The Thin Man Goes Home
|
Our Price: $25.74 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $9.85 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Thin Man Goes Home
Movie Review: Nick & Nora Get a Little Too Domestic on Account of the War.
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Thin Man Goes Home" (1945) was the 5th movie in the "Thin Man" franchise and the first directed by Richard Thorpe, from a screenplay by newcomers Robert Riskin and Dwight Taylor. "The Thin Man Goes Home" is a convoluted murder mystery with a long list of diverse suspects, as usual, but it is otherwise a departure from the previous "Thin Man" movies. It isn't set in an urban environment, but in an idyllic small-town America that anticipates the Eisenhower era with its apparent purity. There are sordid dramas among regular folk, but criminal underworld characters are absent. And Nick and Nora Charles no longer lead glamorous, exciting lives. They seem dowdy, in fact. It's as if hard-boiled fiction met "Leave It To Beaver" -a decade too early. I can only guess that the reason for the change was Hollywood's desire to present an idealized vision of middle class Americans during World War II. Nick is even on the wagon, drinking apple cider from his flask! It's ironic, since movies were getting markedly less sentimental and more hard-boiled in the 1940s, while the "Thin Man" series is becoming more domestic. Go figure.
"The Thin Man Goes Home" finds Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) visiting Nick's family in the town where he grew up. While Nick has his heart set on rest and relaxation, Nora hopes that a mystery will turn up for him to solve, so that Nick will have the opportunity to prove himself to his disappointed father (Harry Davenport), who wanted Nick to be a doctor like himself. As if on queue, a stranger collapses dead on their doorstep. So Nick goes about looking for clues, stirring things up in the tranquil town of Sycamore Springs -where people don't like things stirred up.
I didn't like "The Thin Man Goes Home" at first. There is no glamour and no gangsters. The Charleses are a comfortable middle-aged couple -or rather Nick is comfortable in his sweatshirt and Nora looks like an absurd decoration. Poor Myrna Loy wins my Worst Wardrobe Award for her frizzy hairdo, horrible house dresses, and the ugliest suits imaginable. But "The Thin Man Goes Home" is not a bad mystery; it's simply dated. It's WWII propaganda, insomuch as a comedic murder mystery could be. Nick and Nora Charles have left the high life behind to become Everyman and Everywoman, even traveling in coach on the train, which seems inexplicable given their wealth. Nick uncovers international espionage, not just murder for passion or money. "The Thin Man Goes Home" is a film for a certain time and place. It doesn't really hold up today, but that, in itself, is interesting on some level. And the mystery is reasonably well-written, which is more than I would expect from the 5th film in a 6-film series.
The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005): "Why Daddy?" (9 min) is a comedic short film written by and starring Robert Benchley. He plays Joe, a man who goes on a radio quiz show to match wits with a child contestant. "Screwball Squirrel" (7 min) is a cartoon in which a smart aleck fox torments a dopey bird dog. The gimmick is that the animals know that they're performing in a movie. There is also a theatrical trailer for "The Thin Man Goes Home". Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French.
Movie Review: Nick and Nora take a sentimental journey in the fifth "Thin Man" adventure
Summary: 4 Stars
Nick: "A couple of weeks on this cider and I'll be a new man".
Nora: "I sort of like the old one".
Nick: "Why, darling, that's the nicest thing you've said to me since the time I got my head caught in that cuspidor at the Waldorf".
The fifth entry in the popular "Thin Man" franchise, THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1945) was the first one without longtime director W.S. "One-Take" Van Dyke (who had since passed away), but still manages to create lots of magic thanks to the pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy, back as our favourite high society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles.
In THE THIN MAN GOES HOME, Nick's on the wagon--much to Nora's dismay--and eager to revisit his childhood haunts in the cozy hamlet of Sycamore Springs. Of course, murders and criminal activitity don't exist in such a place...or do they? When Peter Berton (Ralph Brooks) is shot on the Charles' porch, the suspects include a dramatic heiress (Gloria DeHaven), vagrant bag-lady "Crazy Mary" (Anne Revere), and a nervy antique shop owner (Donald Meek).
Lucile Watson and Harry Davenport co-star as Nick's parents. The screenplay by Robert Riskin and Harry Kurnitz is tight and snappy, and very reminiscent of the earlier Goodrich/Hackett "Thin Man" efforts. One of the better titles.
Movie Review: Sobering.....and Fun
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very pleasant entry into "The Thin Man" series. I found it much less aggravating than the other stories simply because of the drinking and smoking factor, which was always overdone in this series despite the great writing and acting talents of the two leads, William Powell and Myrna Low.
Unbelievably, Powell and Loy don't have a drop of alcohol to drink in the entire film. In this film it's just "Nick" and "Nora" solving a crime on their own and then - in Charlie Chan-type style - rounding up all the suspects in one room and exposing the criminal while explaining the case.
Generally, it's a fun movie with interesting characters. Don't look for a lot of action but you'll get a lot of laughs.
Movie Review: thin man
Summary: 4 Stars
I love the old thin man movies and this is one of the best!! William Powell was a great actor and so was Myrna Loy. This is a good movie to curl up to on a cold night. Loved It!!!!Movie Review: "He Must Be Hurt. He Said Something About Not Having Had a Drink All Day."
Summary: 3 Stars
Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) 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?
Having enjoyed the previous four films in the series, I must say I was disappointed with this one. Oh, don't get me wrong, the acting is still fine. But the script let everyone down.
First off, I truly missed the humor. Actually, I did find the scenes about Nick's drinking (he's on the wagon here) pretty funny. But the wit has been replaced with slapstick. Yes, those scenes are funny, but they don't compare to the humor of the previous films.
Then there's the mystery. While I have trouble with old time actors, if I concentrate, I can follow the story and keep people straight. Here, that never happened. There were a few events and revelations early, but it was still underdeveloped. Having said that, the solution was logical.
This is the weakest of the first five in the series (I'll reserve judgment on the entire series until I've seen the sixth). Fans will certainly enjoy it, but it pales next to the others.