Shadow of the Thin Man

Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Alan Baxter
Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
Rating: Passed
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
1941

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) are back at it, as they investigate a series of crimes centered around a racetrack.

Review:

Tim: I've been a big fan of the Thin Man franchise from the very beginning. The duo of Nick and Nora Charles are among the best pairings of the 30s and each film in the franchise had been enjoyable. While I enjoyed all three previous movies, I have to admit that Another Thin Man represented a slight step down in quality. It was still a good movie, but not as good as The Thin Man or After the Thin Man. I'm so happy to say that Shadow of the Thin Man is a return to form- it's better than the third movie and easily on the same level as the first two. This film is so important because now there's four films in this franchise, all of them are good, and unlike many franchises (where films get worse over time), the trend was reversed here.

The story here is really solid, a marked improvement over the last film. The mystery revolves around crimes having some connection to a local racetrack. The mysteries here were intriguing and offered our protagonists some thoroughly entertaining sequences as they seek to unravel the plot. The characters were interesting and had me questioning who was guilty. This film does follow the now familiar plot, but it felt fresh, different. There were some legitimately funny scenes throughout the film. This franchise has always had great moments, but I was really laughing throughout this film. One of my favorites is the opening scene where Nick is pretending to read a story to his son while perusing the horse racing list. His line "And how they could run" is delivered brilliantly by William Powell. It's little moments like that- the moments where these unique, funny characters shine through that make these films so good. The banter is hilarious between Nick and Nora, the continuous jokes about Nick's propensity to drink, it all just came together in this wonderful package. You have this central mystery which is engaging and holds your attention, and it provides so many opportunities for these characters to interact and entertain. It all just comes together in such an entertaining way.

A big reason these movies are so consistently good is because W.S. Van Dyke directed all four of these movies. That consistency made a big difference- Van Dyke gets these characters and this franchise and was able to once again deliver a solid, entertaining film. The downside is that the films are a bit too formulaic, but that doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable.

I very much enjoyed Shadow of the Thin Man. It was great to see this franchise return to form. I just think it's so cool that you have this comedy detective series that's now in its second decade (1930s-1040s) and on its fourth film. And, the quality has remained remarkably consistent. Not enough people know about these delightful films.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man