After the Thin Man (1936)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

After the Thin Man clearly has a much higher budget than the first film so it does loose the grittier, low budget charm of the original but it still works in its own glossier way. I don't think any of The Thin Man sequels reached the standard of the first film but this was the best of them.After the Thin Man gives William Powell some of the best comedic moments of his career; the scene in which he has a conversation with the snoring gentlemen I could watch over and over; he manages to maintain composure and still act sarcastic no matter how frustrated he gets. Although my favourite part of the film is just watching Nick and Nora trying to get an important clue from Asta by chasing him through their giant manner of a house. Just how does a retired detective and a woman who doesn't work manage to afford to live in a palace like this during the great depression anyway? Every movie in the series had a long sequence in which Nick would go sleuthing on his own in the dark with no dialogue or music, and rightfully so, it's so captivating. The plot is even the easiest in the series and I was actually just barely able to keep up with it.The film's most notable contribution to cinema is having James Stewart's first really notable screen role.This would be the only time in his career in which he would play a villain as the suspiciously motivated David Graham. At the end of film when he's revelled to be the murder culprit, he has a breakdown and threatens everyone at gunpoint before being thwarted and then arrested. Jimmy Stewart as a heartless murder who is sent to prison, what kind of crazy movie is this? It's disheartening in a way to see this but of course this was before he became forever enshrined as the everyman. He does pull of the role and displays he was a natural acting talent from the start of his career and shows he could have potentially portrayed convincing villains. Also look out for the Asian bodyguard who throws his hat to get a gun from Jimmy Stewart's hand, Oddjob anyone?

Nick Charles (William Powell) is asked by the cousin of his wife Nora (Myrna Loy) to locate her ne'er do well husband, missing for three days. Soon a murder is committed and Nick is on the case. Terrific sequel to the classic Thin Man. Considered by many to be even better than the first film. I'm a big fan of the Thin Man series. Of all the various detective series the studios made in the '30s and '40s, this is one of the best. That's mostly due to it being an 'A' production with two big name actors in the lead with typically solid supporting players. Not to mention the series had healthy doses of humor to go along with the mysteries. As you might expect, William Powell and Myrna Loy are perfect here. They're charming and delightful as ever. Jimmy Stewart, Joseph Calleia, Elissa Landi, George Zucco, Penny Singleton, Paul Fix, and more make up the fine supporting cast, probably the best of all the Thin Man films. Penny Singleton even gets to sing a couple of songs. Of course, I should also mention the dog Asta, who steals all his scenes. The humor is wonderful and the mystery is quite good. I've seen it many times but I remember being surprised the first time at who the killer turned out to be. It's really a fun movie. If you're new to the series, I would suggest starting at the beginning but I don't think you will be lost if you start here. One thing is for sure -- whether it's your first Thin Man movie or not, it won't be your last. These movies are just too good to stop until you've seen them all.

Our recent trip to see The Artist got me nostalgic for some classic cinema so I decided to sit down with one of my favorites, After the Thin Man. The second movie in the the Thin Man series based on the book by Dashiell Hammett. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, it was very popular in the 1930's and they eventually made six films in all. It featured Willam Powell as Nick Charles, a retired detective from New York who has settled into a life of leisure after marrying a wealthy heiress named Nora (Myrna Loy). Despite being retired Nick finds himself being dragged into various investigations.In After the Thin Man, Nick and Nora have just returned from New York to their home in San Francisco. As soon as they arrive they are asked to attend a dinner party at Nora's aunts house. While at the party, Nick finds out that they were asked there to look into the whereabouts of Nora's cousins husband (Robert). He has been missing for several days and Nora's cousin (Selma) thinks he might be out having an affair. Nick and Nora locate Robert and soon discover that he is up to no good. Robert is having an affair with a night club singer and is planning to extort money from David, a wealthy business man who has always loved Selma, and would love to have Robert out of the way. Robert promises to move away and leave Selma to David if he pays him $25,000. Robert has pushed his luck a little too far though and he winds up on the wrong side of dead. Now, Selma is the number 1 suspect and Nick and Nora have to find out who the real killer was.The plot sounds a little bit more convoluted than it really is. The movie plays out like a pretty typical who dunnit right down to the final scene where all the murder suspects are brought together in the same room so the killer can be revealed. What made this movie and all the Thin Man movies great was the chemistry between the two leads. William Powell and Myrna Loy play off each other so well that many people assumed they were married in real life. The thin man concept has been duplicated many times on TV. Show's like Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, and Moonlighting all tried to play off a similar theme. There are a couple of other things worth checking out in this one as well. Jimmy Stewart is in the movie in one of his very early roles. Also, check out Asta the Charles family dog. You should be able to see where the idea for the dog in the artist came from. If you have never seen any of these films I recommend checking out the original The Thin Man first and then trying out some of sequels but, After the Thin Man definitely stand out on its own as true classic.

An exhausting Christmas (from the original The Thin Man), the couple take an exhausting three day train trip and arrive...well...exhausted. Soon, they are sucked into a family matter that involves night club owners, jealous boyfriends, sexy singers and a mysterious Asian. Does it get any better than that?It does, just as soon as Myrna Loy opens her mouth. Her timing is golden and her looks, angelic. Working off of Powell and his shady friends, her one-liners are priceless. The movie is a whirlwind of activity, involving the finding of a murderer. As the murders pile up, the plot muddies and the characters get louder and more frenetic.Nick solves the case as usual: By calling all of the suspects together and waiting for someone to do something dumb. The killer is a surprise without there being a lot of red herrings.Sadly, Asta "phones in" his performance, due to a morphine addiction he picked up while filming a war movie in Laos.