Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (characters)
Harry Kurnitz (story)
(more)

Release Date:

November 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

Hey everybody, my folks are back on the trail of the dog-gondest mystery you ever saw! They're Wackier Than Ever!

Plot:

Nick and Nora are at their wise-cracking best as they investigate murder and racketeering at a local race-track.

Plot Keywords:

Jockey | Nick And Nora Charles | Murder | Debt | Detective

Cast

William Powell	...	Nick Charles
Myrna Loy	...	Nora Charles
Barry Nelson	...	Paul Clarke - reporter
Donna Reed	...	Molly - Stephens' receptionist
Sam Levene	...	Lieutenant Abrams
Alan Baxter	...	'Whitey' Barrow
Henry O'Neill	...	Major Jason I. Sculley
Richard Hall	...	Nick Charles, Jr. (as Dickie Hall)
Stella Adler	...	Claire Porter / Clara Peters
Loring Smith	...	'Link' Stephens - Gambling syndicate boss
Joseph Anthony	...	Fred Macy - Stephens' deputy
Lou Lubin	...	'Rainbow' Benny
Louise Beavers	...	Stella
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aldrich Bowker	...	Watchman (scenes deleted)
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Second Coroner (uncredited)
Arthur Belasco	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Sheldon Bennett	...	Mario (uncredited)
John Berkes	...	Paleface (uncredited)
Sam Bernard	...	Counterman (uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Wrestling Match Spectator (uncredited)
Oliver Blake	...	Fenster - Stephens' attorney (uncredited)
Frankie Burke	...	Jockey Buddy Burns (uncredited)
Harry Burns	...	Janitor at Benny's apt. bldg. (uncredited)
Charles Calvert	...	Wrestling Referee (uncredited)
Ken Christy	...	Detective Bringing in Macy (uncredited)
Inez Cooper	...	Woman in Cab (uncredited)
Noel Cravat	...	Baku - Claire Porter's chauffeur (uncredited)
Cliff Danielson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William 'Wee Willie' Davis	...	Mug (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing	...	Motorcycle cop tickets Nick on bridge (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Mug Starting Fight at Wrestling Match (uncredited)
Adeline De Walt Reynolds	...	Barrow's Landlady (uncredited)
John Dilson	...	First Coroner (uncredited)
Abe Dinovitch	...	Mug at Birthday Party (uncredited)
David Dornack	...	Lefty Rogan's Kid (uncredited)
Bill Fisher	...	Watchman (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	1st cop greets Nick at racetrack (uncredited)
Ava Gardner	...	Passerby (uncredited)
Cardiff Giant	...	Bouncing Chuck Tschekov (uncredited)
Jody Gilbert	...	Lana, Spider Webb's Girl (uncredited)
Matt Gilman	...	Waiter with Steak (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Waiter with Steak (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Man at Wrestling Match Next to Italian (uncredited)
Hardboiled Haggerty	...	Mug (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Policeman in Molly's Office (uncredited)
Arch Hendricks	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Bob Ireland	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jerry Jerome	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Tor Johnson	...	Jack the Ripper (uncredited)
Robert Kellard	...	Policeman (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	Meatballs - Hot-dog vendor (uncredited)
Lyle Latell	...	Waiter serving Benny (uncredited)
Hal Le Sueur	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Pipey, at the Birthday Party (uncredited)
Tommy Mack	...	Soft Drink Vendor (uncredited)
Jerry Mandy	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Pat McKee	...	Handler (uncredited)
Sid Melton	...	Fingers (at the birthday party) (uncredited)
Patty Moore	...	Lefty Rogan's Wife (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Detective in Scully's Office (uncredited)
George Noisom	...	Extra, as a Jockey in Jockey Room (uncredited)
Joe Oakie	...	Spider Webb (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Stephens' clerk (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Reporter in Abrams' Office (uncredited)
Jack Roper	...	Mug (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Italian at Wrestling Match Calling Nora's Hat 'Screwy' (uncredited)
Eddie Sim	...	Mug (uncredited)
J. Lewis Smith	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Dan Tobey	...	Ring Announcer (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Mug at the Birthday Party (uncredited)
Tito Vuolo	...	Louie (waiter pushing sea bass) (uncredited)
Fred Walburn	...	First Kid on Merry-Go-Round (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Mug Shoving Waiter / Racetrack security guard (uncredited)
Will Wright	...	Maguire - nervous ticket seller (uncredited)
Duke York	...	Valentino (uncredited)
Joe Yule	...	Henry, Racetrack Watchman (uncredited)

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

Writing credits
Dashiell Hammett		(characters)
Harry Kurnitz		(story)
Irving Brecher		(screenplay) and
Harry Kurnitz		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
David Snell

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch		(gowns) (as Kalloch)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Andre	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Paul Groesse	....	associate art director

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

Music Department
Lennie Hayton	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (as Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (as Loew's Inc.)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (194?) (France) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7707)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Debut of Barry Nelson.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nick Jr. is trying to get Nick to drink milk, Jr., is alternately holding/not holding his glass between shots.

Quotes:

Nick Charles: Nicky, something tells me that something important is happening somewhere and I think we should be there.
[cut to Nora with a cocktail shaker]

Movie Connections:

References Gunga Din (1939)

Entertaining and funny

Caught this again in a TCM triple feature of Thin Man movies. Even I'm not old enough to have seen these in the theater, but I saw them before as a youth when all of these movies were dumped by Hollywood onto the small screen in the Fifties and Sixties. They have aged very well. Myrna Loy is beautiful and wonderful as perhaps the prototypical smart Aleck and generally competent wife and partner. Her money obviously allows her husband William Powell to be the wise cracking, hard drinking playboy detective in the series start. She's a good influence and he turns into a more acceptable father type by the series end. The movies are all well written, directed and filled with plenty of great 'character actors'. Plot and character driven with nothing a modern audience would perceive as a 'special effect', they're also good detective stories. There's always the gathering of the suspects and the review of the clues at the end where in the less litigious '30s and '40s the killer always confesses. Highly recommended as light comedy and drama.