Movie Review: The Thin Man Goes Home (Thin Man Movies #5)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Wonderful cast, okay mystery and laughs

Cons: Weak scripts makes the mystery and comedy less than it could be

The Bottom Line:

Not the series best

Mystery, jokes just okay

Thin Man fans only

"What Happened?"  "It Was the Table You Fixed.  It Fainted Again."

I'm a little surprised at how much I have enjoyed The Thin Man franchise since I thought I wasn't a classic film fan.  But these movies from the 1930's and 40's have certainly proved me wrong.  I really enjoy the mix of mystery and comedy.  Having said that, The Thin Man Goes Home has proved to be the weak link in the series (so far).  The fifth one just doesn't live up to the first four.

A quick word of introduction in case you aren't familiar with the films.  These black and white gems follow the adventures of Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy).  Nick is a retired detective who made quite a name for himself.  Nora is his high society wife.  They seem to constantly stumble on mysteries, which delights Nora as much as Nick pretends not to be happy to have a case to solve.

In this entry, Nick and Nora are off to visit Nick's parents (played by Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson) in Sycamore Springs.  Along for the trip is Asta the dog, but they left little Nicky behind since he was enjoying kindergarten so much (like that excuse would fly with any grandparent).

Nick is well known in his hometown, and everyone immediately assumes he is there to work on a case.  Nora encourages those rumors if only to bring out the skeletons so Nick can impress his father, who still wishes Nick had become a doctor.

All too soon, a young artist drops dead on the doorstep of the Charles home.  Now Nick and Nora have a real mystery to solve.  Can Nick do it?

Now before I start in on the problems with the film, I have to start with the excellent cast.  They did a great job here.  The only returning members are William Powell and Myrna Loy.  Since they did sixteen films together, I'm sure it's no surprise to say they work well together and have real chemistry as a happily married couple.  The rest of the cast is also perfect as the various suspects and victims.  I can't fault them at all.  There is one character that is overacted most of the time, but it's the way she is written.  Trust me, it works in context.

It's the script that lets them down.

As I said, these films are a mix of comedy and mystery.  And it doesn't quite work on either level here.  The comedy in the early films includes a little slapstick but mostly witty dialogue.  Here, the wit is almost gone, replaced by mostly slapstick.  Don't get me wrong, some of that is very funny.  There's a great scene with Nora wrestling with a folding lawn chair.  Nick has given up drinking in this film (his parents disapprove), yet the movie finds plenty of situations to make it look like he is still drinking.  I laughed some, but not nearly as much as I have in previous films.  Then there's the scene of Nick spanking Nora.  While played for laughs, it made me uncomfortable.

The mystery suffers as well.  I have struggled with all the films to keep the characters, and therefore the suspects, straight.  But I have found if I put the effort into it, I can put potential motives with faces.  Here, I was out of luck.  We really didn't get to know any of the suspects well enough for me to remember them when it came time for the denouncement.  There were a few revelations and one nice twist over the course of the film, but most of the plot was saved for the climax.  I will admit that the solution was logical and even solvable based on what came before, which I appreciated.  I just would have liked to understood things better earlier.

And so The Thin Man Goes Home is a mixed bag.  Fans of the series will definitely want to watch it.  But if you are new to the franchise, start with one of the earlier, better films before watching this one.