Thursday, April 1, 2010

365 Movies: The Thin Man Goes Home Review


The Thin Man Goes Home stars William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Harry Davenport, and Gloria DeHaven in the fifth installment of The Thin Man Series. Even when on vacation, somehow and someway the Charles' get involved in a case. This time, the case involves the town, Nick grew up in. After Peter Berton(Ralph Brooks) is murdered on the Charles' steps, Nick and Nora look into who killed the young man and discover much more inside the case. This film lacked quite a bit in humor. It didn't have the W.S. Van Dyke touch and the characters of Nick and Nora didn't seem themselves. Nora is so enamored with figuring out whodunnit, she looses herself and Nick doesn't have the same witty banter, that made him so charming. It was quite depressing, seeing them so differently. I enjoyed watching Powell and Loy in another film, but this film doesn't do them justice. It almost doesn't feel like it's a Thin Man movie. I also found Gloria DeHaven to be quite annoying in this film, and I'm hoping that her other performances aren't like this.



Review for Tomorrow: Song of the Thin Man

1 comment:

Sally said...

Great review! This, oddly enough, was the first Thin Man film I ever saw. I agree that it's pretty sad to see Nick and Nora in such ways - they don't even drink! And I hate the spanking scene which, as C.K. Dexter Haven wrote, was totally out of character for Nick. I actually do kind of like Gloria de Haven in this film, though. I think she's cute and very convincing as a student of dramatic school. She's quite different in the other films I've seen her in. She's often cast in the prettier but spoiled younger sister, which affects her character as you can imagine. My favorite Gloria de Haven film is probably Two Girls and a Sailor, so I recommend that one if you want to clear the "Here, inside" memory from your brain.