binapiraeus Two years later, "After the Thin Man" continues exactly where the immensely successful first "Thin Man" movie had left off: Nick and Nora come home to California after solving the difficult Wynant murder case in New York - and find themselves in their own house right in the middle of a wild New Year's Eve party that their friends are giving to welcome them back; although they'd planned to just take a big rest for about a month...But they can't do that anyway, because they're 'summoned' to dine with Nora's distinguished family by her aunt, whose neurotic daughter Selma once more has got love trouble: her unfaithful husband has been missing for days... So, after a dreadfully boring 'high society' family dinner, they set off in search for the prodigal husband Robert. They find him pretty soon in a shady night club, ready to beat it with the singer after he 'payed off' Selma's former boyfriend David, who's still in love with her, promising to vanish forever and leave them alone. But - soon afterward, Robert is shot dead in the street...Even from this moment on, we all know just as well as Nick and Nora that there were at least half a dozen suspects (each of whom had a pretty good motive to kill Robert) near the scene of the crime - so there are lots of motives and no alibis... And now, the only thing that's left for clever and experienced Nick is to solve the mystery by investigating the psychological side of the crime, grilling everybody until they all reveal their real selves! Again, our nonchalant and cocky detective couple 'party' themselves through a complicated murder case, this time 'torn' between two worlds: Nick's 'natural' night life and ex-con environment, and Nora's haughty rich relatives. Supported by a brilliant cast (especially young James Stewart as Selma's eternal worshiper, Joseph Calleia as the crooked night club owner, and George Zucco as Selma's psychologist, who seems somewhat nutty himself...), Powell and Loy give an equally marvelous performance as in the first 'Nick and Nora' adventure, and director W.S. van Dyke once more grants us a hilarious mixture of crime and comedy - this film certainly established 'Mr. and Mrs. Charles' as the audience's favorite married sleuthing couple, which they remain until today...

Lawson The first Thin Man movie was based on a novel written by Dashiell Hammett, which might explain why it was zingier and zestier than this, its first sequel, which was written by Hammett specifically for the movie. Oh there's still plenty to like about the movie - William Powell and Myrna Loy are still a wonderfully banter-ful couple, and the dog Asta is one of the cutest screen pets still, but the movie drags in some scenes, and it just lacks the freshness of the first.This is one of James Stewart's pre-fame roles but I think it must've helped jump-start his career. He plays it bland through most of the movie but whoah, in the last scene he gives a dramatic performance that's almost too intense for a comedy.

ctomvelu1 What saves AFTER from being a routine sequel is the acting of Powell and Loy, along with the marvelous Sam Levene as a pushy detective and veteran actress Jessie Ralph as Nora's dowager aunt Catherine, who looks down on Nick. Having other great character players like George Zucco and Joseph Calleia in small but key roles also helps. Nick and Nora are back in California after the events in NYC. Nora's cousin (played by a pretty but truly awful actress named Elissa Landi) asks them to help her find her wandering, womanizing husband. A young Jimmy Stewart plays a pivotal role as a devoted friend of Landi's. The Asta antics in this one are funny but a bit overdone, much like Cheetah's antics in the Weismuller Tarzan movies.

masercot An exhausting Christmas (from the original The Thin Man), the couple take an exhausting three day train trip and arrive...well...exhausted. Soon, they are sucked into a family matter that involves night club owners, jealous boyfriends, sexy singers and a mysterious Asian. Does it get any better than that?It does, just as soon as Myrna Loy opens her mouth. Her timing is golden and her looks, angelic. Working off of Powell and his shady friends, her one-liners are priceless. The movie is a whirlwind of activity, involving the finding of a murderer. As the murders pile up, the plot muddies and the characters get louder and more frenetic.Nick solves the case as usual: By calling all of the suspects together and waiting for someone to do something dumb. The killer is a surprise without there being a lot of red herrings.Sadly, Asta "phones in" his performance, due to a morphine addiction he picked up while filming a war movie in Laos.