The third in the Thin Man series of features, best bought as The Thin Man Collection boxed set, which includes all six movies and from which I viewed this.
Now with a baby, the sleuthing twosome, the Charles' - William Powell and Myrna Loy, plus dog Asta get involved in a case involving a wealthy businessman, known as The Colonel - a full blooded and fruity performance from C Aubrey Smith. A menacing ex-convict, whose homicidal dreams begin to come reality then lead the super smooth sleuth to unravel a tangle of intrigue, blackmail and kidnapping.
Compared to the previous movies, this case is more involving and is this one is more akin to an Agatha Christie, especially in the quite complex final scene, where all guilty parties are assembled in a room as their defences are bamboozled, until the guilty culprit is at last, revealed. And, of course, it's not who you expect!
Amongst all this is what keeps these lovely old films afloat, the undoubted natural chemistry between the leads, the superbly timed wise- cracks and the snapshot of a society long gone but kept alive by such movies. Director W S Van Dyke fully utilises the comedic opportunities offered by a trick-playing dog and a cute baby but even to me, who normally finds such distractions annoying do not mind one bit and actually enjoy them.
If you already enjoy the Thin Man films, then you will like this one, too. Some say that by this point the franchise had already lost its magic and sparkle and I suppose they could be right. However, it is still enjoyable and Loy and Powell are ever beguiling and sophisticated.
Now with a baby, the sleuthing twosome, the Charles' - William Powell and Myrna Loy, plus dog Asta get involved in a case involving a wealthy businessman, known as The Colonel - a full blooded and fruity performance from C Aubrey Smith. A menacing ex-convict, whose homicidal dreams begin to come reality then lead the super smooth sleuth to unravel a tangle of intrigue, blackmail and kidnapping.
Compared to the previous movies, this case is more involving and is this one is more akin to an Agatha Christie, especially in the quite complex final scene, where all guilty parties are assembled in a room as their defences are bamboozled, until the guilty culprit is at last, revealed. And, of course, it's not who you expect!
Amongst all this is what keeps these lovely old films afloat, the undoubted natural chemistry between the leads, the superbly timed wise- cracks and the snapshot of a society long gone but kept alive by such movies. Director W S Van Dyke fully utilises the comedic opportunities offered by a trick-playing dog and a cute baby but even to me, who normally finds such distractions annoying do not mind one bit and actually enjoy them.
If you already enjoy the Thin Man films, then you will like this one, too. Some say that by this point the franchise had already lost its magic and sparkle and I suppose they could be right. However, it is still enjoyable and Loy and Powell are ever beguiling and sophisticated.