Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
utgard14 The penultimate Thin Man movie has Nick & Nora visiting Nick's parents when, of course, a murder is committed. This one gives us a look at Nick's background, including that he grew up in a very MGM small town and that his doctor father is disappointed that Nick didn't follow in his footsteps. As the story progresses, the father learns to appreciate what a great detective Nick is. There's also a WWII spy angle and a recurring joke about Nick's newfound sobriety.William Powell and Myrna Loy are great as ever with that fun chemistry we all love so much. One of my favorite Myrna Loy scenes in the entire series is the one here where she tells Nick's father about the Stinky Davis case. It's hilarious! Nick, Jr. is absent from this one but Asta is still around, albeit played by a different dog this time. The great ing cast includes Lucille Watson, Harry Davenport, Lloyd Corrigan, Donald MacBride, Leon Ames, Edward Brophy, Helen Vinson, Donald Meek, Morris Ankrum, and a scenery-chewing Gloria DeHaven ("Just call me...Laurabelle."). It's the first Thin Man film not directed by Woody Van Dyke, who died in 1943. Perhaps that's why the movie has a different feel to it than prior entries in the series, although I'm sure we can most probably chalk it up to the changing times and tastes. More than a decade had ed since the first Thin Man film, after all. Still, it's an enjoyable movie that most fans of the series will love. It's hard to miss with Powell and Loy.
GusF This is my third favourite film in the series after "The Thin Man" and "After the Thin Man" (no pun intended!). William Powell and Myrna Loy are simply wonderful and it has an excellent ing cast, particularly Harry Davenport, Anne Revere, Donald Meek and Lucile Watson. However, I have to give special mention to Gloria DeHaven, who is an absolute laugh riot as the overly dramatic drama student Laurabelle Ronson who feels everything "here, inside." She's still alive at the ripe old age of 89, I'm glad to say. Her career spanned from "Modern Times" in 1936 to an episode of "Touched by an Angel" in 2000.This is the first film in the series in which the "Thin Man" of the title refers to Nick Charles due to the popular misconception that he was the Thin Man, when in fact it referred to Clyde Wynant, a ing character in the novel and first film. This is similar to the situation with the "Pink Panther" film series 20+ years later.It was also the first film in the series made after the US entry into World War II, which is alluded to several times, most notably the McGuffin being plans for a propeller which an unnamed "foreign power" wants to get its hands on. The wartime rationing is the reason that the characters' prolific drinking, a trademark of the first four films, is significantly (and disappointingly) toned down on this occasion. According to Myrna Loy, changing attitudes to said drinking was one of the reasons that the series ended with the next film "Song of the Thin Man".
Celticnationalist Generally the Fourth Sequel to nearly anything would be considered Garbage and You'd think that the Producers had milked the cash cow once too often...BUT 'The Thin Man goes home' the Fourth Sequel and penultimate Film in the Enjoyable MGM Series which ran from 1934-1947 is FAR better than you could really hope for.Nick (William Powell) & Nora (Myrna Loy) catch a Train to see Nick's Parents merely for a Vacation, but everybody in the Small town are led to believe that Nick is on a Case... He Isn't...Well, Not until a Young man drops dead on his Parents doorstep from a Gunshot Wound - 'The Thin Man goes home' despite being 65 Years old now, doesn't feel anywhere near as dated as many other Films from the Era, There is plenty of Witty lines that are still Funny today and the Sparkling Chemistry between Powell & Loy is a joy to watch.***1/2 out of *****
Terrell-4 Sycamore Springs is Nick Charles' home town, where his parents still live. It's small town Americana, MGM style. We half-way expect that the murderer, when Nick catches him, will turn out to be Andy Hardy. In this, the fifth of the Thin Man series, Nick and Nora (William Powell and Myrna Loy) journey from New York to celebrate his birthday with his parents. Dr. Charles is a medical man who disapproves of Nick's line of work as a "policeman." He had hoped his son would become a doctor and that they could work together. Nick's mother understands and loves them both and bustles around. And Nora, determined to show her father-in-law what such a smart and successful detective Nick really is, begins to leak the story that Nick is really in Sycamore Springs to solve an important case. "Nicky always says there's a skeleton in nearly every closet," Nora points out to her mother-in-law, "and if you rattle it hard enough something always happens." It's not long before a number of things happen, including a young man shot by a sniper at the elder Charles' front door, an intense attempt by a shady character and his wife to buy or steal a second-rate painting of a windmill and the death by shotgun blast of a disturbed recluse. Nick has to deal with war plants and war plans, twenty-year-old secrets involving illicit love and an unexpected baby, innocent or not-so innocent theatrics and the impact of some of his street-wise friends on the respectability of his parents. All the way, the need to show his father that he is worthy of respect even if he is just a "policeman" keeps things humming. The conclusion, with everyone gathered around, the true motivation for the murders uncovered and the killer unmasked, ends satisfactorily with his father grinning in approval and a button on Nick's vest popping with pride, just as Nora predicted. This being wartime, Nick's exertions have had to be fueled by apple cider, not martinis. The pleasure of this movie rests squarely on the personalities of Powell and Loy. They fit into being Nick and Nora with the grace and affection of old friends. That's how we see them, as actors and as Nick and Nora. They're good company and fun to be with. While the mystery itself may not be great shakes (the rationale for the murders seemed to come a little out of left field), the actors are a crowd of familiar faces and predictable and welcome personalities. We get Harry Davenport, everyone's favorite father or grandfather; Leon Ames; Donald Meek, small and always flustered; Edward Brophy, Donald MacBride, one of the master's of the double-take; Lloyd Corrigan; Helen Vinson; Lucille Watson and Anne Revere, such a fine actress whose career was ruined by the Hollywood witch-hunts of the late Forties and early Fifties. In a part that lasts probably no more than 20 seconds we even have Moose Malloy, I mean Mike Mazurki, in a barbershop. So what could make a fan of Nick and Nora Charles queasy? Here's a hint. Says Nora outside a pool hall to Sycamore Springs' police chief, "There's a man here. I want you to arrest him." "What for?" says the chief. "Does it have to be for something," Nora asks with genuine innocence. Is this the smart, sophisticated Nora from the first two Thin Man movies? Not even close. With The Thin Man Comes Home, MGM has nearly finished the job of turning Nora Charles into an adoring wife and cutely innocent early version of Lucy Ricardo. The affectionate banter between Nick and Nora remains, but little is left of Nora as at least a semi-equal partner in her husband's adventures in murder and crime. Nora's role is to provide comic relief so that we can smile indulgently at the situations she gets herself involved in. I watched the movie with a smile because Powell and Loy are so good together. But in a sad way I also felt I was watching Nora Charles' death by the safe, middle class conventions of Hollywood.
