Song of the Thin Man (1947)

Nick and Nora investigate the murder of a bandleader in New York.

Director:

Edward Buzzell

Writers:

Steve Fisher (screen play), Nat Perrin (screen play)

Stars:

William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Nick and Nora Charles are asked by Phil Brant and Janet Thayar, who have just eloped, to help them after band leader Tommy Drake is killed at a society dance which Nick and Nora also attended. The police are looking to arrest Brant for the murder and while he claims he's innocent, Nick isn't too keen on having him in the house and turns him over to the police. As they look into the case, Nick and Nora learn that Drake wasn't very well liked and there are actually several people who benefited from his death. Drake owed money to loan shark Al Amboy, and Janet's father disliked Brant and may have set him up. Drake's girlfriend may have been having a fling with clarinetist Buddy Hollis, and he and Drake had a fist fight on stage during the festivities. Nick arranges for another party on the same boat where Nora notices something quite peculiar about one of the guest's jewelry.

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Plot Keywords:

spanking | private detective | marriage | jazz | sixth part | 

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Taglines:

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]

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Musical | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Canção dos Acusados

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,670,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dean Stockwell (Nick Charles Jr.) was in The Player (1992), which featured Steve Allen as a guest performer. Allen was the husband of Jayne Meadows (Janet Thayar).

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Goofs

The taxicab in which Nick and Nora arrive at Parkview Terrace is a pre-war model, about ten years older than the one in which they've previously been riding.

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Quotes

Italian Boatman: Hey, you, get out of the boat.
Nick Charles: Who are you?
Italian Boatman: Get out of my boat, that's who I am.
Nick Charles: Look, how'd you like to make yourself a quick five dollars?
Italian Boatman: Get into the boat.
Nick Charles: I just want you to row me out to that gambling ship.
Italian Boatman: Get out of the boat.
Nick Charles: Twenty-five dollars.
Italian Boatman: Get into the boat. For twenty-five dollars, I give you the boat.

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Connections

Featured in Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to (1991)

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Soundtracks

You're Not So Easy to Forget
(1947)
By Herb Magidson and Ben Oakland
Played during the opening credits, as background music and at the end
Played by a band on the S.S. Fortune and sung by Gloria Grahame (uncredited) dubbed by Carol Arden (uncredited)
Played on clarinet by Don Taylor (uncredited) often
Reprised by Gloria Grahame (uncredited) at the ship reopening and on a record

User Reviews

Watch an old mediocre Hollywood movie, not a new lousy one

It may be mediocre, small-time fare, but it's also an excellent example of studio filmmaking from the 40s. In the last of the Thin Man movies, Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) solve a murder (again), this time concerning a jazz bandleader (I think; the plot was kind of confusing). The dialogue isn't as sharp as in the other movies, and Dean Stockwell as Nick Jr. is cloying (although he was far worse in Anchors Aweigh). Keenan Wynn is fun as a jazz "insider" who "jams"; the outdated language in this movie is unbelievable. This is also wholesale propaganda: all the jazz players in the movie are either drunk or unpleasant, or both, thereby reinforcing the wholesome American family. As Janet, Jayne Meadows looks EXACTLY like Donna on Twin Peaks. Intentional or not? Compelling enough reason to watch this movie (the other reason is a bizarre sequence in which William Powell remembers his son growing up while his memories are projected onto the boy's butt).