"He Must Be Hurt. He Said Something About Not Having Had a Drink All Day."
Added 7/31/2009
Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are off to visit Nick's parents (played by Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson) in Sycamore Springs. Along for the trip is Asta the dog, but they left little Nicky behind since he was enjoying kindergarten so much (like that excuse would fly with any grandparent).
Nick is well known in his hometown, and everyone immediately assumes he is there to work on a case. Nora encourages those rumors if only to bring out the skeletons so Nick can impress his father, who still wishes Nick had become a doctor.
All too soon, a young artist drops dead on the doorstep of the Charles home. Now Nick and Nora have a real mystery to solve. Can Nick do it?
Having enjoyed the previous four films in the series, I must say I was disappointed with this one. Oh, don't get me wrong, the acting is still fine. But the script let everyone down.
First off, I truly missed the humor. Actually, I did find the scenes about Nick's drinking (he's on the wagon here) pretty funny. But the wit has been replaced with slapstick. Yes, those scenes are funny, but they don't compare to the humor of the previous films.
Then there's the mystery. While I have trouble with old time actors, if I concentrate, I can follow the story and keep people straight. Here, that never happened. There were a few events and revelations early, but it was still underdeveloped. Having said that, the solution was logical.
This is the weakest of the first five in the series (I'll reserve judgment on the entire series until I've seen the sixth). Fans will certainly enjoy it, but it pales next to the others.
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Sobering.....and Fun
Added 6/4/2009
This is a very pleasant entry into "The Thin Man" series. I found it much less aggravating than the other stories simply because of the drinking and smoking factor, which was always overdone in this series despite the great writing and acting talents of the two leads, William Powell and Myrna Low.
Unbelievably, Powell and Loy don't have a drop of alcohol to drink in the entire film. In this film it's just "Nick" and "Nora" solving a crime on their own and then - in Charlie Chan-type style - rounding up all the suspects in one room and exposing the criminal while explaining the case.
Generally, it's a fun movie with interesting characters. Don't look for a lot of action but you'll get a lot of laughs.
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I love the old thin man movies and this is one of the best!! William Powell was a great actor and so was Myrna Loy. This is a good movie to curl up to on a cold night. Loved It!!!!
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THE THINNEST MAN
Added 8/22/2007
I am a devotee of the detective writer Dashiel Hammett. I believe that Nick and Nora Charles in the original Thin Man represented interesting transitional figures from the old amateur drawing room detectives to the modern hard-boiled detectives but enough is enough. As in current blockbuster films the desire to milk an original idea beyond its point of saturation is clear in this the fifth in the series. Oh, yes Nick and Nora are in love. Asta is, well Asta is Asta. Beyond that Nick's return home to solve a murder and make papa proud, all without alcohol, should have send everyone scurrying back to New York City or San Francisco on the next train-make that the next plane.
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The chemistry between Powell and Loy is still strong, but Nora is in danger of becoming Lucy Ricardo
Added 6/7/2007
Sycamore Springs is Nick Charles' home town, where his parents still live. It's small town Americana, MGM style. We half-way expect that the murderer, when Nick catches him, will turn out to be Andy Hardy. In this, the fifth of the Thin Man series, Nick and Nora (William Powell and Myrna Loy) journey from New York to celebrate his birthday with his parents. Dr. Charles is a medical man who disapproves of Nick's line of work as a "policeman." He had hoped his son would become a doctor and that they could work together. Nick's mother understands and loves them both and bustles around. And Nora, determined to show her father-in-law what such a smart and successful detective Nick really is, begins to leak the story that Nick is really in Sycamore Springs to solve an important case. "Nicky always says there's a skeleton in nearly every closet," Nora points out to her mother-in-law, "and if you rattle it hard enough something always happens."
It's not long before a number of things happen, including a young man shot by a sniper at the elder Charles' front door, an intense attempt by a shady character and his wife to buy or steal a second-rate painting of a windmill and the death by shotgun blast of a disturbed recluse. Nick has to deal with war plants and war plans, twenty-year-old secrets involving illicit love and an unexpected baby, innocent or not-so innocent theatrics and the impact of some of his street-wise friends on the respectability of his parents. All the way, the need to show his father that he is worthy of respect even if he is just a "policeman" keeps things humming. The conclusion, with everyone gathered around, the true motivation for the murders uncovered and the killer unmasked, ends satisfactorily with his father grinning in approval and a button on Nick's vest popping with pride, just as Nora predicted. This being wartime, Nick's exertions have had to be fueled by apple cider, not martinis.
The pleasure of this movie rests squarely on the personalities of Powell and Loy. They fit into being Nick and Nora with the grace and affection of old friends. That's how we see them, as actors and as Nick and Nora. They're good company and fun to be with. While the mystery itself may not be great shakes (the rationale for the murders seemed to come a little out of left field), the actors are a crowd of familiar faces and predictable and welcome personalities. We get Harry Davenport, everyone's favorite father or grandfather; Leon Ames; Donald Meek, small and always flustered; Edward Brophy, Donald MacBride, one of the master's of the double-take; Lloyd Corrigan; Helen Vinson; Lucille Watson and Anne Revere, such a fine actress whose career was ruined by the Hollywood witch-hunts of the late Forties and early Fifties. In a part that lasts probably no more than 20 seconds we even have Moose Malloy, I mean Mike Mazurki, in a barbershop.
So what could make a fan of Nick and Nora Charles queasy? Here's a hint. Says Nora outside a pool hall to Sycamore Springs' police chief, "There's a man here. I want you to arrest him." "What for?" says the chief. "Does it have to be for something," Nora asks with genuine innocence. Is this the smart, sophisticated Nora from the first two Thin Man movies? Not even close. With The Thin Man Comes Home, MGM has nearly finished the job of turning Nora Charles into an adoring wife and cutely innocent early version of Lucy Ricardo. The affectionate banter between Nick and Nora remains, but little is left of Nora as at least a semi-equal partner in her husband's adventures in murder and crime. Nora's role is to provide comic relief so that we can smile indulgently at the situations she gets herself involved in. I watched the movie with a smile because Powell and Loy are so good together. But in a sad way I also felt I was watching Nora Charles' death by the safe, middle class conventions of Hollywood.
The DVD transfer looks just fine, clear and sharp. There is a Robert Benchley short feature and a cartoon as extras.
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"He Must Be Hurt. He Said Something About Not Having Had a Drink All Day."
Added 7/31/2009
Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are off to visit Nick's parents (played by Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson) in Sycamore Springs. Along for the trip is Asta the dog, but they left little Nicky behind since he was enjoying kindergarten so much (like that excuse would fly with any grandparent).
Nick is well known in his hometown, and everyone immediately assumes he is there to work on a case. Nora encourages those rumors if only to bring out the skeletons so Nick can impress his father, who still wishes Nick had become a doctor.
All too soon, a young artist drops dead on the doorstep of the Charles home. Now Nick and Nora have a real mystery to solve. Can Nick do it?
Having enjoyed the previous four films in the series, I must say I was disappointed with this one. Oh, don't get me wrong, the acting is still fine. But the script let everyone down.
First off, I truly missed the humor. Actually, I did find the scenes about Nick's drinking (he's on the wagon here) pretty funny. But the wit has been replaced with slapstick. Yes, those scenes are funny, but they don't compare to the humor of the previous films.
Then there's the mystery. While I have trouble with old time actors, if I concentrate, I can follow the story and keep people straight. Here, that never happened. There were a few events and revelations early, but it was still underdeveloped. Having said that, the solution was logical.
This is the weakest of the first five in the series (I'll reserve judgment on the entire series until I've seen the sixth). Fans will certainly enjoy it, but it pales next to the others.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Sobering.....and Fun
Added 6/4/2009
This is a very pleasant entry into "The Thin Man" series. I found it much less aggravating than the other stories simply because of the drinking and smoking factor, which was always overdone in this series despite the great writing and acting talents of the two leads, William Powell and Myrna Low.
Unbelievably, Powell and Loy don't have a drop of alcohol to drink in the entire film. In this film it's just "Nick" and "Nora" solving a crime on their own and then - in Charlie Chan-type style - rounding up all the suspects in one room and exposing the criminal while explaining the case.
Generally, it's a fun movie with interesting characters. Don't look for a lot of action but you'll get a lot of laughs.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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I love the old thin man movies and this is one of the best!! William Powell was a great actor and so was Myrna Loy. This is a good movie to curl up to on a cold night. Loved It!!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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