Song of the Thin Man (1947)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (characters)
Stanley Roberts (story)

Release Date:

September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

WILLIAM POWELL and MYRNA LOY and me too. We're all together again in a NEW MGM mystery comedy! [me too refers to their (Nick & Noras') dog in the film]

Plot:

Nick, Nora, and Nick Jr. investigate murders in New York.

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Murder | Nick And Nora Charles | Child | Spanking

Cast

William Powell	...	Nick Charles
Myrna Loy	...	Nora Charles
Keenan Wynn	...	Clarence 'Clinker' Krause
Dean Stockwell	...	Nick Charles Jr.
Phillip Reed	...	Tommy Edlon Drake (as Philip Reed)
Patricia Morison	...	Phyllis Talbin
Leon Ames	...	Mitchell Talbin
Gloria Grahame	...	Fran Ledue Page
Jayne Meadows	...	Janet Thayar
Ralph Morgan	...	David I. Thayar
Bess Flowers	...	Jessica Thayar
Don Taylor	...	Buddy Hollis
Warner Anderson	...	Dr. Monolaw
Bruce Cowling	...	Phil Orval Brant
Connie Gilchrist	...	Bertha

Runtime:

86 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:U (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12345)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The sixth of six "Thin Man" movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Asta lifts his paw to his eye in the baggage car scene, the wire controlling his paw is visible.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're Not So Easy to Forget

An Often Amusing If Unremarkable Finale

While it probably doesn't offer as much as most of the earlier movies in the series, "Song Of the Thin Man" is nevertheless a pleasant finale to the classic series. It has the usual blend of wit, oddly assorted characters, and mystery, with a solid supporting cast led by Keenan Wynn.

The story uses the now-familiar setup of Nick getting drawn into a mystery against his will. This time, it uses the jazz scene as the backdrop, and while the setting is not always used to its potential, it does allow Wynn some good moments that he makes use of. Wynn usually plays off of Powell and Loy rather well. Most of the rest of the cast does well when they get the chance, and Don Taylor works as a more serious, troubled character who is important to the story.

You can tell that they were running out of truly new ideas for the series, yet in another sense the series got an impressive amount of mileage from the format. This last movie may offer little that is new, but it is enjoyable as light entertainment.