AFTER THE THIN MAN: Ringing in a New Year and a Classic Film Series

This revised post appears as part of of the

Classic Film & TV Cafe  Dogathon, running from February 19th to 22nd. It's doggone fun!

When The Thin Man (TTM) became a surprise smash hit in 1934, a sequel was inevitable. Already frequent co-stars and close platonic friends, William Powell and Myrna Loy teamed up again onscreen in 1936 as Dashiell Hammett’s husband-and-wife sleuths Nick and Nora Charles, introduced in Hammett's 1933 novel. We film aficionados know all too well that at best, sequels are often a pale shadow of the original film. Happily, that wasn’t the case with After the Thin Man (AtTM). (Enjoy the attached trailer!) Retired detective Nick and his heiress wife Nora are as happily into each other as before, still slinging cocktails and witty banter while looking for clues. The original gang’s all here: Powell and Loy are again joined by director W.S. “One-Take Woody” Van Dyke and screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, working from an original Hammett story and earning Oscar nominations for their screenplay; and Loy is once again stylishly clothed by designer Dolly Tree. The production values are a little glossier this time around; even the opening credits sequence (including a sketch of Asta looking eagerly at a fire hydrant) looks smarter and snappier than in the first film! There are even musical numbers, including “Smoke Dreams” by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed (yes, that Arthur Freed, for all you movie musical fans). 

Although two years passed between the two movies in real life, the events of AtTM take place immediately after Nick and Nora’s Christmas adventures in New York City (hooray for my hometown!), and our sassy lovebirds look more appealing than ever. In fact, we first see Nick and Nora on the train with Asta, their cute wirehaired fox terrier, all of them eager to return home to San Francisco. Their TTM traveling companions, Tommy and Dorothy, last seen as Newlyweds On A Train, are nowhere to be seen; I’m guessing they’d either already left or are *ahem* still aboard, enjoying their honeymoon (and they deserve it, after the agita they went through in the first film!). The quips start as soon as Nick and Nora prepare to disembark:

Nora: “Are you packing, dear?”

Nick (knocking back booze): “Yes, darling, I’m just putting away this liquor.”

Once poor exhausted Nick and Nora get off the train, they can’t catch a break, let alone their breath! For starters, they open the door of their home to discover a raucous  welcome-home surprise party where there seem to be way more party-crashers than guests, including Ward Bond, and Charles Arnt, who played golfer/mental patient Crawford in My Favorite Brunette. Also, watch for Billy “Whitey” Benedict in an early scene where Nick and Nora drive through the streets of San Francisco. Wouldn’t you think that with Nick and Nora’s kind of money, they could afford better home security?  Our soignee sweethearts’ hopes of kindly but firmly bidding their unexpected guests adieu and sleeping through New Year’s Eve are dashed by a desperate phone call from Nora’s favorite cousin, Selma Landis (Elissa Landi of The Count of Monte Cristo; The Warrior’s Husband; and The Sign of the Cross. Also, according to the IMDb, Landi was rumored to have been the secret granddaughter of Sissi, Empress Elizabeth, the beautiful consort of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. But I digress….).

Seems Selma’s husband Robert Landis (Alan Marshall of Tom, Dick, and Harry; The White Cliffs of Dover; and many TV series, including 77 Sunset Strip and Surfside Six) is missing. No big loss: Robert is an unrepentant wastrel playboy fortune-hunter type who only married Selma for her money. While Nick and Nora (in her nice way) feel his disappearance is good riddance to bad rubbish, Selma is nevertheless stuck on the guy even though she hates herself for loving him. What’s more, Robert’s being scammed out of money at the Lichee Club by club owner Dancer (Joseph Calleia of The Glass Key and Gilda, among others) and on the side, he’s been seeing the club’s two-timing chanteuse, Polly Byrnes, played by singing, dancing, scene-stealing Dorothy McNulty — before she went all flaxen-haired and became a star as Penny Singleton in the Blondie movies from 1938 to 1950, not to mention the voice of TV's animated Jane Jetson!

Seems Mrs. Asta made a friend while
Asta and family were away!

Intruder in the dust!

If you thought TTM’s Wynant family was a dysfunctional bunch, wait until you get a load of Nora’s dreary (yet funny) Nob Hill clan! I was itching to smack Nora’s domineering, pompous Aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph), who’s more interested in covering up scandalous family skeletons than letting Selma have a life of her own. For that matter, I longed to give put-upon Selma a smack, too, or at least a good tough-love talking-to; someone’s gotta help that girl stop being such a spineless wuss! Consider my little rant as a compliment to writers Goodrich and Hackett’s ability to engage my emotions, and the excellent acting of both Ms. Ralph and Ms. Landi; they’re maddeningly convincing in their roles!

Then there’s Nick and Nora’s family friend David Graham (young James Stewart in an early role), who’s still in love with former fiancée Selma despite her wishy-washy qualities. David made a deal with Robert to pay him $25,000 in exchange for divorcing Selma, after which she and David could presumably live happily ever after. Before you can say “Dr. Phil,” the plan goes awry in myriad ways. Robert rings in the New Year at the Pearly Gates after being shot dead (ding-dong, the jerk is dead!), and Selma may end up hanging from a noose instead of hanging around with dreary Aunt Katherine and the other elderly “waxworks” in the family mansion. It’s up to Nick, the underfoot-but-eager Nora, and the put-upon Lt. Abrams (Sam Levene, one of my favorite character actors.  I first saw him in his scene-stealing role in the 1979 thriller Last Embrace, but after AfTM, Levene originated the role of Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls on Broadway, among many other memorable roles) to save the day — right after a good night’s sleep and some tasty scrambled eggs, of course….
 

Cousin Selma isn’t the only one in AtTM having relationship issues: while Nick, Nora, and Asta were away solving their Manhattan murder mystery during Christmas week, Mrs. Asta and a randy black Scottie dog came out to play — and Asta’s wondering what side of the family that new black puppy came from! Asta’s not rolling over and playing dead, though. Indeed, he gets more to do in AtTM than in TTM: when a rock with a message gets thrown through Nick and Nora’s window, Asta thinks they’re playing and lead our spunky couple in a merry chase to try to rescue the rest of the clue before Asta eats the whole thing!

Hey, that bubbly brunette is Blondie!

In Hammett’s original novel, Asta wasn’t a male wirehaired fox terrier, but a female Schnauzer! However, when the hit novel became a hit movie, every dog lover wanted a pooch like Asta, as played by Skippy in the first two Thin Man films. In later Thin Man movies, the job was taken over by other fox terriers trained by ace trainer Rudd Weatherwax and his family, in addition to Frank  Inn; these folks brought us Lassie and Benji, among other animal performers. To this day, Asta is one of cinema’s most beloved dogs. For instance, the name “Asta” is a frequent answer in The New York Times crossword puzzles in response to clues such as “Thin Man dog” or “Dog star.” Skippy was quite the in-demand canine star back then, bless him; click here for Skippy’s filmography!

Nick and Nora go over scrambled yeggs
over scrambled eggs!

 AtTM is good, zesty, quotable fun, another one of those delightful films where if I tried to quote every line I like, I’d end up quoting virtually the entire script. Here’s my favorite, discussing New Year’s resolutions at the Lichee Club after ringing in the New Year in wild and wacky style:

Nora: “Any complaints or suggestions?”

Nick: “A few.”

Nora: “Which?”

Nick: “Complaints…You don’t scold, you don’t nag, and you look far too pretty in the mornings.”

Nora: “I’ll remember: must scold, must nag, mustn’t be too pretty in the mornings.” (They kiss.)

Even walkies are a wow with  the Charles clan!

As New York Times film critic Frank S. Nugent said in his 1936 Christmas Day review, “Nick’s ultimate solution of the case—which we could not reveal if we would—is about the most thoroughly upsetting denouement of the year and is practically enough to drive the second-guessers in the audience to the nearest soda fountain for a sedative or a rhubarb and soda.” Without giving too much away, I’ll only say that I’m not surprised that the appealing thespian playing the killer ably tapped into his darker side in much later roles. There’s another, happier surprise at the end, but if you haven’t already seen AtTM, I urge you to buy or rent it and enjoy it for yourself. Heck, give the other four Thin Man films a try, too. They may not all be as perfect as the first two, but they’re all great fun to watch, and Powell and Loy are always charming cinematic company on New Year’s Eve, or any time! 

Asta picks the darndest times to play hide-and-seek! Gimme that clue!

Oh, that Nick and Nora, always on a toot!
Can we come along?

Lt. Abrams and our heroes realize the check is not in the mail!

The Thin Man Meets Fitzwilly! Team Bartilucci's Favorite Christmas Movies

As The Beatles once sang, Christmastime is here again! Here at Team Bartilucci H.Q., that means it’s time for family, festivities, and films! Ah, but our favorite Christmas-themed films go well beyond the likes of It’s A Wonderful Life. (Call us Grinches, but we find that particular Frank Capra classic so dark and downbeat before the happy ending that it’s always struck us as a film noir.)

Dorian’s Christmas Fave:  The Thin Man (TTM), 1934

This smart, snappy romantic comedy-mystery couldn’t have avoided becoming a classic if it wanted to, despite its relatively humble beginnings as a B-movie shot in about two weeks by director W.S. “Woody” Van Dyke.  TTM is so wryly sophisticated that, among other things, it makes boozing look fun (but please drink responsibly. Okay, sermon over!). The romance between TTM author Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman inspired the dashing, retired detective Nick Charles (William Powell) and his beautiful, effervescent heiress wife Nora (Myrna Loy in a performance that forever changed the exotic temptress stereotype she’d been stuck in).

Nora: "What hit me?" Nick: "The last martini."
(Actual dialogue from the film!)

The couple and their adorable terrier, Asta, visit NYC during Christmas week, but there’s no time for sightseeing or caroling: murder’s afoot! Nick and Nora find themselves plunged into a murder mystery involving old friends, the eccentric Wynant family. Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O’Sullivan at her most endearing) enlists Nick’s help in seeking her beloved father, who had promised to return to New York in time for Dorothy’s December wedding.  Dorothy’s missing dad is absentminded genius Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), the “thin man” of the film’s title, though the name stuck to Nick when the film became a hit, spawning a six-film series. Our happy, cheeky duo wade through gunplay; glam gowns by Dolly Tree; drinks mixed to dance rhythms (“A Manhattan, you shake to fox-trot time….”); witty repartee, courtesy of Oscar-nominated screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich (in fact, major Oscar nominations went to everyone in TTN except Loy! Her Oscar snub is the only thing I don’t like about the film! But I digress….); and swell parties, including a dizzy Christmas Eve soiree that perhaps later inspired Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the swanky dinner party where villains are revealed and tough-guy waiters snap, “Have a cocktail!” to rattled guests/suspects. (We taught the kids in our lives to say it, too!)

Aw, who can resist Nora's cute "scrunchy face"?

Still, tenderness shows between the bouts of zaniness. In addition to the breezy, loving chemistry between Powell and Loy as Nick and Nora, Dorothy has affectionate relationships with her dad and her supportive fiancé Tommy (Henry Wadsworth). Thank God she had them, because all the rest of the clan is either screwy or greedy! TTM proves that when a film is well-written and performed, a happily married couple can be far more witty, sexy, and just plain fun to watch and hear than the childish bickering that too many writers mistake for sexual tension. A good bit of the dialogue was taken verbatim from Hammett’s novel, including this Team Bartilucci favorite from Gertrude Short as Nunheim’s (Harold Huber) fed-up moll Marion:

“I don’t like crooks. And if I did like ’em, I wouldn’t like crooks that are stool pigeons. And if I did like crooks that are stool pigeons, I still wouldn’t like you!”

Is it any wonder that TTM, along with the 1941 film version of The Maltese Falcon and the 1942 film version of The Glass Key, got me interested in reading Hammett’s books, turning me into one of his fans?  TTM is not only one of my favorite lighthearted mysteries, it’s also one of my favorite New York-set movies; as a native New Yorker, I’m a sucker for flicks set in my hometown. Considering TTM takes place during Christmas week, it quickly became one of my fave Christmas movies, too. The whole Thin Man movie series is a joy to watch, but in my opinion, the first one is still the best!

Vinnie's Christmas Fave: Fitzwilly, 1967

Dick Van Dyke is one of those misleading actors, the ones you think has a limited skill set, and then a film comes along that shows a whole new direction and ability. Van Dyke is a stellar comedian and song & dance man, but some of his other works display a varied dramatic ability. He did a TV movie about alcoholism called The Morning After, and an all but forgotten film called The Comic about a fictional silent film star that fell on hard times. This past year, the darling people at the MGM arcives (their Print-on-Demand service) released two of my favorite films of his on DVD, Cold Turkey (about which I can and shall wax rhapsodic another time) and Fitzwilly (about which I shall wax rhapsodic now)

Van Dyke plays the titular character, Claude "Fitzwilly" Fitzwilliam, the latest in a family line of 13 butlers in the service to Miss Victoria Woodworth, played by the delightfully wacky Dame Edith Evans. As the film starts, we see Fitzwilly engage in a series of amazing con-jobs with the assistance of his domestic staff, massive purchases on Fifth Avenue being charged to other millionaires, diverted to other addresses via moles in the shipping room, and liquidated for cash. We learn quickly that he's not doing it for himself, but to keep Miss Vicki solvent. She's bankrupt, and Fitzwilly and his staff spend nearly every waking moment scrambling to rake in enough cash to keep her living in the style to which she's been accustomed, never letting her know of the situation. At the same time, he's manufacturing hobbies for her to keep her mind active, including a pseudo-Cub Scout troop for sons of millionaires and a dictionary for mis-spellers. For the latter hobby, she needs the assistance of a secretary; she hires Juliet Nowell (Barbara Feldon), the only person in the house who isn't in on the scam, and is immediately seen as a threat to the operation. So while they're trying to keep her out of the loop, they're still trying to bring in enough money to cover the occasional checks Miss Vicki sends out to charities that they can't intercept.

Lovebirds Juliet and Fitzwilly get face time between capers

As time passes, Juliet begins to realize that Fitzwilliam's standoffish attitude is merely overprotectiveness for Miss Vicki.  Her curiosity continues to prove troubling, and by the time she and Fitzwilly fall in love (like you doubted?) and she's let in on the totality of the operation, she's already inadvertently sent the ledger wildly into the red by mailing out a $50,000 donation.  Fitzwilly is forced to concieve a massive Superfly-like "One Last Big Deal" to cover the donation, various other operations that have fallen behind, and set up enough of a nest egg to keep Miss Vicki set for the rest of her remaining days.  He hatches a scheme to rob Gimbels on Christmas Eve in a style and grandeur worthy of (either version of) Ocean's 11.  It's a wonderful climax that runs smooth as silk...rather.

"Dad, I see Miss Vicki's household is chock full o'nuts."

This is a wonderful bit of work which provides a new entry in the classic "Gentleman Bandit" genre. Indeed, it's so good a film that I want to do a remake starring Will Smith and Thandie Newton in the leading roles.  Ever since their planned appearance in Jonathan Demme's remake of Charade went awry back during the Writer's Strike and became the abysmal, Smith-less The Truth About Charlie, The Wife and I had been trying to come up with a fun project to get those two glorious people together.  An all-black cast would be a neat idea.  I'd always imagined Lena Horne as Miss Vicki, but alas, that was rendered impossible this year. No worries, Nichelle Nichols was my backup all along, and I think she'd kill it.  Will Smith played an excellent con man in his first film, Six Degrees of Separation, and sadly, he's never gone back to the type.  If I can't have him as Raffles, I think Claude Fitzwilliam will do nicely.