This is my third favourite film in the series after "The Thin Man" and "After the Thin Man" (no pun intended!). William Powell and Myrna Loy are simply wonderful and it has an excellent supporting cast, particularly Harry Davenport, Anne Revere, Donald Meek and Lucile Watson. However, I have to give special mention to Gloria DeHaven, who is an absolute laugh riot as the overly dramatic drama student Laurabelle Ronson who feels everything "here, inside." She's still alive at the ripe old age of 89, I'm glad to say. Her career spanned from "Modern Times" in 1936 to an episode of "Touched by an Angel" in 2000.
This is the first film in the series in which the "Thin Man" of the title refers to Nick Charles due to the popular misconception that he was the Thin Man, when in fact it referred to Clyde Wynant, a supporting character in the novel and first film. This is similar to the situation with the "Pink Panther" film series 20+ years later.
It was also the first film in the series made after the US entry into World War II, which is alluded to several times, most notably the McGuffin being plans for a propeller which an unnamed "foreign power" wants to get its hands on. The wartime rationing is the reason that the characters' prolific drinking, a trademark of the first four films, is significantly (and disappointingly) toned down on this occasion. According to Myrna Loy, changing attitudes to said drinking was one of the reasons that the series ended with the next film "Song of the Thin Man".
This is the first film in the series in which the "Thin Man" of the title refers to Nick Charles due to the popular misconception that he was the Thin Man, when in fact it referred to Clyde Wynant, a supporting character in the novel and first film. This is similar to the situation with the "Pink Panther" film series 20+ years later.
It was also the first film in the series made after the US entry into World War II, which is alluded to several times, most notably the McGuffin being plans for a propeller which an unnamed "foreign power" wants to get its hands on. The wartime rationing is the reason that the characters' prolific drinking, a trademark of the first four films, is significantly (and disappointingly) toned down on this occasion. According to Myrna Loy, changing attitudes to said drinking was one of the reasons that the series ended with the next film "Song of the Thin Man".