Another Thin Man (1939)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (story)
Frances Goodrich (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 November 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Drama | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

It's a blessed event

Plot:

An explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in Nick and Nora (with new baby) to sort things out.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Revenge | Baby | Dog | Deception

Cast

William Powell	...	Nick Charles
Myrna Loy	...	Nora Charles
Virginia Grey	...	Lois MacFay / Linda Mills
Otto Kruger	...	Assistant District Attorney Van Slack
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Burr MacFay
Ruth Hussey	...	Dorothy Waters, Charles' Nanny
Nat Pendleton	...	Lieutenant Guild
Patric Knowles	...	Dudley Horn, Lois' Fiance
Tom Neal	...	Freddie Coleman, MacFay's Secretary
Phyllis Gordon	...	Mrs. Isabella Bellam, MacFay's Housekeeper
Sheldon Leonard	...	Phil Church
Don Costello	...	'Diamond Back' Vogel
Harry Bellaver	...	'Creeps' Binder
William A. Poulsen	...	Nicky Charles Jr.
Muriel Hutchison	...	H. Culverton 'Smitty' Smith
Abner Biberman	...	Dum-Dum, Church's Henchman
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Dolley, Landlord Chesterfield Apartments
Asta	...	Himself (dog)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexander D'Arcy	...	Gigolo Who Danced with Nora Charles at West Indies Club (scenes deleted)
Murray Alper	...	Larry, a Father (uncredited)
Sandra Andreva	...	Woman Sitting with Nick in Cafe (uncredited)
Roy Barcroft	...	Slim, a Guard (uncredited)
James Blaine	...	Policeman in Charles' Suite (uncredited)
Charles Brokaw	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns	...	Ticket Agent (uncredited)
Eddie Buzard	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Richard Calderon	...	Raphael, Wacky's Baby (uncredited)
Anita Camargo	...	Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Jack Clifford	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Coletti	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Nell Craig	...	Charles' First Nursemaid (uncredited)
Carmen D'Antonio	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Barney, MacFay's Bodyguard (uncredited)
Joe Downing	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
Dick Elliott	...	Detective (uncredited)
Matty Fain	...	Hoodlum Telephoning Nick (uncredited)
Walter Fenner	...	Detective (uncredited)
Miguel Fernández Mila	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Driver (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Detective Quinn (uncredited)
Martin Garralaga	...	Pedro, the Informant (uncredited)
Eddie Gribbon	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
Rosemary Grimes	...	Woman Sitting with Nick in Cafe (uncredited)
George Guhl	...	Second Gate Guard (uncredited)
James Guilfoyle	...	Jake (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	Second Baggage Man at Train Station (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Detective (uncredited)
Shemp Howard	...	Wacky (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Detective (uncredited)
Gladden James	...	Fingerprint Man (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	A Father (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Detective (uncredited)
Toni LaRue	...	Woman Sitting with Nick in Cafe (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	West Indies Club Waiter (uncredited)
Pat McKee	...	A Father (uncredited)
Horace McMahon	...	MacFay's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Rudolph Medina	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Woman Sitting with Nick in Cafe (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Moran	...	Butch, a Father (uncredited)
Alberto Morin	...	West Indies Club Waiter (uncredited)
Paul Newlan	...	Tom, a Bodyguard (uncredited)
Nellie V. Nichols	...	Raphael's Mother (uncredited)
William Pagan	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva	...	West Indies Club Headwaiter (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Milton Parsons	...	Coroner (uncredited)
Guy Rett	...	First Waiter (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	Cookie, the Drinker (uncredited)
Claire Rochelle	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff	...	Tall - ugly father in derby (uncredited)
Ramon Ros	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Police Photographer (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Rafael Storm	...	Gigolo Who Danced with Nora Charles at West Indies Club (uncredited)
Frank Sully	...	Pete, a Father (uncredited)
William Tannen	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Stanley Taylor	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Fred Velasco	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Blanca Vischer	...	Woman Sitting with Nick in Cafe (uncredited)
Doodles Weaver	...	Gatekeeper, MacFay Estate (uncredited)

Directed by
W.S. Van Dyke		(as W.S. Van Dyke II)

Writing credits
Dashiell Hammett		(story)
Frances Goodrich		(writer) and
Albert Hackett		(writer)
Anita Loos		(contributing writer) uncredited

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)
Oliver T. Marsh
John F. Seitz		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Fredrick Y. Smith

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hugh Boswell	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Hugh Boswell	....	director of retakes (uncredited)

Art Department
John S. Detlie	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
William Edmondson	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Eddie Larkin	....	dance director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Loew's
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Renee & Stella Rhumba Specialty  group cast members

Also Known As:

Return of the Thin Man (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5826) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bidwell Park - Manzanita Avenue, Chico, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

The placard outside the West Indies Club advertised the dance team as René y Estela, but the opening credits anglicized it as Renee and Stella. They were real headliners at New York's Havana-Madrid Club.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nora and Nick are in their hotel room talking about their trip to Long Island Nora is trying to open a case that has the initials NC on the side. Nick comes over to help her and after he opens the case the initials disappear.

Quotes:

'Creeps' Binder: You should see some of the monkeys I see, and the fathers are taking bows.

Movie Connections:

Featured in From the Ends of the Earth (1939)

Soundtrack:

Siboney

Long Island Intrigue Makes For An Entertaining Film!

Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are back for their third film in this series, and sporting a new addition to the family (Nick Jr.) Family business with one of Nora's father's associates leads them to a Long Island estate, where the bodies and suspects appear even before they arrive at their destination. Before long, the body count rises and the suspects take on an international flavor (in the form of a very young Sheldon Leonard, who later gained fame as the producer of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "I Spy"). Between cocktails, flirting and playful banter between the co-stars, the movie reaches a suspenseful end as Nick put the clues together and reconstructs the crime, probing the minds of those present until the murder cracks. Between your own cracking up (with laughter), you'll be guessing who done it to who in this well-constructed mystery-romantic comedy.