- After the Thin Man
Infobox Film
name = After the Thin Man
writer =Dashiell Hammett (characters)Albert Hackett Frances Goodrich
starring =William Powell Myrna Loy
James StewartPenny Singleton Elissa Landi
director =W.S. Van Dyke
producer =Hunt Stromberg
distributor =MGM
music =William Axt
released = 1936 (U.S.)
runtime = 113 min.
language = English
preceded_by = "The Thin Man"
followed_by = "Another Thin Man "
imdb_id = 0027260
country = USA
budget = $226,408 (est.)"After the Thin Man", starring
William Powell ,Myrna Loy , and James Stewart, is the 1936 sequel to the film "The Thin Man". The movie presents Powell and Loy asDashiell Hammett 's charactersNick and Nora Charles . The film was directed byW. S. Van Dyke and also featuredElissa Landi ,Joseph Calleia ,Jessie Ralph ,Alan Marshall , andPenny Singleton (as Dorothy McNulty).Plot
Nick and Nora Charles return from vacation to their home in San Francisco on New Years Eve, where Nora's stuffy family expect the couple to join them for a formal dinner. Nick is despised by Nora's Aunt Katherine, as his immigrant heritage and experience as a "flat foot" are considered below Nora. The true reason for their invitation is that Nora's cousin Selma's ne'er-do-well husband Robert has been missing. Nick is coerced into a little quiet detective work for the family.
They easily find Robert at a Chinese nightclub, where he's been conducting an affair with Polly, the star performer. He extorts money from Selma's unrequited love, David (James Stewart), in exchange for leaving Selma permanently. Unknown to Robert, Polly and the nightclub's owner, Phil Dancer, plan to grift the money and dispose of him. After being paid off, and returning home for some clothes, Robert is shot at the stroke of midnight. David finds Selma standing over Robert and hurriedly disposes of her gun. Despite this, the police determine that she's the prime suspect, and her fragile mental state only strengthens the case. Selma insists that she never fired her gun, and Nick is now obliged to investigate and determine the true murderer.
As suspects pile up, schemes and double-crosses are found and two more murders occur. Lt. Abrams (
Sam Levene , making his series debut) readily accepts Nick's assistance. As in the previous film, the true murderer is the least likely suspect, betrayed by a trivial slip-up during a final interrogation and denouement featuring all the suspects. The case solved, and once again traveling by train, Nora reveals to Nick something he hasn't detected yet: they're going to have a baby.ource
The film's story was written by
Dashiell Hammett , based on his characters Nick and Nora, but not based on a particular novel or short story.Albert Hackett andFrances Goodrich wrote the screenplay.Cast
*
William Powell as Nick Charles
*Myrna Loy as Nora Charles
* James Stewart as David Graham
*Elissa Landi as Selma Landis
*Joseph Calleia as "Dancer"
*Jessie Ralph as Katherine Forrest
* Alan Marshall as Robert Landis
*Teddy Hart as Floyd Casper
*Sam Levene as Lieutenant Abrams
*Penny Singleton as Polly Byrnes
*William Law as Lum Kee
*George Zucco as Dr. Adolph Kammer
*Paul Fix as Phil Byrnes [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027260/fullcredits After the Thin Man (1936) - Full cast and crew ] ]Reception
The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1937 for Best Writing, Screenplay. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027260/awards After the Thin Man (1936) - Awards ] ]
References
External links
*
* [http://www.thestopbutton.com/indices/film_by_title/after_the_thin_man_1936.html Review at The Stop Button]
* [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:1191 Plot overview]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
