A jockey has been shot dead at the race track. Famous detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora happen to be on the scene and Lt. Abrahams would like Nick's expert help. Nick, however, tries to stay out of it but is enticed in when a friend asks him to investigate the presence of criminal gangs in gambling.
The fourth film in the Thin Man series and the last of the six to be directed by W. S. Van Dyke, director of the previous three. The first film, The Thin Man (1934) was brilliant. A great mix of comedy and murder-mystery with the off-the-charts chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy, as Nick and Nora Charles, driving the humour and engagement.
After the Thin Man (1936) was quite good but not in the same league as the first movie. The humour wasn't as fresh and the mystery felt quite laboured. Another Thin Man (1939) was a return to form with some great humour and an intriguing whodunnit.
This film doesn't live up to those previous productions, feeling clumsy and flat. The murder aspect is overly complex and yet not very intriguing. It gets better as the film goes on but in losing you towards the beginning the plot struggles to draw you back in. The humour is a bit cheesy, though there are a few great moments.
Even Asta the dog, one of the key ingredients in the first three films, is reduced to doing lame roll-over-and-play-dead type gags. Nick and Nora's kid, Nick Jr, is just there for the cheap laughs and is generally irritating.
Disappointing.
The fourth film in the Thin Man series and the last of the six to be directed by W. S. Van Dyke, director of the previous three. The first film, The Thin Man (1934) was brilliant. A great mix of comedy and murder-mystery with the off-the-charts chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy, as Nick and Nora Charles, driving the humour and engagement.
After the Thin Man (1936) was quite good but not in the same league as the first movie. The humour wasn't as fresh and the mystery felt quite laboured. Another Thin Man (1939) was a return to form with some great humour and an intriguing whodunnit.
This film doesn't live up to those previous productions, feeling clumsy and flat. The murder aspect is overly complex and yet not very intriguing. It gets better as the film goes on but in losing you towards the beginning the plot struggles to draw you back in. The humour is a bit cheesy, though there are a few great moments.
Even Asta the dog, one of the key ingredients in the first three films, is reduced to doing lame roll-over-and-play-dead type gags. Nick and Nora's kid, Nick Jr, is just there for the cheap laughs and is generally irritating.
Disappointing.