'The Thin Man' series of films, starring the perfect cinematic coupling of William Powell and Myrna Loy, is fast becoming one of my favourite movie collections. For the first two outings, the emphasis of the films has been on the witty marital banter of the keen detective couple, Nick and Nora Charles. The murder mysteries themselves took a noticeable back seat to all of this, reaching a perfect balance, and making sure the final products are wonderfully funny, mysterious, witty and suspenseful. 'Another Thin Man' is the third movie of the series, out of a total of six. When we left off last time, Nick's incredible criminal intellect was failing to grasp the connection between a pair of baby's bootees and a coming addition to the Charles household.
Since the release of the original film in 1934, critics and fans had been using the term "The Thin Man" to refer to Nick Charles, when, in actual fact, it referred to the secretive inventor Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), who went missing. However, for the first time, the filmmakers go along with this common misconception, with the title "Another Thin Man" referring to the one-year-old Nick Charles, Jr. Perhaps surprisingly, given the addition of a baby to the mix, the film is noticeably darker than its predecessors. Among the heinous crimes committed are numerous murders, the slaughter of a pet dog (not Asta, I can assure you), and Nick's family being verbally threatened with bodily harm. The comedy is most certainly still there, but, in this case, it seems to have taken a back-seat to the mystery. Baby Nick Charles has little to do with the plot just like Asta before him, he is just an amusing sidekick to provide the occasional physical gag.
When Nora's paranoid uncle, Colonel Burr MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith), suspects that an unfriendly former-employee, Phil Church (Sheldon Leonard), is out to kill him, our favourite couple with Nick Jr. (William A. Poulsen) and Asta in tow reluctantly arrive to investigate. However, it isn't long before a string of sinister practical jokes escalates into the old man's murder, and there is a host of suspicious suspects for Nick and Nora to interrogate. Significant supporting are played very well by Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Tom Neal, Phyllis Gordon and Don Costello, with Harry Bellaver as a hilarious, overly-enthusiastic ex-con who is determined to throw little Nick Jr. a birthday party. Though perhaps not quite the solid comedy that the first films were, as a mystery film, 'Another Thin Man' is still one of the best you'll find from the 1930s. And, with more twists and turns than a windy mountain road, you'll never guess who the murderer is.
Since the release of the original film in 1934, critics and fans had been using the term "The Thin Man" to refer to Nick Charles, when, in actual fact, it referred to the secretive inventor Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), who went missing. However, for the first time, the filmmakers go along with this common misconception, with the title "Another Thin Man" referring to the one-year-old Nick Charles, Jr. Perhaps surprisingly, given the addition of a baby to the mix, the film is noticeably darker than its predecessors. Among the heinous crimes committed are numerous murders, the slaughter of a pet dog (not Asta, I can assure you), and Nick's family being verbally threatened with bodily harm. The comedy is most certainly still there, but, in this case, it seems to have taken a back-seat to the mystery. Baby Nick Charles has little to do with the plot just like Asta before him, he is just an amusing sidekick to provide the occasional physical gag.
When Nora's paranoid uncle, Colonel Burr MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith), suspects that an unfriendly former-employee, Phil Church (Sheldon Leonard), is out to kill him, our favourite couple with Nick Jr. (William A. Poulsen) and Asta in tow reluctantly arrive to investigate. However, it isn't long before a string of sinister practical jokes escalates into the old man's murder, and there is a host of suspicious suspects for Nick and Nora to interrogate. Significant supporting are played very well by Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Tom Neal, Phyllis Gordon and Don Costello, with Harry Bellaver as a hilarious, overly-enthusiastic ex-con who is determined to throw little Nick Jr. a birthday party. Though perhaps not quite the solid comedy that the first films were, as a mystery film, 'Another Thin Man' is still one of the best you'll find from the 1930s. And, with more twists and turns than a windy mountain road, you'll never guess who the murderer is.