After the Thin Man **** (1936, William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart) – Classic Movie Review 2263

The story for the 1936 sequel film After the Thin Man is specially written by legendary Dashiell Hammett, based on his sleuth characters of Nick and Nora in his 1934 novel The Thin Man but not one of his novels or short stories.

Director W S Van Dyke II returns with his original stars for the 1936 American murder mystery comedy film After the Thin Man, the first sequel to the 1934 hit The Thin Man. It may not be quite as sparkling as the first film but it is certainly the best of the Thin Man sequels.

Producer Hunt Stromberg at the MGM studio reassembles the original ingredients with loving care – the star pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy as married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles, a support cast of great character players, a tantalising series of mysterious murders, flippant dialogue by the star pair continually sipping dry Martinis and of course Asta their cute little dog too (again played by Wire Fox Terrier Skippy).

The film’s story is specially written by Dashiell Hammett, based on his characters of Nick and Nora in his 1934 novel The Thin Man but not one of his novels or short stories. The movie is also well remembered for an early performance by a real-life thin man, James Stewart, playing David Graham.

In the new screenplay by original screen-writers Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the story and characters created by Dashiell Hammett, a trio of suspicious sudden deaths ensues after Nora’s sexy cousin Selma Landis (Elissa Landi) persuades Nick to try to locate her missing ne’er-do-well husband Robert (Alan Marshal).

Alan Marshal plays a missing ne’er-do-well husband.

With a little detective work, Nick and Nora find Robert at a Chinese nightclub, where he’s enjoying an affair with the star performer, sexy chantoose Polly (Penny Singleton, credited under her maiden name as Dorothy McNulty). Robert tries to extort money from Selma’s unrequited love, David Graham (James Stewart), saying he will leave her alone if David gives him $25,000. But Polly and the nightclub’s owner, Dancer (Joseph Calleia), plan to take the money and permanently dispose of Robert.

Again Goodrich and Hackett’s screenplay was Oscar nominated and again it didn’t win. It nominated for an Oscar in 1937 for Best Writing, Screenplay. This time it was the film’s only nomination. Loy was never Oscar nominated in her long, distinguished career, but was finally handed an honorary too late in 1991 ‘in recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime’s worth of indelible performances’. 

William Horatio Powell (29 July 1892 – 5 March 1984) was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films. Powell was Oscar nominated three times as Best Actor, for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936) and Life with Father (1947), but he never won.

The original The Thin Man was just a crisp, fast-moving 93 minutes, but this time it is a blockbuster epic at 113 minutes, allowing it to drift a bit. So some cutting would help, but the extra length allows us even more time to sit back and relish the smashing team of Powell and Loy as the impeccably wisecracking married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles.

After the Thin Man also features in the cast Jessie Ralph, Sam Levene, Teddy Hart, William Law, Dorothy Vaughn, George Zucco, Paul Fix, Zeffie Tilbury, Jack Norton, Clarence Kolb, Ed Dearing, Mary Gordon, Henie Conklin, Ben Hall, Vince Barnett, Murray Alper, Billy Benedict and Charles Trowbridge.

It was a Christmas treat, released on 25 December 1936 in the US. It grossed a global total of $3,165,000 and made a profit of $1,516,000.

The movie’s vast popularity led to four more sequels: Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man Goes Home (1945), and Song of the Thin Man (1947).

In June 2012 Warner Bros decided to go slow on the plan to film The Thin Man, a re-adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel, set to star Johnny Depp as Nick Charles and to be directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Koepp.

The Thin Man series: The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man Goes Home (1945), and Song of the Thin Man (1947).

The cast are 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 Aunt Katherine Forrest, Alan Marshal as Robert Landis, Teddy Hart as Casper, Sam Levene as Lieutenant Abrams, Penny Singleton (credited as Dorothy McNulty) as Polly Byrnes, William Law as Lum Kee, George Zucco as Dr Kammer, Paul Fix as Phil Byrnes, Skippy as Asta, Maude Turner Gordon as Helen, Tom Ricketts as butler Henry, Zeffie Tilbury as Aunt Lucy, and Esther Howard as woman at LiChi Club.

Skippy (1931-1951) appeared in dozens of movies during the 1930s but is best known as Asta in The Thin Man and for the 1938 comedy Bringing Up Baby.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2263

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/

Lobby card for After the Thin Man (1936).