Song Of The Thin Man

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Edward Buzzell

Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell, Phillip Reed

From: MGM

A review of a film (which I posted on Letterboxd a few hours ago) that just finished playing on Turner Classic Movies. Truth be told, sometimes I type up part of a review before I see a motion picture. It was easy to do that here as I can describe the general plot and why it's only now that I am closing the loop and finally checking out the 6th and final film in The Thin Man series. The other five had been watched years ago and I enjoyed all of them, although the 5th (The Thin Man Goes Home) I was meh on. All are mysteries although all are of the labyrinthe nature and the real draw is seeing the light patter of leads Nick & Nora Charles and seeing them attempt to untie that Gordian knot of the case they're working.

This case revolved around various jazz clubs & the murder of a jazz band leader named Tommy Drake. There's also a singer named Fran Page and an unstable clarinetist named Buddy Hollis (Ooh we ooh, I just look like Buddy Hollis... oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore...). Not only was I interested in the setting because it's old jazz tunes, but the son of our leads was played by Dean Stockwell in his child acting days.

This is largely what you expect from a Thin Man picture: witty repartee, cute antics involving Astra the dog, red herrings, and a finale where the main suspects are all in one location for the purpose of Nick revealing who the killer or killers are. A new addition here is Nick, Jr. wanting to become a sleuth like his parents, leading to some humorous moments. There was some nice jazz music, laughs, intrigue, and a better time had by me than Goes Home. Therefore, I will say this is fine overall even if the first few in this series are more worthy of being seen than this installment was.

To list some trivia, it was the last time that the great screen duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy teamed up in a film together; there was another where she had a cameo but there was no more starring vehicles for the two of them together. As always, they individually and together played a critical component of why those Thin Man films and other old time Hollywood pictures still have their ardent fans today.

Also, it was nice to have a good time to cap off this miserable year; let's hope 2021 is better for me and everyone reading this.