Another Thin Man.
1939 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Shemp Howard (uncredited)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Part of the Complete Thin Man Collection, available at Amazon.
Nick and Nora Charles (Powell, Loy) return, and this time, the eight month old baby Nicky Junior is along for the ride. Oh, and we can't neglect to mention Asta.
A Long Island munitions manufacturer Colonel MacFay (Smith) invites the Charles family to his Long Island spread for a weekend. The Colonel is convinced that an old business associate Phil Church (Leonard) is seeking to kill him. MacFay does turn up murdered, and Church is the obvious suspect, but Nick Charles is skeptical. Our good Colonel has had several relatives and acquaintances that may have an interest in MacFay's demise. Nick Charles, with help from Nora and his many reformed underworld buddies like Dum-Dum and Creeps, is on the case, trusty drink in hand, and the murderer may be someone no one would ever expect.
Another Thin Man is a delightful adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "The Farewell Murder", and probably the funniest of The Thin Man series so far. Recommended movie.
Showing posts with label w.s. van dyke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label w.s. van dyke. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
After the Thin Man
After the Thin Man.
1936 MGM/Turner Entertainment
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Alan Marshall, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Penny Singleton, Sam Levene
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Complete Thin Man Collection.
Nick and Nora Charles (Powell & Loy) end up coerced back into action after they are invited to a formal dinner hosted by Nora's family, which includes Aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph), who hates Nick, and views him as "below" them. Nora's cousin Selma (Landi) is married to Robert (Marshall), who hasn't been seem for some time. Nick and Nora quickly find Robert in a Chinese nightclub, where he's conducting an affair with the club's star performer Polly (Singleton). He's also extorting money from David (Stewart), who harbors unrequited love for Selma.
Robert is unaware that Polly and her boss, Phil Dancer (Calleia), are planning to take the extorted money for themselves, and Robert is shot to death at midnight. The police quickly determine that Selma is the prime suspect, and her current mental state strengthens their case. Nick, with help from Lt. Abrams (Levene), now has to work to prove Selma's innocence as two more people connected to the case are bumped off.
Recommended sequel.
1936 MGM/Turner Entertainment
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Alan Marshall, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Penny Singleton, Sam Levene
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Complete Thin Man Collection.
Nick and Nora Charles (Powell & Loy) end up coerced back into action after they are invited to a formal dinner hosted by Nora's family, which includes Aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph), who hates Nick, and views him as "below" them. Nora's cousin Selma (Landi) is married to Robert (Marshall), who hasn't been seem for some time. Nick and Nora quickly find Robert in a Chinese nightclub, where he's conducting an affair with the club's star performer Polly (Singleton). He's also extorting money from David (Stewart), who harbors unrequited love for Selma.
Robert is unaware that Polly and her boss, Phil Dancer (Calleia), are planning to take the extorted money for themselves, and Robert is shot to death at midnight. The police quickly determine that Selma is the prime suspect, and her current mental state strengthens their case. Nick, with help from Lt. Abrams (Levene), now has to work to prove Selma's innocence as two more people connected to the case are bumped off.
Recommended sequel.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Thin Man
The Thin Man. 1934 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Ellis
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Available from Amazon as a single DVD (in a keepcase, we must note), or as part of the Complete Thin Man Collection with six other titles.
The film saga of Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by writer Dashell Hammett, begins right here, which saw six total films made between 1934 and 1947, a long running radio show called The Adventures of the Thin Man, and a television program featuring Peter Lawford that ran on NBC for two seasons. By the way, the title "Thin Man" does not refer to Nick Charles, who was actually overweight in Hammett's novel, but he was still played on film by the trim William Powell.
Here, Nick Charles is recently retired and fond of his martinis, and he and his wife Nora (Loy) are trying to ease into their private lives when Nick is prompted back into service by the disappearance of his friend Clyde Wynant (Ellis), who vanished just after a former girlfriend (Moorhead) was found dead. Clyde, the "real" Thin Man, becomes the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy (O'Sullivan) can't believe he really did it, so she asks Nick to take the case, with help from Nora. The murderer's true identity is revealed at a dinner party between cocktails and the main course.
The Thin Man was intended to be a 'B' movie, and MGM made it for relatively cheap in less than two weeks. Regardless, a classic movie and huge box office hit was born. Highly recommended movie.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Ellis
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Available from Amazon as a single DVD (in a keepcase, we must note), or as part of the Complete Thin Man Collection with six other titles.
The film saga of Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by writer Dashell Hammett, begins right here, which saw six total films made between 1934 and 1947, a long running radio show called The Adventures of the Thin Man, and a television program featuring Peter Lawford that ran on NBC for two seasons. By the way, the title "Thin Man" does not refer to Nick Charles, who was actually overweight in Hammett's novel, but he was still played on film by the trim William Powell.
Here, Nick Charles is recently retired and fond of his martinis, and he and his wife Nora (Loy) are trying to ease into their private lives when Nick is prompted back into service by the disappearance of his friend Clyde Wynant (Ellis), who vanished just after a former girlfriend (Moorhead) was found dead. Clyde, the "real" Thin Man, becomes the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy (O'Sullivan) can't believe he really did it, so she asks Nick to take the case, with help from Nora. The murderer's true identity is revealed at a dinner party between cocktails and the main course.
The Thin Man was intended to be a 'B' movie, and MGM made it for relatively cheap in less than two weeks. Regardless, a classic movie and huge box office hit was born. Highly recommended movie.
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