with the come of sound to the movie and the crash to the stock market and musical and screwball comedy and tightly plot cozy mystery become staple of 30 film go and frequently a valuable and if unintentional and tour of the decade culture ( one of the potential motif of one of the suspect in the penguin pool murder be a margin call on a brokerage account about to be wipe out by fall stock price . ) . in 1932 and a year after dashiel hammett have introduce the hard boil detective to novel and film with his sam spade in the maltese falcon ( a decade before the oscar win remake we all know today . ) and while philo vance be still at his peak and charlie chan have just start his marathon run and and two year before dashiel hammett would backtrack to seemingly invent the comedy mystery in the first of the thin man series and stuart palmer hildegarde withers story be point the way to that perfect bantering comedy . miss withers be one of the first screen character to build on the little old lady detective first introduce by mary robert rinehart and later to be highly polish though with few comic overtone in agatha christie miss marple tale . beautifully acerbic character actress edna may oliver first assay the plum role of withers in the penguin pool murder and playing every stereotype of the prim and corset but observant and spinster school teacher for all they be worth against the background of a solidly plotted mystery and a grand support cast head by perennial mystery fixture jam gleason a the much put upon inspector piper . a new york city now long vanish become an active part of the support cast . while miss oliver choose not to be pin down to the continue withers role after only three film ( the penguin pool murder 32 and murder at the blackboard 34 and murder on a honeymoon 35 ) and pass on the part to solid comedienne helen broderick for the less well write but enjoyable and frequently air murder on the bridal path 36 and ( with less effect ) fine support comedienne zasu pitt for a final two ( the plot thicken 36 and and forty naughty girl 37 ) and all the withers film be fun but the oliver be the best of the bunch . connoisseur of period mystery should especially treasure the penguin pool murder for it location shot of some now vanish ( or at least radically transform ) manhattan landmarks most notably the then new york city aquarium ( long before the institution decamp to brooklyn ) . the building at battery park and at the tip of manhattan and have since lose it roof and interior to be return to it original ( now landmarked ) form a the actual battery ( a fort castle clinton ) which protect new york harbor in the early 1800 . before become the aquarium show in the 1932 film it be already a famous roofed build represent convert in 1823 to the castle garden theatre where in the 1850 jenny lind and the swedish nightingale and make her american debut and lola monte dance . from 1855 to 1890 and it be the united state immigration depot before ellis island be build and and a such and the first ground in america million of immigrant set foot on . then and for year it be the new york city aquarium where manhattanites could see example of aquatic life ( and the occasional movie corpse ) . the aquarium would not pass muster today for the cramped and indeed life threaten and condition it inmate be force to endure but that in itself be part of the realistic picture of life in the 30 seemingly minor film like these can offer . while the aquarium interior be studio recreation and these have to be believable picture of the world the audience they be issue to live in and and we can learn a lot from them about that world a a result . we have come a long way . . . in some way . today and new york battery park grow out from and around the building which beautifully start of the penguin pool murder . the park contain directly in front of the former aquarium the most eloquent and complete memorial the tragedy of 9/11/01 could possibly have represent the fracture globe which originally sit in the plaza between the twin tower now with an eternal flame at it base . if youre go to be in new york and do not miss this increasingly meaningful piece of sculpture but first see it set a it look 70 year earlier in delightful penguin pool murder .