Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

The fourth Thin Man outing, Shadow of the Thin Man finds Nick and Nora Charles back in San Francisco where they happen to be at a race track when a jockey is killed in the tack room.

The jockey's death uncovers an investigation by the state crime commission involving them trying to indict a syndicate of illegal bookmakers. Two rival newspaper reporters are trying for a scoop on the story and one of them has some other interesting activities going for him.

Powell uncovers a good group of suspects brought together for the inevitable finale. The murderer and he notches two to his credit before he's finally caught is one the audience won't suspect.

Powell does show off a bit here though, the murderer with a slip of the tongue is given away to the audience. I think the writers just wanted Powell to show off before the other suspects, he could have nailed the murderer a reel before he did.

The usual witticisms involving the Charles's parenthood are present. Funniest scene is when Loy tries to get Powell to go off his usual liquid diet so their son will learn to drink milk.

Fmovies: This is the fourth of the THIN MAN movies. As you would expect, the earliest of these movies are the best, as the originality of the series began to wane by the 4th movie. Regardless, it's still high quality series entertainment and is well worth watching. Unfortunately, in addition to being less "fresh", the witty dialog also seems a little less witty--I just didn't laugh as much with this outing as the others--even the later episodes. So the final verdict is that this is a decent but not great entry in the series. If you haven't seen the first ones, see them first. If you see this one first, the movies might seem just a bit mediocre--bear with it they are wonderfully fun movies.

When the creators of the original 'The Thin Man' film released their hilarious movie back in 1934, they could never have realised what a successful formula they were using! Produced seven years later, using basically the same ingredients as the original, the fourth edition to the six-part series – 'Shadow of the Thin Man' – still feels as fresh and witty as ever, even surpassing its direct predecessor in terms of wit and mystery. Just as in'Another Thin Man,' there is perhaps a little more murder-mystery and a little less comedy in this installment, but this was a necessary decision in order to reach a fine balance, since, as we know from most comedic sequels, some jokes can get old pretty fast. Fortunately, of course, this is not the case for these movies, and 'Shadow of the Thin Man' still packs a deadly punch, perhaps due to the flawless chemistry of its leads and the return, once again, of the original director, W.S. Van Dyke (credited here as Maj. W.S. Van Dyke II), just two years before his suicide.

A few years after the previous film left off, Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are living happily with their growing son, Nick Jr. (young Richard "Dickie" Hall, in his debut). Nick suddenly becomes involved in a murder investigation when the dead body of a corrupt jockey is found in the showers at the racetrack. The murders don't stop there, either, and there is a range of suspicious and nefarious characters who could have orchestrated the deaths. With his ultra-enthusiastic wife at his heels, and the playful Asta the dog by his side, Nick must get to the root of the mystery before a good friend of his, newspaper reporter, Paul (Barry Nelson, also in his debut), is convicted of murder. Rounding out a decent supporting cast are Donna Reed (in only her second film, and five years prior to Frank Capra's 'It's A Wonderful Life'), Sam Levene (reprising his role as the incompetent Lieutenant Abrams), Alan Baxter, Henry O'Neill, Stella Adler, Loring Smith, Joseph Anthony and Lou Lubin.

It is Nick Charles' philosophy that if you lock a bunch of murder suspects in the same room, eventually somebody like slip up and give themselves away. Once again, this law proves the villain's ultimate undoing, and I'll confess that never in a million years would I have suspected the actual murderer! The screenplay was written by Irving Brecher and Harry Kurnitz, both new to the franchise, and the murder-plot is noticeably less twisted and convoluted than previously, allowing for enjoyable viewing that doesn't require the viewer to strain their mind quite so much. Nonetheless, it is always fascinating to see how all the pieces fall neatly into place, and how one seemingly-minor clue can prove the most significant evidence of all.

Though present only during the early part of the film, young Nick Jr. – at about four years of age – allows for some excellent comedic gags. The film opens with Nick Charles and his son walking through the park, with the former offering to recite a fantastic fairy-tale that's never been heard before, only to clumsily make one up based on the horse-racing schedule he's reading. In order to coax Nick back to the house for a meal, Myrna begins using the cocktail shaker, prompting her husband – far, far away – to suddenly decide: "Nicky, something tells me that something important is happening somewhere and I think we should be there." Another particularly entertaining sequence involves

Shadow of the Thin Man fmovies. SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN offers nothing really new but it does offer exactly what fans of the franchise expect. Nick and Nora get dragged into another murder mystery. They continue to bicker in their loving way. Nick and all his old street contacts help Nick do what the police cannot. Lt. Abrams (Sam Levene) last seen in AFTER THE THIN MAN returns. He is to Nick what Inspector Lestrad is to Sherlock Holmes. It's a treat to see a young Donna Reed in a film 5 years prior to her breakthrough performance in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and 2 decades prior to her self named sitcom.

As usual, Nick with Nora's help rounds up all the suspects and walks the viewer through his deductive reasoning and then announces who the killer is. As this was the third sequel it is plain to see the basic formula that is present in all the THIN MAN films. It, by this film, had become about as complex as a color by numbers coloring book. Little imagination but still fun to do. I would rank this my fourth favorite of the six THIN MAN FILMS.

"You know that jockey, Gomez," says Lieutenant Abrams (Sam Levene) to Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) as the two arrive at the racetrack for a little betting, "the one who was caught throwing the fourth race yesterday? He was shot." "My," says Nora, "they're strict at this track." And we're off on the fourth of the Nick and Nora Charles Thin Man series. The mystery isn't bad. The Powell-Loy chemistry is just as fine as always, and the characters...well, Nick remains the suave, gentleman private detective, fond of martinis and double-breasted suits, clever at putting puzzles together, and a man who seems to know everyone from distinguished officials to Rainbow Benny, a racetrack tout. Nora, his wealthy, socialite wife, remains most of the time a skeptical, affectionate, funny helpmate who can match her husband's martini intake whenever she chooses. However, slowly the series is turning Nora into a more conventional wife and mother. In Shadow of the Thin Man, the writers have Nora sometimes just being a ditzy, adoring wife. Myrna Loy makes it work, but some of Nora's smartness and wit have been dumbed down.

Nick agrees to look into the death of the jockey, but then another shooting takes place, this time of Whitey Barrow, a corrupt reporter who is in cahoots with a ring of racketeers who are making a fortune on racetrack gambling. When the dignified Major Jason Scully, hired by the track commission to clean up the situation, and Paul Clark, a young, crusading reporter, visit Nick and try to enlist his services, he turns them down. He's got too much on his hands already with Nora and their three-year-old son, Nick, Jr. That second murder makes him change his mind. Before long he's up to his waist in suspects. There's Link Stephens, the tough smoothie who runs the syndicate and who is weak around the edges; Fred Main, his wise-guy enforcer; Claire Porter, Stephen's upper-class girl friend; and Baku, her chauffeur. There is even a ticket seller to be suspicious of. Plus, just maybe Paul Clark (Barry Nelson) isn't as honest as he seems, especially since his girlfriend, Molly (Donna Reed), works for Stephens. It all comes together, of course, with a big meeting of all the suspects, with Nick taking apart the case clue by clue until the murderer is unmasked. This time, Nora does a bit of heroics that ends with a loving smooch by our favorite couple, with Asta the dog covering its eyes with a paw.

The movie features three genuinely funny set pieces. First up is Nick and Nora at a crowded wrestling match. It's reassuring to see that professional wrestling hasn't advanced an inch in more than 65 years when it comes to the need for great acting ability. Next is the merry-go- round where Nick has to prove that he's not a scaredy-cat to a group of sneering tykes. And finally is a classic that should be revived, where the waiter at Mario's Grotto is determined Nick and Nora and their two guests will all order the sea bass. He will not take broiled lobster as an answer.

And let's spend a moment with Stella Adler, who plays Claire Porter. She was 40 when she made this movie. She was born into one of the leading Yiddish theater families in New York, and became a star in Yiddish theater in the Twenties. In the Thirties she joined the Group Theater, became a star on Broadway, went to the Soviet Union to study under Stanislavsky himself, and returned to become one of America's great drama teachers, as w

In this fourth movie in the Thin Man series, the familiar formula still works pretty well, making "Shadow of the Thin Man" an enjoyable feature with plenty of wit, an interesting mystery, and most of all Nick and Nora. It's hard to think of any other screen couple that worked together better than William Powell and Myrna Loy. All it takes is a few seconds of seeing them interact before you feel as if you are in the company of old friends.

The story and setting make use of Nick's fondness for the horse races, and this also allows for an entertaining assortment of characters. The mystery has several twists and turns, and the story developments alternate with lighter stretches of Nick and Nora being themselves. Besides the race track, there are some other imaginative settings that help in creating an atmosphere that is both believable and interesting.

Most of the other characters are pretty straightforward, but Sam Levene gets quite a few good moments as the police lieutenant. Barry Nelson also has a decent role as a reporter. A very young Donna Reed gets a fair amount of screen time, but her character is not as interesting as the others. It's also interesting to see Stella Adler in one of her rare screen roles.

This one is a cut below the earlier movies in the series, but it's still good fun. As well as the familiar combination works, there weren't a lot of reasons to make significant changes.