Unmasking The Murderer Over A Martini

“You see, when it comes to words like that, an illiterate person...” ~ Nick Charles 

“Whaddya mean, illiterate? My father and mother were married right here in the city hall!” ~ Polly Byrnes

“Once a gumheel, always a gumheel, huh? Well I don’t like gumheels, but I thought you’d quit it when you married a pot of money.” ~ Dancer 

“Did he just call me a pot?” ~ Nora Charles

“Are you packing?” ~ Nora 

“Yes, dear, I’m putting away this liquor.” ~ Nick

“Aunt Katherine wants to speak to you.” ~ Nora 

“What have I done now?” ~ Nick

Director W. S. Van Dyke reunited with series stars William Powell and Myrna Loy for After The Thin Man, the second in the series, which hit movie theatres in 1936. Following the characters created by Dashiell Hammett, the film carries on with the breezy mix of comedy and mystery of the original and puts the happily married couple in the midst of yet another case of murder, blackmail, accusations, and topping up of cocktails.

The film opens up with Nick and Nora Charles (Powell and Loy) on their way home to San Francisco for New Year’s Eve in the wake of solving the Thin Man case. They’ve got their dog Asta (Skippy, reprising his role once more) along, and are anxious to get home and get some proper rest. Of course there are problems waiting for them when they get there- partygoers they don’t recognize in the house, and Asta having to deal with Mrs. Asta’s new paramour, who’s been getting some action.

The couple receive a summons from Nora’s aunt Katherine (Jessie Ralph), the battleaxe who runs her extended family like her own personal firm. She despises Nick, what with him having a past as a private eye, and what with him being irreverent in her presence. And yet she has need of his help. Nora’s cousin Selma (Elissa Landi) has problems with her husband Robert (Alan Marshall), who’s disappeared, and Katherine wants him tracked down. The road leads to a nightclub, where Robert’s having an affair with the singer, and where he’s trying to get Selma’s former boyfriend David (James Stewart) to give him money so he can walk away from the marriage and David can have Selma back. It doesn’t take long before a body turns up and things get complicated.

It was inevitable after the success of The Thin Man that there would be a sequel (and in fact four more after this) featuring Dashiell Hammett’s characters Nick and Nora. Screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich returned with more of the smart dialogue, the rich sense of humour, and the brisk pace. I particularly like the way they craft the motive of the killer this time out, a motive borne out of pure malevolence. That malevolence is more than balanced out though by the light tone between the lead characters, since Nick and Nora seem to go through life amused by it all. Van Dyke returned as well, applying a good touch to the film, giving the audience another fresh and funny movie that adds onto the franchise and doesn’t disappoint.

As before, the cast is outstanding, with only Powell and Loy (and Skippy) returning from the original. Jessie Ralph does well as the tyrannical family matriarch- one can like the performance and dislike the character, and that’s the case with Katherine, who seems to want to control every aspect of her family and hates the very hint of scandal. While Nora doesn’t put up with it, Selma wilts under that domination (actually Katherine reminds me of a couple of battleaxes I don’t much care for). Sam Levene debuts this time out as the local police lieutenant, Abrams, who quickly learns the value of working with Nick, and comes across as gruff but professional. Joseph Calleia lurks around the film as a nightclub owner and grifter nicknamed Dancer, a particularly nasty bit of work. Alan Marshall is highly unlikable as the sleazy husband Robert, who’s only interested in fleecing his wife for money.

Elissa Landi has an interesting role as Selma. Having had been far too long under the domination of the family matriarch, she’s become withdrawn and fragile in personality- her mental state is called into question. Landi plays to that in her performance, giving us a character who seems perpetually on edge. This is an early role for James Stewart, for whom major stardom was just around the corner. Stewart spent much of his career playing inherently decent characters (even in a case like his character in Vertigo, where the role was a deeply flawed man). His character David is presented here as the love unrequited guy who’s always held onto the torch and is supportive. There’s another aspect to the character though that’s just a marvel to watch.

Myrna Loy has a ball once again as Nora. I like the strength and conviction of the character, not willing to put up with the domination of her aunt. And I like how Loy continues to play to just how smart Nora is, as well as her sense of humour and fondness for her husband- one could argue that one of the many reasons she married him was that she knew it would drive her aunt up the wall. She’s got a secret of her own this time out; her tease at the end “and you call yourself a detective” is hilarious. There’s a warmth and sassiness to the character that’s irresistible, and it’s certainly on display throughout this film.

Roger Ebert once said that William Powell was to dialogue what Astaire was to dance. Powell’s take on Nick reflects that- a character who seems amused by life, as if walking about in a daze, and yet perfectly aware of what’s going on around him, putting clues together and then revealing it all in the end, a nice touch for a detective. Nick is smart- though Aunt Katherine wouldn’t think so- and has a sarcastic streak that really appeals to me. He might not take life seriously (most of the time), but he’s capable of being serious when occasion calls for it. Powell and Loy bring such a strong chemistry to their performances that their work together is a delight to watch unfold.

After The Thin Man was a worthy follow-up to the first film, a splendidly fun film in and of itself. The playful banter between the leads, the mix of comedy and mystery, and the sense of a cast enjoying themselves and of characters having a ball (well, unless those characters were getting arrested) are all ingredients that make the film come alive. It’s a pleasure to watch, and the gathering of the suspects is even more of a showstopper than was the case in the original film. This is a film you should see for yourself.

Drinks First, Murder Investigation Later

I'm doing the first of two reviews today, with the first in a classic series. The second one will be in my next blog.

“Hey, would you mind putting that gun away? My wife doesn’t mind, but I’m a very timid fellow. All right, shoot... I mean, uh, what’s on your mind?” ~ Nick Charles

“Oh Nicky, I love you because you know such lovely people.” ~ Nora Charles

“Oh, you used to fascinate me. A real live detective. You used to tell me the most wonderful stories. Were they true?” ~ Dorothy

“You’ve got types?” ~ Nora 

“Only you, darling, lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.” ~ Nick

Director W.S. Van Dyke brought The Thin Man to the big screen in 1934, a film based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett which mixed comedy and mystery together in an entertaining package. It would be the first of six films bringing together frequent co-stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as the married couple Nick and Nora Charles. The title refers to the victim, but audiences came to associate the character as the thin man.

The film opens in New York, where we first meet Nick and Nora, in the city visiting at Christmas time. Nick (Powell) is a former private detective who spends a good deal of time pursuing good drinks at bars. He knows all the wrong people and seems to draw a whole lot of attention from reporters wherever he goes. Nora (Loy) is a social dynamo who comes from money, with a lot of blue blood relatives and a fondness for Nick. They travel with their dog Asta, a yappy terrier.

A young woman, Dorothy (Maureen O’Hara), whose father happens to be an old friend of Nick, asks him for help. Her father has vanished, and his disappearance leads into other criminal matters being carried out. Nick reluctantly gets involved in the case, much to the delight of Nora, who finds criminal cases to be fascinating, and tends to get too active in helping her husband along in his investigation.

Hammett, whose work also included The Maltese Falcon, wrote this one as his final published novel. It follows the happily married pair of Nick and Nora as they banter with each other and pursue a murder investigation. The dynamic between the two is based in part on Hammett’s on and off relationship with playwright Lillian Hellmann, and is the basis of the story. Married screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich adapted the story for the big screen, mixing together the smart, funny dialogue and the mystery element of Hammett’s story.

Van Dyke filmed the whole thing in a couple of weeks (this is startling in the current day in which films take months to be filmed), and paces things in a breezy way. The mystery of the story is there- investigation, clues, shady characters- and yet the murder mystery is secondary to the sense of fun the two leading characters are having. The film has been compared more to a drawing room comedy, albeit one with dead bodies, and that’s accurate, given the clever sense of humour to it all.

The casting all around was well done. This is an early role for the late Maureen O’Hara, who plays the likable debutante Dorothy, caught between loyalties and love for her father on the one hand and that for her mother, who really doesn’t deserve either. Minna Gombell plays her mother Mimi, a selfish, high strung woman living off her ex husband’s money, with next to nothing in the way of scruples. The film also gives an early role to Cesar Romero as Mimi’s new husband Chris, a greedy layabout perfectly content to sponge off his wife, as well as her ex-husband’s money. Nat Pendleton plays the police lieutenant John Guild, working the case at first parallel to the efforts by Nick, and then co-operatively with the detective. Asta the dog is played by Skippy (later renamed Asta), and the dog is a character in and of himself (he also appeared some years later in Bringing Up Baby as George, a relentlessly yappy mutt with a fondness for dinosaur bones. Asta might be a detective’s dog with a nose for clues, but he’s also a bit of a coward, and sometimes seems to be wondering if he’s in the right movie.

It’s the two leading actors who really shine in this film, and they’re magic together. Myrna Loy had spent much of her career up to this point playing exotic women and femme fatales, and the studio had wondered if she’d be right for the role. Van Dyke was certain she’d be right, and persuaded them to let him cast her as Nora. And Loy was perfect for the role, with a gift for comedy that really comes across through the film. Nora’s perhaps more enthusiastic than her husband about investigating a case- so much so that Nick’s willing to send her off on something perhaps less dangerous than following murderers. Nora is smart and sassy, and her fondness for her husband is clear through the film. The chemistry between the two actors really works well- they feel like a married couple who genuinely like each other.

William Powell was also seen by the studio as too straight laced for Nick Charles, but Van Dyke got his way with the casting, and Powell was brilliant in the role. He seemed to be having a ball with the role- his use of an air gun to fire on Christmas ornaments is hilarious- and that sense of fun comes across in his performance. Nick may or may not be an alcoholic- both he and Nora do tend to drink quite a lot through the film- but if he is, he’s a functioning alcoholic. I find it curious that once Nick starts taking the case seriously, he pretty much stops drinking. He walks through the story with a sense of bemusement and whimsy; he can be in the middle of a party with people he doesn’t even know and acts as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. And as amused as he might be by life, he’s still smart, and that also comes across in the way Powell plays him.

The Thin Man is a delight to watch, an entertaining mix of comedy and mystery with two leads who have an ideal chemistry and playfulness in the way they spar. It’s a smart film, briskly paced, and remains fun and fresh decades after its release. If you haven’t seen it- or its series of sequels- you’ve been missing out on a real classic and the performances of great actors.

Don't You See, George? You Had A Miserable Life

Well, it's one of those things. I get a red flag waved in front of me, and I just have to go for it. It's like the bull in the ring. Just in this case, I don't get stabbed by a matador. I might, however, get stoned. And not in the getting high sense of the word, seeing as how I don't do that. In the Old Testament form of getting stoned.

I don't like It's A Wonderful Life.There. I said it. That classic flick of Christmas time (and American Thanksgiving, what's the reason for that? ) is another one of my dislikes. The sugar-sweet sentimental family film that's a must see for so many people year after year makes me want to gag.

We've got ourselves James Stewart, our reliable, good man role, playing the ultimate good guy role, a small town banker of sorts who genuinely helps people, unlike the old miser in town who's filthy rich and who hoards and schemes and plots to make himself richer. George has himself a nice life, a wife and kids and a house that needs a bit of fixing up. Is it so hard to glue in that thing on the stairs, George? It keeps coming out everytime you run up the stairs.

By the way, what is that thing on the stairs called?

Suddenly things go downhill. The old miser sets it in motion, and George finds himself at a suicidal crossroads. And then filmdoms' most befuddled angel shows up. And shows George what things would have been like if he hadn't been born. It's actually something of a daring sequence, very dark and grim, and if only we could have seen the film keep going that way...

But no. Instead, George is returned to the world as it was, and he starts running through the streets like a maniac, yelling "Merry Christmas!!!" To everyone. Including the crotchedly old miser who nearly brought him down. Really, is it so hard to bring a guy in for a psychologist to evaluate for 48 hours in this town?

You all know how it ends. George comes home. All's well. His friends get together and get him out of his financial straits. His brother comes home. Everyone sings Auld Lang Syne. And the bell rings, signalling that our befuddled angel has earned his wings. Meanwhile, the very thought of it has me gagging.

It's not like I have anything against James Stewart. He's one of the great actors. My favourite Stewart film is The Philadelphia Story, for the record. Throw in films like Vertigo or The Man Who Knew Too Much as part of the equation. And there's so much more that he did that I admire.

I particularly like his take in the second Thin Man film, done before he became really well known, where he plays a decent man, a lovelorn chap who stands by the woman he loves as her rat of a husband bites the dust. Only at the end of the film, when he himself is unmasked as the killer, do we see him for who he really is: a sadistic, devious, cruel monster who wanted to destroy the woman who had once broken his heart. It's a shock to see just how malevolent the character is, particularly when you think of James Stewart largely playing decent upstanding characters.

Still, nothing will ever make me want to watch It's A Wonderful Life again. Unless it's the alternate ending as seen in a Simpsons episode. You know the one: the alternate killing spree ending. You can keep your traditions of watching it at Christmas. My ideas of Christmas films tend to lean more towards The Ref or Die Hard. Now those are holiday films!