Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

vincentlynch-moonoi A week or so ago I watched "The Penguin Pool Murder", which was made 2 years earlier in this series. On the one hand, that film was, quite simply, a better mystery and in a more unique setting -- the New York City Aquarium. But, "Murder On The Blackboard" has characters that have been fleshed out better, and you can see an improvement in production values here (although, it appears that the soundtrack on this film has deteriorated).As with "The Penguin Pool Murder", the delight here is Edna May Oliver and her facial expressions and lovable verbal barbs, and playing off James Gleason, whose role here is much improved. The other actors and actresses are fine, but the real focus is on Oliver and Gleason.The mystery itself is decent, with a storyline that works and, at the end, the two lead characters do tie up a few loose ends. Key to a good murder mystery is developing it so that two or more characters had logical motives for the murder, and this film does that. I was never quite positive which of 3 characters did it in this film, right up until the very end.Recommended for a view, but probably not on your DVD shelf.

csteidler Gossip, intrigue, jealousy—and murder? It's all happening in the dark old elementary school where Hildegarde Withers instructs the children by day and keeps an eye on her colleagues after school. But the murder mystery is secondary in this film; the real fun here is watching Miss Withers and Inspector Oscar Piper team up for another round of professional discourtesy and friendly insults—with, just by the way, a murder investigation thrown in.Hildegarde and Oscar (as they have grown close enough to call each other) are of course played by the great Edna May Oliver and James Gleason. The verbal interaction between the two is delightful (Oscar: "Well, we caught him quicker than I thought." Hildegarde: "Almost anything could be done quicker than you think, Oscar."). The physical interplay between the two is just as much fun to watch—sometimes subtle, sometime broad, consistently mischievous. (The scene where they search classroom closets—Oscar opens a door and peers in, Hildegarde noses and squirms her way in around him, he pretends to shut the door on her—is just hilarious.) The rest of the cast is fine; it's your basic array of suspects, more or less. Edgar Kennedy does lend notable support as an assistant detective. Poor Officer Kennedy—he gets conked on the head early in the picture and winds up in the hospital, then later in the movie is set up as bait! And of course no one listens to his protests….My favorite Gleason line (to Oliver, of course): "Just because you found the body, you think you're Mrs. Sherlock Holmes!" Good fun for fans of great character actors.

whpratt1 Edna May Oliver, (Hildegarde Withers) was a fantastic actress and her supporting actor was also a great actor, James Gleason, (Inspector Oscar Piper). In this film Hildegarde investigates a murder in a New York City School which involved a very pretty young teacher who was involved in some very dark secrets. There is a blackboard that plays a very important role in this murder mystery which was musical notes placed on a C staff which reveal an important clue to the person who committed this murder. Edna May Oliver and James Gleason give an outstanding performance with very quick wit of words between each other and it is also very comical and funny to watch two great veterans doing what just comes very natural for both of them. Don't miss this great film Classic from 1934.

75groucho This is a quintessential 'Late Show' movie, a low-key murder mystery with charming character actors in service to a mild plot. Edna May Oliver is the keystone of the picture, an elementary school teacher with a taste for adventure in murder mysteries. "Murder On The Blackboard" is a sequel to another Edna May Oliver-James Gleason picture so the characters are already well established. The pacing is brisk and the plot is well assembled, making for an enjoyable film. One problem for viewers might be the C&C Movietime version of this film. That version has the first half-hour cut out, which saves time but butchers the narrative. Those who pick up the thread with Oliver's character searching for the body are missing about thirty minutes of important exposition. Regardless of the editing, this is an amusing comic murder mystery deserving of your attention.