After the Thin Man 1936

     Nick and Nora Charles travel by train from a New York holiday back to their home in San Francisco.  They arrive at their home to find a Christmas Eve party already in full swing.  Nick has said he is retiring from solving mysteries but they are drawn into a mystery involving Nora’s family.  Cousin Selma’s husband has been missing for three days and Nick is pushed into looking into his disappearance.  Robert is found dead from a gunshot wound and Selma is charged with his murder.  During the investigation, several other murders occur.  Nick gathers everyone involved into one room to reveal the identity of the murderer.

     This is funny, especially the dog Asta.  He grabs a note tied to a rock that was thrown through the window of the Charles residence.  He won’t give them the note but chews it until they get it away from him.  There are a lot of complications and characters involved in this film.  Nick Powel is still able to solve the crime even though he spends a lot of his time drinking?  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

112 min, Comedy directed by W.S. Van Dyke with William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshal, Teddy Hart, Sam Levene, Penny Singleton, William Law.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 100% critic 89% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*.

Special Note:  The Thin Man films were very popular, they had a low budgets, received Oscar nominations and there were five sequels after the original film.  James Stewart acted in 10 films prior to this film.  He started his career in 1934 and his last film was in 1991.  He was born 5/20/1908 and died 7/2/1997.  Asta was a Wire Fox Terrier and the dog’s real name was Skippy.  He was born in 1931 or 1932 and retired in 1939.  He was featured in other films and he responded both to hand and verbal cues.