JohnHowardReid
Finally, the movie everyone (except me) hates: Song of the Thin Man (1947). For this one, Nat Perrin was assigned as both producer and screenwriter (in collaboration with Steve Fisher), whilst the directorial reins were handed to veteran Eddie Buzzell. The writers have taken care to restore Nick's liking (though not compulsion) for alcohol, but they made little change to the bland domesticity of Nora. Admittedly, she isn't quite the dumb housewife here, more the not-so-bright socialite. Her antics aren't funny though. In one particular boneheaded play, she almost gets herself killed! Loy's performance is adequate, but by no means sparkling. Maybe she was miffed that she was handed no witty lines to speak of. Maybe she was just tired. She'd already co-starred with Powell in thirteen films.
Aside from Myrna Loy's inoffensively decorative Nora, the main item that irritates most fans is the jazz soundtrack. I thought it terrific. In fact it's my number one reason for welcoming this entry. Sultry Gloria Grahame sings up a storm with "You're Not So Easy To Forget", whilst Keenan Wynn (as an enthusiastic muso) and Don Taylor (as a psychotic reed man) give the most convincingly charismatic performances of their lives.
As for Powell, the script not only serves him astringently well, but he still seems right at home tossing off one-liners in the same polished, throwaway, suavely witty form. No doubt he could have continued persuasively playing Nick Charles for the rest of his career. - Which he did with only minor variations.
GusF
The sixth, last and weakest "Thin Man" film, it is nevertheless quite fun (in spite of its uninspired plot) due to William Powell and Myrna Loy's electric chemistry and a strong supporting cast including Keenan Wynn, an 11-year-old Dean Stockwell (who has changed surprisingly little!), Jayne Meadows, Leon Ames (who played a different character in "The Thin Man Goes Home") and Patricia Morison. Stockwell, Meadows and Morison are all still alive, incidentally. It also features Don Taylor in a small role as the musician Buddy Hollis, which was interesting since I know him best as the director of "Escape from the Planet of the Apes". The film far predates Buddy Holly's rise to fame but it was impossible not to think of him whenever Hollis' name was mentioned!It's a shame that the series couldn't have gone out on a stronger film. I like to imagine Nick and Nora continuing to investigate crimes for decades to come with Nick, Jr. and Asta, Jr. by their side! There was talk of a remake of "The Thin Man" starring Johnny Depp a few years ago but it seems to be stuck in development hell. Usually, I'm against remakes but this one sounded promising. I hope that, if it is ever made, it is a period film since I can't imagine Nick and Nora working nearly as well in a present day film. Helena Bonham Carter would be my first choice for Nora.
CCsito
This is the sixth and last in the series of Thin Man movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy. The plot deals with a night club manager who is murdered after he assaults a trumpet player in a band and two times a girlfriend and well as owe several thousand dollars to another man. Nick and Nora take on the murder case at the request of the girlfriend (Jayne Meadows) of the prime murder suspect. The jilted murder victim's girlfriend (Gloria Grahame) also gets bumped off as well. The movie has some scenes with the son of the Thin Man (played by Dean Stockwell). Keenan Wynn costars as one of the band members (though he is never considered to be a prime suspect). There is still a good chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy in this movie. There are less good one liners that you often heard from the earlier movies in the series though. Asta also has a few good scenes in this movie. William Powell and Myrna Loy appear a bit more tired in this last movie of the series. But I guess that is to be expected as one gets older anyway.
bkoganbing
William Powell was 55 and Myrna Loy 42 when Song of the Thin Man came out to box office that was not as good as the previous five entries. MGM thought they were getting too old for the roles and they and the stars called a halt to this most acclaimed of film series. I think they carried their parts off well myself.I think the problem was that this last one was too violent. Myrna Loy is almost killed by one of the suspects and the final unmasking of the villain was very violent, not at all in keeping with the usual lightheartedness that characterized the Thin Man series. I think the audience rejected it for that reason.A bandleader, Phillip Reed, is murdered on board a gambling ship and later on the band's vocalist Gloria Grahame is also killed. The usual array of suspects is on hand for Bill Powell to sift through and expose.Song of the Thin Man has Dean Stockwell as their young son, Nick Charles, Jr. and Powell and Loy get a sidekick in the form of sideman saxophonist Keenan Wynn. If the series had kept going, Wynn might have become a regular.Though it's not as good as the five previous entries, Song of the Thin Man is good one for this series to go out on.
AD
