silverscreen888 Review of Song of the Thin Man

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

Interesting Characters; a Mystery set in the World of Musicians in the 40s

[7/10 · 30 June 2005]

This is not quite a great movie,perhaps; but of all the "Thin Man" series'entries that starred capable William Powell and mature and lovely Myrna Loy, arguably this is the best mystery of all. It is also unfortunately true that having saddled the fun-loving Charleses, Nick and Nora, with Little Nicky, the same error committed in the Tarzan series, this series' executives discovered the young fellow, admirably played by Dean Stockwell, was crimping the thirties' breezy and boozy style of their very stylish duo. So this was the final entry of a long-lasting and frequently delightful set of entries. The storyline for this one is particularly strong, as are the dialogue and characters, in my judgment. Steve Fisher and Nat Perrin wrote the strong screenplay with additional dialogue by James O'Hanlon and Harry Crane. The story was by Stanley Roberts. The main narrative concerns musicians and socialites, and how badly they mix in this 'case'. The corpse is an obnoxious bandleader, who is killed while leading his aggregation aboard a gambling ship that operates outside the 'three-mile limit". Nick Charles, retired New York detective refuses to become involved here; then he is shot at, involved in the case up to his ears, menaced, lied to, frustrated by police, instructed in bee bop music, and finally left alone and also aided by his wife long enough to solve the murder and clear the innocent. In this excellent cast along with Powell and Loy are Keenan Wynn as a likable musician nicknamed "Clinker", Don Taylor as a lovesick musician with mental problems, Leon Ames and Patricia Morison as dynamic and mismatched couple, Jayne Meadows and William Bishop, Gloria Grahame, Ralph Morgan, Warner Anderson, Connie Gilchrist, Marie Windsor. Bess Flowers who is somewhat inadequate both as a singer and an actress is also featured. The best scenes in this directorial effort by Edward Buzzell are Nick's evading of police surveillance to row out and search the gambling ship with his dog Asta after the murder, the early shipboard scenes, the visits Nick and later Nora and Nick make to various locales to question people and the final showdown scene. In this one, Patricia Morison wears a stunning black evening gown, and is given something important to do in the events at last--as she shoots the man who was the murderer of the heel bandleader that she really loved, and not just another plausible suspect... This is a very attractive MGM film to boot. The sets by Edwin Willis, art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell, Sydney Guilaroff's hairstyles and Irene's gowns are major assets to a creation of the the "look" of a good 1940s mystery entry. Exceptional for its characters, and for its band, its wealthy folk, and its shady gambling circles' setting.