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INTRODUCTION

Hildegarde Withers is a fictional character who appeared in several films and novels. She was created by Stuart Palmer.

Miss Withers is a fiftyish schoolteacher who is an amateur sleuth on the side. Her adventures are usually comic but are nevertheless straightforward mysteries. She is a sort of variation on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. “A lean, angular spinster lady, her unusual hats and the black cotton umbrella she carries are her trademark. ... Hildegarde collects tropical fish, abhors alcohol and tobacco, and appears to have an irritable disposition. However, she is a romantic at heart and will extend herself to help young lovers.”

Edna May Oliver starred in the first three screen adaptations, produced by RKO Radio Pictures, and is considered the definitive Miss Withers. When Oliver left RKO in 1935 to sign with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO attempted to continue the series with Helen Broderick and then ZaSu Pitts, but Oliver’s presence was sorely missed and the films were poorly received. Author Palmer approved of Oliver’s characterization so much that he gave the actress a mention in his Hollywood-based Withers novel The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan.

In 1972, CBS made a Withers television movie with Eve Arden that was well-received, but failed to produce any sequels.

HILDEGARDE WITHERS FILMS

Penguin Pool Murder (1932), starring Edna May Oliver

Murder on the Blackboard (1934), starring Edna May Oliver

Murder on a Honeymoon (1935), starring Edna May Oliver (based on The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree, 1934)

Murder on a Bridle Path (1936), starring Helen Broderick

The Plot Thickens (1936), starring by ZaSu Pitts

Forty Naughty Girls (1937), starring by ZaSu Pitts

HILDEGARDE WITHERS ON TELEVISION

Amazing Miss Withers, starring Agnes Moorehead and Paul Kelly [Lost pilot, 1950s]

A Very Missing Person (1972), TV movie starring Eve Arden

HILDEGARDE WITHERS BOOKS BY STUART PALMER

The Penguin Pool Murder (1931)

Murder on Wheels (1932)

Murder on the Blackboard (1932)

The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree (1933)

The Puzzle of the Silver Persian (1934)

The Puzzle of the Red Stallion (1935) [a.k.a. The Puzzle of the Briar Pipe]

The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla (1937)

The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan (1941)

The Riddles of Hildegarde Withers (1947) [short stories]

Miss Withers Regrets (1947)

Four Lost Ladies (1949)

The Green Ace (1950) [a.k.a. At One Fell Swoop]

The Monkey Murder and other Tales (1950) [short stories]

Nipped in the Bud (1951) [a.k.a. Trap for a Redhead]

Cold Poison (1954) [a.k.a. Exit Laughing]

The People vs. Withers and Malone (1963) [written with Craig Rice]

Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene (1969) [completed by Fletcher Flora after Palmer’s death]

Hildegarde Withers: Uncollected Riddles (2002) [short stories]