May Oliver played schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers, partner in sleuthing to police detective Oscar Piper (James Gleason). There was something very special about the chemistry between these two. However, Helen Broderick is a more than adequate stand-in who manages to get a few good zingers in at the expense of Piper, which was the trademark of Withers when Oliver played the part.

In this entry in the series, a pretty but difficult young woman makes enemies of everyone around her, although we're told about this more than we see it - the girl barely gets more than a scene before she is murdered while riding her horse one morning. Only the homicide investigation turns up the most likely suspect - a rich ex-husband who was a husband in the first place only because the murdered woman wanted a big payoff in the form of alimony. Piper thinks he's on to something until he learns that the man in question was in jail for non payment of alimony at the time, and that the man's only close living relative, his father, who also hates the girl for what she has done to his son, is an invalid incapable of traipsing around parks early in the morning. There are other numerous less likely suspects introduced just to keep you guessing.

As usual, Hildegarde out-sleuths Piper at several key junctures, but she also makes a key miscalculation that leads up to a big joke at her expense in the last scene, after the mystery is solved. The fact that this one word - applesauce - could ever have been considered a curse word of sorts may seem strange to modern audiences. Stranger still was that the production code was so sensitive at the time that the film had to make the retort to Hildegarde appear to have two meanings.

This one is an above average mystery and well acted, just don't expect the magic of the ones with both Gleason and Oliver starring.