Story of movie After The Thin Man : After the Thin Man is a 1936 American film, starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart, that is the sequel to the film The Thin Man. The movie presents Powell and Loy as Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles. The film was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and also featured Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshal, and Penny Singleton (billed under her maiden name as Dorothy McNulty).
| After the Thin Man | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | W.S. Van Dyke |
| Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
| Written by | Dashiell Hammett (characters, story) |
| Screenplay by | Albert Hackett Frances Goodrich |
| Starring | William Powell Myrna Loy James Stewart Elissa Landi Joseph Calleia Jessie Ralph |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
| Edited by | Robert J. Kern |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | December 25, 1936 |
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $673,000 (est.) |
| Box office | $3,165,000 (worldwide est.) |
This was actually the sixth pairing for Myrna Loy and William Powell. The two made 14 pictures together, six of them in the Thin Man series. It contains perhaps the earliest film example of the Walk This Way visual gag.
Screenplay
Nick and Nora Charles return from vacation to their home in San Francisco on New Year's Eve, where Nora's stuffy family expect the couple to join them for a formal dinner. Nick is despised by Nora's Aunt Katherine, the family matriarch, as his immigrant heritage and experience as a "flat foot" are considered below Nora. The true reason for their invitation is that Nora's cousin Selma's ne'er-do-well husband Robert (Alan Marshal) has been missing for three days. Nick is coerced into a little quiet detective work for the family.
They easily find Robert in a Chinese nightclub, where he's been conducting an affair with Polly, the star performer. Robert tries to extort money from Selma's unrequited love, David Graham (James Stewart): for a payment of $25,000, Robert will leave Selma alone permanently. Unknown to Robert, Polly and the nightclub's owner, Dancer, plan to grift the money and dispose of him. After being paid off, and returning home for some clothes, Robert is shot at the stroke of midnight. David finds Selma standing over Robert and hurriedly disposes of her gun. Despite this, the police determine that she is the prime suspect, and her fragile mental state only strengthens the case. Selma insists that she never fired her gun, and Nick is now obliged to investigate and determine the true murderer.
As suspects pile up, schemes and double-crosses are found, and two more murders occur, including Polly's brutal brother. Lt. Abrams (Sam Levene, making his series debut) readily accepts Nick's assistance. Nick follows a trail of clues that lead him to the apartment of a mysterious "Anderson". As in the previous film, the film climaxes with a final interrogation and denouement featuring all the suspects. The murderer is revealed to be David (the mysterious "Anderson"), who has harbored a vengeful hatred of Selma after she passed him over and married Robert. The case solved, and once again traveling by train, Nora reveals to Nick that they are expecting a baby, although Nick has to be prodded into putting the "clues" together and she comments: "And you call yourself a detective."
The cast is listed in order as documented by the American Film Institute.
- William Powell as Nick Charles, called "Nicholas" by Aunt Katherine
- 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 as Polly Byrnes
- William Law as Lum Kee
- George Zucco as Dr. Kammer
- Paul Fix as Phil Byrnes
- Skippy as Asta
- Dorothy Vaughan as Charlotte (uncredited)
- Maude Turner Gordon as Helen (uncredited)
- William Burress as Lucius (uncredited)
- Tom Ricketts as Henry, the butler (uncredited)
- Esther Howard woman at LiChi Club who says "Hey, handsome" to Nick (uncredited)
Cast note:
- Penny Singleton was billed as "Dorothy McNulty".
The film's story was written by Dashiell Hammett, based on his characters Nick and Nora, but not a particular novel or short story. Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich wrote the screenplay.
The film was second of six based on the characters of Nick and Nora:
- 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)
- Song of the Thin Man (1947)
The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1937 for Best Writing, Screenplay. The film carries a 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and 89% audience rating.
After the Thin Man grossed a total – domestic and foreign – of $3,165,000: $1,992,000 from the US and Canada and $1,173,000 elsewhere. It made a profit of $1,516,000.
An hour-long radio adaptation of After the Thin Man was presented on the CBS Lux Radio Theatre on June 17, 1940. Powell and Loy reprised their roles.
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