Film Review: The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

If the film series is popular enough, not even the cataclysmic events like Second World War can stop. That was the case with popular series of Thin Man crime comedies, although war ultimately affected The Thin Man Goes Home, its fifth instalment directed in 1944 by Richard Thorpe.

William Powell and Myrna Loy repeat their iconic role of amateur detective Nick Charles and his wealthy socialite wife Nora. The plot begins when they decide to visit Nick’s home town of Sycamore Springs and his parents – local physician Dr. Bertram Charles (played by Harry Davenport) and Mrs. Charles (played by Lucile Watson). Since Nick is famous as detective, arrival of a favourite son creates a lot of excitement among population of small town and rumours about investigating an important crime. Nick just wants to enjoy vacation, but when local youth Peter Berton (played by Ralph Brooks) gets killed at Charles’ doorstep, Nick feel obliged to use his talents to help local police with investigation. Berton was amateur artist and Nora buying one of his paintings as birthday gift for Nick gets her involved in mystery that involves local woman Crazy Mary (played by Anne Revere) and couple of newcomers strangely interested in Berton’s pictures.

Shadow of the Thin Man, the previous instalment, was released shortly before USA entering the war. Myrna Loy decided to temporarily end her acting career in order to dedicate herself to war-related humanitarian work in Red Cross. Although war wasn’t over yet, three years later she was talked into returning. In the meantime, W. S. Van Dyke, director of all previous films, has died and was replaced by experienced and prolific, although not that well-known, Richard Thorpe. The war itself affected the film’s content – there are plenty of references to rationing which includes alcoholic beverages, so protagonists had to give up their heavy drinking and satisfy themselves with cider. Even the comical scene at the beginning, when Nick and Nora have to travel in grotesquely overcrowded passenger train, is inspired by wartime conditions at US railways, when troop and war material transports held priority over anything else. The Thin Man Coming Home also holds distinction of being the very first Hollywood film to feature Nambu Type 99 light machine gun, Japanese weapon also known as its use as sniper, with its presence in small American town explained as war trophy being brought by US servicemen from Pacific Theatre.

On the other hand, script by Robert Riskin and Dwight Taylor tries to bring something new to the series which, by that time, became somewhat formulaic. The most important difference is small town setting, which allows some comical observation about social dynamics very different from big city upper class milieu where previous four films took place. On the other hand, scriptwriters didn’t care much about of continuity – Charles’ son Nick Jr. is simply written out of the film, and Nick’s background as a son of Greek immigrants (from the the Dashiel Hammett’s original novel) is unceremoniously “retconned” into son of apparently WASPish middle-class physician. The major problem with the script is, however, rather weak murder mystery which is introduced only after first third of the film. The mystery, which involves some dark secrets and industrial espionage, only stands in the way of otherwise delightful comical interactions between Nick and Nora, played confidently by Powell and Loy. The mystery also unfolds too quickly, not allowing audience to get introduced to possible suspects, played by character actors who simply appear too briefly to have impact, with possible exception of Donald Meek as art vendor or young Gloria DeHaven as comically over-dramatic girlfriend of a murdered man. Despite those flaws, The Thin Man Goes Home had enough Nick and Nora for audience to reward it at box office, which led to Song of the Thin Man, sixth and last instalment produced two years later. Today’s viewers might enjoy the film if they don’t set their expectations too high.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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