Song of the Thin Man [1947 film]

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

William Powell – Nick Charles
Myrna Loy – Nora Charles
Keenan Wynn – Clarence ‘Clinker’ Krause
Dean Stockwell – Nick Charles Jr.
Philip Reed – Tommy Edlon Drake
Patricia Morison – Phyllis Talbin
Leon Ames – Mitchell Talbin
Gloria Grahame – Fran Ledue Page
Jayne Meadows – Janet Thayar
Ralph Morgan – David I. Thayar
Bess Flowers – Jessica Thayer
Don Taylor – Buddy Hollis
Warner Anderson – Dr. Monolaw
Bruce Cowling – Phil Orval Brant

Screenplay by Steve Fisher and Nat Perrin, based on characters by Dashiell Hammett
Directed by Edward Buzzell

Black and white. 86 min.

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I came across this cute crime comedy-cum-mystery while exploring Gloria Grahame’s career. She has a tiny part as a singer. It’s the Powell and Loy show, and they are terrific as a couple of murder-solving oddballs. The large cast is perfect to the last cameo. There is even an unnamed terrier who steals every scene he’s in. The dialogue is a crash course in American slang from the 1940s. “Make mileage” – “Get lost, you offbeat, rinky-dink.” Delightful stuff! And I sure didn’t know “slush pump” is a trombone. Much clever wordplay and subtle allusions, too. Sweetest of all is when Nick laments a broken bottle as an old friend who went to pieces or finds a razor blade, shakes his head and mutters the immortal line “Oh no, it couldn’t have been Somerset Maugham”. No better proof that The Razor’s Edge was a hit in both book and movie form at the time. Edward Buzzell, a director totally unknown to me, also has flashes of brilliance. Favourite bit: hot jazz band jamming like mad, but the camera moves to a bust of Beethoven, more sullen than ever, watching from the piano. Brilliant! Ludwig did invent jazz with the second movement of Op. 111, but he probably had something else in mind about its development. On the whole, this is a charming movie that packs a lot of fun, not to mention a cosy (if confused) murder puzzle, in mere 86 minutes. I am now curious to watch the first five “Thin Man” movies as well as to read Dashiell Hammett’s novel. I just have no idea how I’ll fit them into my schedule... ( )