FILM FRENZY

Myrna Loy and William Powell (and Skippy as Asta) star in The Thin Man series (Photos: Warner Archive Collection)

By Matt Brunson

The Thin Man (1934)
★★★★ (out of four)
After the Thin Man (1936)
★★★½ (out of four)
Another Thin Man (1939)
★★★½ (out of four)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
★★★½ (out of four)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
★★★ (out of four)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
★★½ (out of four)
DIRECTED BY W.S. Van Dyke (1-4), Richard Thorpe (5), Edward Buzzell (6)
STARS William Powell, Myrna Loy

We tend to think of sequels as a modern innovation, but the truth is that Hollywood’s been fond of them almost from the start. The 1930s were packed with all manner of long-running film franchises: Tarzan, Andy Hardy, and Bulldog Drummond were just some of the familiar characters who enjoyed enduring popularity with audiences of the day. Among the most successful of the bunch was The Thin Man series, with its enticing mix of comedy and mystery and a screen couple so compatible that they were repeatedly paired in other projects as well. All six films in the franchise have been helpfully brought together in a new Blu-ray set labeled The Complete Thin Man Collection.

The Thin Man, the original 1934 gem based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel, introduces happily married couple Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) and their dog Asta. Nick’s a former detective (and ladies’ man) who has settled down with heiress Nora and her money; he’s content drinking himself into oblivion, but when the father of a former acquaintance (Maureen O’Sullivan) appears to be mixed up in murder, Nick (prodded by Nora) reluctantly agrees to crack the case. The recipient of four Academy Award nominations — Best Picture, Actor, Director (W.S. Van Dyke), and Adapted Screenplay (Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett), but, absurdly, not Best Actress — this classic clicks on all cylinders: deft direction, sharp dialogue, a compelling mystery, and, most importantly, beautiful chemistry between its two elegant leads.

The first of five sequels, After the Thin Man finds the jet-setting Nick and Nora visiting her family, several of whose members can’t stand the wisecracking Nick. But when it appears that Nora’s cousin (Elissa Landi) has cold-bloodedly gunned down her no-good husband (Alan Marshal), it’s up to Nick to ferret out the real killer from among a wide range of suspects (including one played by a 28-year-old James Stewart in one of his earliest roles). The movie gets a lot of mileage out of comic bits that would prove to be recurring gags throughout the series, including Nick’s insatiable boozing and his reunions with crooks that he had once sent to jail (all of whom admire him too much to hold a grudge!). Sam Levene appears as Police Lieutenant Abrams; he would reprise the role in Shadow of the Thin Man. As with The Thin Man, Goodrich and Hackett (again working from Hammett material) earned another Oscar nomination for their writing efforts. And as before, Powell and Loy make beautiful movie music together — Nick and Nora would remain one of cinema’s smartest, wittiest, and most romantic couples.

The third entry in the popular series, Another Thin Man picks up approximately nine months after its immediate predecessor. After the Thin Man concluded with the announcement of Nora’s pregnancy, meaning this one opens with the couple now with an infant (Nick Jr.) in tow. This time, Nick and Nora travel to the estate of a business associate (C. Audrey Smith); when the old man turns up dead, almost everyone’s a suspect, including Nick. As in the first two films, the labyrinthine mystery holds together and leads to the unmasking of a killer whose identity will catch many off-guard — certainly a far cry from too many modern thrillers in which the climactic plot twists can be figured out within the first 30 minutes. This entry further benefits from a strong supporting cast, including an unbilled Shemp Howard (later of The Three Stooges) as a bumbling ex-con.

The fourth flick, Shadow of the Thin Man, switches the action to the racetrack, where Nick and Nora investigate the murder of a crooked jockey. Soon, a second murder is committed, and the detective duo search high and low for clues that will unmask the killer from a group that includes an amiable reporter (Barry Nelson), his supportive girlfriend (Donna Reed), a couple of mobsters (Loring Smith and Joseph Anthony), and a gangster’s moll (Stella Adler). The comedy quotient and mystery angle are as strong as ever, and it’s a kick to see Adler, the legendary acting coach, tackling a rare screen role (she only appeared in three movies). Still, the best element of the entire series remains the love between Nick and Nora Charles — the actors’ chemistry is intoxicating, and their flirtatious banter never fails to delight. Among the countless highlights is a sequence set at a wrestling match, and if the wrestler known as Jack the Ripper looks familiar, that’s because it’s a bewigged Tor Johnson, later to gain fame for his work with Ed Wood (including the immortal Plan 9 From Outer Space).

The first four films in series were directed by W.S. Van Dyke, but any chance of him continuing with the franchise ended when the 53-year-old helmer committed suicide in 1943 rather than continue to grapple with the cancer and heart disease that had invaded his body. Directed by Richard Thorpe with a script by Robert Riskin and Dwight Taylor, The Thin Man Goes Home represents a drop from its predecessors, although there’s still enough of merit to earn its keep. In this entry, Nick and Nora return to his childhood hometown to pay his elderly folks (Lucile Watson and Harry Davenport) a visit. Since everyone assumes he’s in town working on a case, Nick’s arrival triggers panic among the burg’s less scrupulous characters. Nick’s father, a prominent doctor, has always looked down on his son’s profession and lifestyle, so when a murder occurs right before Nick’s eyes, the sleuth hopes to solve the case and impress his dad in the process. This one’s an agreeable lark, if not a particularly distinguished one.

As all good things must come to an end, the series saw its run terminated with the release of Song of the Thin Man, the sixth and weakest effort. This shaky swan song finds Nick and Nora investigating the murder of an unscrupulous bandleader (Phillip Reed). Keenan Wynn co-stars as a jazz musician who attempts to teach the Charleses the hip lingo of the era, and seeing Nick and Nora trapped in the company of such lines as “You’ll dig him in the jam joints, the rooty-toots and bobby-soxers verboten” and “The dust don’t start rising till deuce of bells” recalls those embarrassing ‘60s/’70s Bob Hope duds in which the comedian failed in trying to seem mod and with the times. For once, the mystery isn’t particularly interesting, and this only rates as highly as it does because of the two stars, who are as delightful as ever. The script (credited to five people) occasionally displays some wit, particularly in a sly and unexpected reference to The Razor’s Edge. Nick Jr. is now played by 11-year-old Dean Stockwell (later of Blue Velvet and Quantum Leap fame), while Gloria Grahame appears in one of her patented femme fatale roles.

(Extras in this Blu-ray collection consist of the 1936 radio version of The Thin Man and the 1940 radio adaptation of After the Thin Man, both starring Powell and Loy; an episode from The Thin Man TV series (1957-1959) starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk; a live-action short from each of the sequels’ respective years, including 1941’s The Tell-Tale Heart, based on the Edgar Allan Poe story and directed by Jules Dassin (The Naked City, Rififi), and 1947’s A Really Important Person, starring Stockwell; five cartoons, one similarly from each of the sequels’ respective years; and theatrical trailers.)