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:

Revenge | Murder | Dog | Baby | Adoption

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--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 eighth of fourteen films pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Creeps first meets Nick and Nora, his suspenders disappear when he moves into the baby's room.

Quotes:

Nora Charles: It wasn't his fault. Nick smells like a dog.

Movie Connections:

Featured in From the Ends of the Earth (1939)

Soundtrack:

Rock-a-Bye Baby

Portraying a peaceful weekend with the Charles'

I hadn't seen this one before, probably the thought of the Charles' with a baby tagging along worried me. But although he formed a double act with Asta for the first half by the time the plot went into overdrive he was virtually ditched. And I've not come across this Hammett story, but with the comedy turned up to maximum there is so much going on in here I'm amazed it all got squeezed into 98 minutes. The complete box-set print is absolutely pristine and gleamingly atmospheric as was only achievable with nitrate stock.

The plot you can liken to a game of keeping a ball in the air, the members of the cast who let it drop to the ground get murdered. It's impossible to explain the complexities of it all - in short Nick's trying to prevent a murder, then trying to catch the murderer - from a dizzying array of suspects. This is Red Herring City, right up to the very end when Nick unmasked the surprise murderer and even the housekeeper's motives are explained in a dismissive sentence - but not corroborated. If you want to work out whodunnit for yourself my advice is keep a very open mind! If you don't like whodunnits at all watch this solely for the astonishing dance routine by Rene & Estela - Fred & Ginger were awkward in comparison!

I'm going to have to watch this again, soon and sober to tie up some of the threads I lost along the way. I noticed Nick hardly drank at all in here - was that Hays Office pressure? All in all not quite as good as the first two but still one Hell of a ride!