After the Thin Man (1936)
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Director: W.S. Van Dyke
MGM’s Christmas present to movie audiences in 1936 is the return of
William Powell and Myrna Loy as the playful and sleuthing couple Nick and Nora Charles
in After the Thin Man, the sequel to
their successful 1934 comedy/mystery The
Thin Man. Based on the characters created by mystery author Dashiell
Hammett with a brand new story he created just for the screen, this feature
turns what was originally a single run movie into a successful franchise for
MGM, director W.S. Van Dyke, Powell, and Loy. Also featured in this picture is
the first substantial role for a young up and coming actor by the name of James
Stewart. With all of the fun had in the previous picture this sequel builds on
the entertainment value of the Charleses with an all new murder mystery to
solve. Although it is a follow-up, this film does more than just bring back the
stars from the original, it expands the world of The Thin Man, creating new enjoyable moments with Nick and Nora,
and can be seen as perhaps more entertaining than the original.
After the Thin Man is a comedy/mystery
sequel to the success 1934 film The Thin
Man, picking up a short time after the events of the original picture where
the retired detective and his wife return home only to be flung into another
mystery, this time concerning family members, as Nick must piece together the
events of a murder. Established as soon after Nick Charles (William Powell)
solved the mystery of “the thin man” (the events of the previous film), he
returns home with his social and witty wife Nora (Myrna Loy) where they are
quickly drawn into the mystery disappearance of Nora’s cousin Selma’s (Elissa
Landi) husband. A no good man Selma’s husband, Robert (Alan Marshall), plans to
extort $25,000 dollars from Selma’s good friend and most adamant admirer David
Grant (James Stewart) in a deal to leave Selma forever, so that David could have
Selma to himself.
With Robert’s rotten deeds and attitude towards his many parties
including his wife, David, and a crooked nightclub owner, Robert is found shot
dead with a gun holding Selma standing over him which she claims to have never
fired, turning the mystery into a “how done it?” story that only Nick must
solve. With suspects piling up, along with dead bodies, Nick pieces together
the clues until he is able to get all the accusers into a single room where he
unravels the truth, leading to the most unlikely suspect to be the murderer.
Although satisfied with a story of solving yet another mystery, the film leaves
the ending open for new installments as Nora reveals the indication of a new
addition to the Charles family while knitting baby clothes, stating to a shocked
Nick “And you call yourself a detective.”
History manifests that the typical sequel follows the normal idea of
bringing back the beloved characters of the original that make audiences want
to come back, but more times than not leaving a somewhat unsatisfied taste in
their mouths. Here with After the Thin
Man audiences are remarkably satisfied on both levels. We have the return
of Powell and Loy in their successful roles, mirroring the wit and intrigue of
the original, and leaves audiences satisfied, perhaps even more so than the
original Thin Man. With director W.S.
Van Dyke at the helm of the feature the film picks up where the first movie
left off with the same spirit and energy that made many enjoy the original
feature. It makes for a fun film and leaves you happy with the prospect that
there could be more, which will be seen in multiple sequels in the coming
years.
To fulfill our wants of what we saw in the original film, we get all of
the main people involved for the first picture. The wonderful direction of Van
Dyke allows easily bridges the gap from one film to the other with the exact
same style (meaning that in a good way). In what can be considered his most
busy year in film, Powell returns in the role that gave him an Academy Award
nomination. He would be nominated once again for best acting in 1936, but not
for the role of the alcohol loving retired detective, instead it would be for
his title role in My Man Godfrey. Loy
too returns to the role that established her as a main player in Hollywood
after years of struggling in minor roles. Her comedic flare playing alongside
of Powell made the team a successful couple in screen, and major stars for MGM.
Not to be forgotten in returning characters is the family dog Asta, who
provides moments of comedy and whimsy with a short side story as his dog wife
is discovered to have cheated on him while away.
If there is to be established a note for most significant contribution
to cinema overall with the production of After
the Thin Man it would have to be the first significant role for the James
Stewart. Up to this point Stewart had been struggling to be given a meaty role
with his less than glamorous looks and humble demeanor. For this role as David
he is given a main romantic character as well as a part of major importance in
the ultimate conclusion to the plot. This appearance would provide the first
look into the acting prowess of a man that would be heralded one day as one of
the greatest actors in American cinema history.
Elissa Landi plays the victim of Selma, cousin of Nora who is caught in
the middle of the murder mystery. Fresh off an abruptly severed contract from
20th Century-Fox, Landi was becoming angry with movie studios and
was failing to find better roles that she wanted. After just a couple more films
she would retire from acting. Other notable supporting cast members are the
Jessie Ralph in her usual role as the cranky matriarch of the family, Joseph
Calleia who had made a successful shift to films as a crooked owner of a nightclub,
and Alan Marshall as the murder victim the audience comes to hate early in the
feature.
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| Nora, Asta, and Nick return in the first of five sequels. |
After the This Man was
another successful film for MGM and entrenched The Thin Man as a franchise series that would continue to produce
sequel after sequel in the future. Even though the film would be able to stand
on its own as a feature film, its tie in as a sequel would lead to somewhat
lesser esteem. It would however garner a nomination for best adapted screenplay
at the 1937 Academy Awards. Of course with the film’s ending there is the
allusion to a sequel with the addition of a child in the Charles family, an
idea that would pay off in the 1939 follow-up Another Thin Man. That sequel would be proceeded with three more
features for MGM in a line of successful pictures in the series, but After the Thin Man would be held as the
best in the series of sequels, and perhaps
by some as the very best in the series.
The Thin Man series would be
one of the best remembered series of features in Hollywood’s golden age
spanning the 1930s and 1940s. This sequel proved to take the best of the original
feature and make us laugh, continue to entertain, and be able to pull audiences
into yet another mystery just as the first one had years before, making it a
strong example of how production of sequels should be. MGM, the most powerful studio
of the era, had found yet another money maker, while further establishing two
stars in a year that had already lavished their faces across silver screen many
times in other pictures. The characters of Nick and Nora Charles became two of
the most popular characters in the movies of its time and continue to entertain
decades later.
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