Nick, gentleman détective

Very few sequels ever live up to the film that started the entire franchise--AFTER THE THIN MAN, second in a series of six films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Detective Nick Charles and his inquisitive, charming wife Nora, is one of those that just about manages it. It brings back the characters we've gotten to know in the first film, THE THIN MAN, and subjects them to even more wacky criminal hijinks.

This time, Nick (Powell) and Nora (Loy) return to San Francisco just in time for a surprise New Year's Eve party (at which no one recognises them, ironically enough!). However, Nora's dour Aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph) spoils Nick's plans to spend New Year's Eve blissfully alone--and most likely inebriated--by inviting the couple to her house to help Nora's cousin Selma (Elissa Landi). Selma's husband Robert (Alan Marshal) has been missing for days, off with Polly Byrnes (Penny Singleton), a nightclub entertainer at the Lychee Club owned by Dancer (Joseph Calleia). David Graham, Selma's erstwhile but painfully rejected fiance, still apparently holds a torch for Selma, and Robert gleefully blackmails David in return for a promise to leave his own wife. Little does Robert know that he is very much part of a web of intrigue, about to be cheated himself by Polly and Dancer, and he inevitably ends up as the murder case for the rest of the film.

The great part about this film is that the murder case actually does keep one in suspense, even if one knows the identity of the murderer before watching the film for the first time, as I did. It keeps you guessing about why and where, and the entire cast of supporting characters, as in the first Thin Man film, are shrouded in mystery and suspicion. It could be anyone of them, and in a trademark revelation scene at the very end, Nick gathers the whole assembly of players to catch the murderer red-handed, as it were.

Throw this cleverly-written murder mystery in with a healthy heaping of literate dialogue, thrown out only as William Powell and Myrna Loy can, and you get a classy film that hints at crime, love, sex, power and hatred without ever needing to resort to cheaper tricks. It's great to meet these characters again: Nick, constantly inebriated and the epitome of gentlemanly cool as usual (witness the scene in which Dancer causes a blackout and a great deal of loud scuffling and gunshots are heard in the darkness--Nick is calmly making a phone call under the table, amidst all the chaos); Nora, the charming, understanding modern wife who's game for anything that Nick can dream up (unless, of course, he locks her into the bathroom to prevent her from tagging along)... and of course, Asta, who we discover has his own family (made up of Mrs. Asta and the cutest puppies one can imagine) that he's trying very hard to protect.

As with the previous Thin Man film, however, AFTER THE THIN MAN combines a great mystery story with a very real portrayal of the marriage everyone wished they had. It's no small wonder that menfolk in the 1930s used to form 'Men Must Marry Myrna' Clubs--she's able to stand up to her man whenever necessary, and even when she's chattering through the night evidently hungering for Nick's scrambled eggs, Myrna Loy's Nora Charles is one of the cutest female characters ever created. One of the best scenes would undeniably be when Nick realises he's kissed someone else on the stroke of midnight, so goes on a quest for Nora. He finds her and she asks him if he has any New Year's complaints or resolutions; he does have a complaint and gravely informs her of it. She nods seriously in agreement and says, "Must scold. Must nag. Mustn't be too pretty in the mornings." I won't spoil the ending of the film, but Nora's own revelation to Nick as they take the train back to New York is also as touching and sweet as can be imagined.

If you're up for a good romance story, or a good murder mystery, or better yet, a combination of the two, you really couldn't go wrong with this second installment in the Thin Man series. Try your best to get your hands on the first film, but AFTER THE THIN MAN is truly a sequel that does the original film and the franchise to follow proud.

'The Thin Man' still stands out as a brilliant film, witty, suspenseful, very well made and directed with great performances and chemistry between the two stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. It was followed five sequels 'After the Thin Man', 'Another Thin Man', 'Shadow of the Thin Man', 'The Thin Man Goes Home' and 'Song of the Thin Man'. None of them disgrace it or are bad, in fact all of them are well worth watching, while not quite equalling or surpassing it.

'After the Thin Man' is the first of them and is a contender for the best. It is on the slight side perhaps and some may find it slow. Not me though, it transfixed me from the start and never let go. There is little to fault with 'After the Thin Man', though for my tastes Dorothy McNulty (aka Penny Singleton) overdoes it and doesn't amuse as much as ought. That though is nit-picking. There is so much to like here, all of the fun, suspense and charm of 'The Thin Man' is present and everything that was so great about that film is here too with the full impact not being lost.

It's a good-looking film, especially with some of the best photography of the series. Being both elegant and moody. The sets are simple but not too simplistic and certainly not unattractive. The costumes and fashions are even more elegant than the photography, and have always been one of the consistently striking elements of the films. Loy looks absolutely fabulous here, what she wears suits her so well and the camera clearly loves it. The music is suitably jaunty while not being inappropriately so, and the film is directed at a lively pace.

Script still continues to have hilarious and witty dialogue, with a good deal of sophistication and charm. The comic banter is light and never heavy and the physical comedy is endearingly silly without going over the top or childish. The story is never hard to follow and always engages, actually found that the slightness didn't matter that much. It also continues to have some of the best suspense of the series and there are some genuine surprises, including a nice minor twist involving James Stewart in an early role and an ending that one doesn't see coming.

Powell and Loy are on top form here, especially Powell who has more to do and clearly has a great time being charming and suave. Loy is glamour personified and the easy-going and magnetic chemistry between her and Powell is what makes the film, and the whole 'The Thin Man' series for that matter, work so well, for me it is one of film's most legendary partnerships. The rest of the cast fare well and who cannot help endear to Asta?

Overall, great film and complements the first film beautifully. 9/10

Of the six entries in "The Thin Man" series that were released between 1934-1947, none of which are bad, this one is the best. This second entry has the most plausible story, best cinematography (San Francisco on a cold foggy New Year's Eve night), and is perhaps the most amusing of the lot. This episode is noticeably longer than the other six, mostly due to an extensive homecoming sequence that opens the film, but this does not detract from the film in any way. And if you are a fan of Asta's, he gets more screen time in this outing than any of the others (interestingly, in Dashelle Hammett's book, Asta is female).

Of course the chemistry on screen between Myrna Loy and William Powell is unsurpassed, that's why they would ultimately be cast together in 14 films during their careers. Besides the early and very well done performance of James Stewart, look for a young and brunette Penny Singleton (later "Blondie"), billed under her real name of Dorothy McNulty, playing the role of Polly for all it's worth. It's also fun to remember when you're watching veteran character actress Jessie Ralph play the stodgy Aunt Katherine, you are looking at a woman who was born during the Civil War.

All of the key Thin Man ingredients are here: a clever who-dun-it (with more suspects than any other Thin Man film), beautiful photography, exquisite fashions and decor, jokes as dry and plentiful as the martinis, a performance or two of the popular music of the day, and an ending that will surprise you. As I said, all of these Thin Man films are great fun, but this one is the best.

The Thin Man series.........a lifestyle which probably never really existed but wasn't it fun? Lots of money, booze and murder all wrapped up in a neat little package. Nick and Nora, looking sophisticated, solving everyone's problems while consuming a case of various spirits, and loving each other dearly. What a life!!

This second entry in the series really holds up well.....usually sequels are much weaker but not so here. The supporting cast is great with the exception of Penny Singleton (Dorothy McNulty at this point in her career and before she went on to play Blondie). She is like fingernails on a blackboard.....that voice!!! And look for her dance number when she almost falls backward after slamming into the side of the stage! I found her very irritating. Elissa Landi is a little bit over the top as well but she is so attractive that it doesn't matter much. Jessie Ralph is the prototype of the battle axe from hell and Joseph Calliea is his usual suave, oily crook. Then there is James Stewart, before his days of stardom......you have to look twice to be sure that it is the same man. We are so ingrained in his later stuttering, hesitant persona that it is difficult to recognize him......and he was quite handsome!

But of course it is William Powell and Myrna Loy that carry the show as the charming sophisticates whose repartee is brisk and surprisingly modern. There was never a better light comedy team on film (well, maybe Tracy and Hepburn). Thank heavens they are captured on film forever.

Watch this film....you'll love it. Plus there is the added bonus of seeing San Francisco in the 30's.....and don't forget Asta!!!!

Some weeks ago I expressed my absolute enthusiasm for 'The Thin Man (1934),' a delightfully humorous murder mystery/comedy classic, starring the inimitable comedic marriage of William Powell and Myrna Loy as husband-and-wife detectives Nick and Nora Charles. This original film, after a solid box-office run and four Academy Award nominations, spawned a respectable five sequels, and a radio and television series. 'After the Thin Man' is the first of these sequels, released in 1936.

As the original trailer for the film proudly proclaims, 'After the Thin Man' brought back the three writers of the original hit (Dashiell Hammett, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett), the same director (W.S. Van Dyke) and, of course, the three huge film stars in Powell, Loy and, of course, Asta the dog (the wire-haired terrier whose birth-name was Skippy). True to its promise, the film is every bit as witty, hilarious and suspenseful as its predecessor, masterfully melding Nick and Nora's playful banter with another twisted mystery of love, betrayal, blackmail and murder. And look out for a memorable supporting performance from a young James Stewart, who was yet to hit it big with the likes of Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock.

The sequel takes place just a day or two after where 'The Thin Man' left off, as Nick and Nora prepare to depart from the train that brought them back home to San Francisco. Like the original film, the actually murder mystery is quite a messy one, though the writers have luckily decided to tone down, just slightly, the number of interwoven threads this time around. With nothing in mind but sleeping for a month, our favourite detective couple are surprised to walk into a welcome-home party held by people they don't even know, before they are invited to Nora's Aunt Katherine's (Jessie Ralph) house for dinner. Whilst there, Nora's cousin Selma (Elissa Landi) reveals that her husband, Robert (Alan Marshal), has been missing for three days.

The filmmakers have, once again, managed to round up a terrific cast to complement the talents of its two sparkling leads. I particularly enjoyed the contribution of Jessie Ralph as Aunt Katherine, who absolutely detests Nick and addresses him as "Nich-o-larse!" Nick's obsession with alcohol also continues, though he maintains his uncanny ability to switch painlessly between a drunken stupor and completely alert sobriety. The good-natured inter-marital sledging that made the original film so enjoyable still carries a razor-sharp wit, and, in one hilarious sequence, Nick even goes as far as pretending not to recognise his wife so she can be temporarily detained in a jail cell.

'After the Thin Man' is one of those very rare occasions when a sequel is good enough to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with its predecessor. A mixture of clever writing, talented directing and an infectious chemistry between the cast members worked to ensure that the partnership between Nick and Nora Charles would be a prolonged one.