Shadow of the Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth of six Thin Man murder-mystery comedy films, released by MGM in 1941. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Their son Nick Jr. (Dickie Hall) is old enough in this film to be involved in the comic subplot. Other cast members include Donna Reed and Barry Nelson. This was one of three films in the series to include Stella Adler.

Shadow of the Thin Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byW. S. Van Dyke
Written byDashiell Hammett (characters)
Screenplay by
Story byHarry Kurnitz
Produced byHunt Stromberg
Starring
CinematographyWilliam H. Daniels
Edited byRobert J. Kern
Music byDavid Snell
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • November 21, 1941 (1941-11-21) (US)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$821,000
Box office$2,301,000

Plot

Nick and Nora Charles are looking forward to a relaxing day at a racetrack, but when a jockey accused of throwing a race is found shot to death, police lieutenant Abrams requests Nick's help. The trail leads to a gambling syndicate that operates out of a wrestling arena, a murdered reporter and a pretty secretary whose boyfriend has been framed. Along the way, Nick and Nora must contend with a wild wrestling match, a dizzying day at a merry-go-round (accompanied by Nick Jr.) and a table-clearing restaurant brawl.

Cast

Production

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the husband-and-wife team who wrote the first three Thin Man scripts, refused to write another. Goodrich said: "They press you awfully hard there … when they started talking about another Thin Man, we started throwing up and crying into our typewriters. We had the nervous breakdown together, [so] we said 'let’s get out of here' [and] we quit."[4]

After difficulties with the previous films, author Dashiell Hammett was uninvolved in the production of Shadow of the Thin Man or in the two subsequent films in the series.[5] The film was instead based on a story by Harry Kurnitz, who wrote the script along with Irving Brecher.

On June 22, 1941,[6] MGM filmed the exteriors in Berkeley, California, with Golden Gate Fields racetrack, which had opened on February 1, 1941[7][8] as Greenway Park.[9] Nick and Nora Charles are pulled over for speeding on the upper deck of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.[10][11]

Box office

Shadow of the Thin Man was eagerly welcomed, as it had been two years since the previous installment. It would be three years before Myrna Loy would make another film (The Thin Man Goes Home in 1945), as she left Hollywood for New York, where she volunteered for the war effort with the Red Cross as the assistant to the director of military and naval welfare.[12]

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,453,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $848,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $769,000.[13]

Nick and Nora Charles film series

This film was the fourth of six based on the characters of Nick and Nora Charles:

References
  1. Lamparski, Richard (1985). Whatever became of ... ?. Vol. 9. Crown. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-517-55541-5.
  2. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures: Film Beginnings. R. R. Bowker. 1941. p. 2137. ISBN 9780520215214.
  3. Staff writer (1944). Who's Who at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Culver City, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. p. 71 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Bryant, Roger. William Powell: The Life and Films. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2602-0
  5. Mooney, William H. (3 November 2014). Dashiell Hammett and the Movies. Rutgers University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-8135-6254-4.
  6. Finacom, Steve (22 June 2016). "Berkeley, A Look Back: Hollywood comes to Albany racetrack in 1941". The Mercury News. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  7. "Golden Gate Fields". Racecourse Directory. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. "Golden Gate Fields". OFF TRACK BETTING. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. Seal, John (30 November 2010). "Made in Berkeley: Shadow of the Thin Man". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. Schwartzbach, Micah. "Police Stops: What to Do If You Are Pulled Over". Nolo Press. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. "Reliving the Glory Days of the Bay Bridge Through Hollywood Movies". KQED Inc. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  12. Belinda O. (25 May 2020). "Shadow of the Thin Man". Classic for a Reason. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  13. "The Eddie Mannix Ledger." Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study (Los Angeles).
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