Murder on the Blackboard is a mystery film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. It was based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Palmer. It is notable for featuring an appearance by popular actor Bruce Cabot in one of his first post-King Kong roles. It is the second of three films teaming Oliver and Gleason as Withers and Piper, following Penguin Pool Murder and preceding Murder on a Honeymoon. Miss Withers discovers the dead body of her colleague, music... teacher Louise Halloran , in a schoolroom. She summons her old friend, Inspector Oscar Piper , but by the time he arrives, the corpse has disappeared. Having watched the only entrance , Miss Withers knows the killer must still be inside. When the police search the building, Detective Donahue is knocked out in the basement. Meanwhile, Miss Withers notices various clues, including a tune on the blackboard in Halloran's classroom. The body is found being burned in the basement furnace.
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| Release date: | June 15, 1934 |
| Directed by: | George Archainbaud |
| Runtime: | 71 Minutes |
| Producer: | Pandro S. Berman, Kenneth Macgowan |
| Cinematography: | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Screenplay by: | Willis Goldbeck |
| Adapted from: | Murder on the blackboard |
| Genre: | Comedy |