The Swinging Pearl Mystery

Original title: The Plot Thickens

1936
A
1h 9m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

James Gleason and Zasu Pitts in The Swinging Pearl Mystery (1936)

A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the case.A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the case.A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the case.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

397

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Top cast23

Edit

James Gleason

Oscar Piper

Zasu Pitts

Hildegarde Withers

Owen Davis Jr.

Robert Wilkins

Louise Latimer

Alice Stevens

Arthur Aylesworth

Kendall

Paul Fix

Richard Tucker

John Carter

Barbara Barondess

Marie

James Donlan

Agnes Anderson

Dagmar

Oscar Apfel

H. G. Robbins

Alyce Ardell

Josephine, Hildegarde's Maid
(uncredited)

John T. Bambury

Midget
(uncredited)

Billy Dooley

Gas Station Attendant
(uncredited)

Frank Fanning

Detective Fanning
(uncredited)

Mary Gordon

Woman with Bag
(uncredited)

Reed Howes

Museum Guard in Egyptian Room
(uncredited)

John Indrisano

Man in Line for Inspection
(uncredited)

Director
- Ben Holmes
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews12

Featured review

7/10

For once, a mystery film where the leading detective is NOT an idiot!

Back in the 1930s, Edna May Oliver played amateur detective Hildegarde Withers in several very successful films. Unfortunately, when Miss Oliver went to MGM to work, this left a vacancy. RKO/Radio Pictures didn't want to discontinue the series and they tried a couple actresses in the role...though none were as good as Oliver. In "The Plot Thickens", they tried out Zazu Pitts in the lead...and they apparently liked her enough to have her appear once more time as the detective.

Soon after the story begins, a man is shot. Was he the victim of a jealous boyfriend? It appears this way. However, through the course of the picture, it becomes obvious that the victim was a jerk...and had something to do with the theft of a valuable piece of art, the Cellini Cup.

I liked this film for many reasons. Much of it was because the film had lots of false leads that kept you guessing. And, much was because the detective (James Gleason) investigating the case was NOT an idiot and often made smart moves. So, instead of Hildegarde saving the day and constantly out-thinking the cops, she was more an assistant to an already capable guy...which made this much unlike the average B-mystery. Well worth seeing...even without Oliver.

Trivia
On July 21, 1936, the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (aka Hollywood Citizen-News) listed RKO films in production or preparation, including "The Riddle of the Dangling Pearl," based on a Stuart Palmer novella. James Gleason and Helen Broderick were indicated as the principal actors. They had appeared in RKO's previous Hildegarde Withers production, Murder on a Bridle Path (1936). However, on Aug. 17, the paper reported that Broderick would not be appearing in the film, as she had too many other assignments. (She appeared in five RKO releases in 1936.) The article indicated that James Gleason's wife Lucille was negotiating to take over the role of Hildegarde Withers, but on Sept. 4 an L.A. Times story indicated that James would be teamed with Zasu Pitts for the film, which was released in December as The Swinging Pearl Mystery (1936).