Another Thin Man

Another Thin Man (1939)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke II

Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith

From: MGM

I soldier on going through this franchise by watching the third in the series. The Letterboxd review is below and I will return tomorrow night, with the fourth movie.

I continued my journey in The Thin Man series by watching the third film, one that is most noteworthy as it introduces a kid, Nick Jr. I was hoping that isn't a bad sign as I have heard more than one person note that a kid appearing in a movie can be trouble. I'll have to wait until the later films to find out as here he was just a one year old infant and really, you only saw him a few times throughout.

This movie is set once again in the New York City area (which allowed them to bring back a character from the original, Detective Guild) and this time Nick and Nora are wrapped up in a case involving the estate of Nora's father and the exectuor of the estate is an old man who is threatened by an old partner. Of course he's killed and once again the happy couple are dragged into yet another murder case (something that is brought up at one point, how they seemingly often stumble into such situations) and it's as complex as the first two and has various twists & turns and the big reveal is of a suspect you may not have, well, suspected... but here it's even wackier than the first two.

The movie is more serious than the first two; sure, there are jokes but not as many; the same goes with the drinking that you see. There are wisecracks about such things as infidelity and yet there are some rough moments too, one of which isn't for the dog lovers. Oh don't worry, it isn't the beloved terrier known as Asta. There's such things as a baby party for Nick Jr.-which involves a bunch of shady characters-and a memorable scene at a “Latin” nightclub which includes a nice rumba routine.

While it's not the first two in the series it's still a satisfactory entry; the chemistry between the two stars and how they play off each other is always a treat. Plus, I did not look deep into the cast listing so as a Three Stooges fan I was quite delighted to see Shemp Howard in a small role.