DinasClassichollywoodbios Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 So excited about TCM's New Year's Eve marathon of The Thin Man. Who is as happy about this as I am? No better way to ring in 2016. Please check out my new page on Bill and Myrna. Lots of behind the aces stories and anecdotes. http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/powellloy.htm 3 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 So excited about TCM's New Year's Eve marathon of The Thin Man. Who is as happy about this as I am? No better way to ring in 2016. Please check out my new page on Bill and Myrna. Lots of behind the aces stories and anecdotes. While I have seen every film in the series (more than once), I can never get enough of Powell and Loy. But I doubt the house where I'll be celebrating New Years will have the station set to TCM. Note that I try to find time to watch the Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia DeHavilland film It's Love I'm After on New Years day since the film is set on that day. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Janet0312 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Love Nick & Nora, but I will be tuned to the 3 Stooges marathon in Boston. Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'm excited. I love these movies. I never tire of them. Since my New Year Eve date is working, I'm going to be down at my parents' house and we're going to have a Thin Man New Years Eve shindig. I own all six films, so I'm going to bring them with me in case we can't start the party right at 5pm when they start airing on TCM. We'll have to cut away briefly, a few minutes before midnight, so that we can see the ball drop, but aside from that, I'm all in when it comes to seeing Nick and Nora. I also love that the daytime theme is Marx Brothers. Aside from the short films, this is probably the only time when I can say that I own all the films that TCM is showing that day. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen the last 3 Thin Man films. I will hopefully be remedying that situation this week. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen the last 3 Thin Man films. I will hopefully be remedying that situation this week. The last one, Song of the Thin Man, is probably my second favorite one after the first one. In my opinion, the fifth one, The Thin Man Goes Home is probably the weakest one in the series, but it still has its moments and is still entertaining. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 The last one, Song of the Thin Man, is probably my second favorite one after the first one. In my opinion, the fifth one, The Thin Man Goes Home is probably the weakest one in the series, but it still has its moments and is still entertaining. Looks like we rank the Thin Man films in the same order. I also rank Song of the Thin Man #2 because of the jazz music theme and because the great Gloria Grahame is in it. Thin Man Goes Home is my least favorite. (with After The Thin Man #3 and Shadow of the Thin Man #4 and Another Thin Man #5) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ElCid Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Several years ago we purchased The Complete Thin Man Collection. It has all six movies and a 7th disc with the TCM documentaries on William Powell and Myrna Loy. The documentary disc, Alias Nick and Nora, also has an episode from the Peter Lawford/Phyllis Kirk The Thin Man TV series. Nick is narrated by Kevin Kline and Nora is narrated by Kathleen Turner. Highly recommend this set if still available. Each movie is on a separate disc and has a short of some kind. After the Thin Man, second movie is set on New Year's Eve. My favorite one is The Thin Man Goes Home. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) Looks like we rank the Thin Man films in the same order. I also rank Song of the Thin Man because of the jazz music theme and because the great Gloria Grahame is in it. Thin Man Goes Home is my least favorite. (with After The Thin Man #3 and Shadow of the Thin Man #4 and Another Thin Man #5) Yes. I mostly like #6 because of the music as well. I didn't realize Gloria Grahame was in it. I just saw In a Lonely Place a few weeks ago and loved it, and especially enjoyed Grahame. My favorites are: #1 The Thin Man (#1 in the series) #2 Song of the Thin Man (#6 in the series) #3 After the Thin Man (#2 in the series) #4 Shadow of the Thin Man (#4 in the series) #5 Another Thin Man (#3 in the series) #6 The Thin Man Goes Home (#5 in the series) The reason I rank Another Thin Man lower, is because they added the baby. EDIT: James, After I wrote this, I realized that we do in fact, rank the films exactly the same. Edited December 30, 2015 by speedracer5 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Yes. I mostly like #6 because of the music as well. I didn't realize Gloria Grahame was in it. I just saw In a Lonely Place a few weeks ago and loved it, and especially enjoyed Grahame. My favorites are: #1 The Thin Man (#1 in the series) #2 Song of the Thin Man (#6 in the series) #3 After the Thin Man (#2 in the series) #4 Shadow of the Thin Man (#4 in the series) #5 Another Thin Man (#3 in the series) #6 The Thin Man Goes Home (#5 in the series) The reason I rank Another Thin Man lower, is because they added the baby. EDIT: James, After I wrote this, I realized that we do in fact, rank the films exactly the same. Great minds think alike (ha ha). While Grahame has a small role in the film she still makes an impact as a surly gal. No one does surly better than Grahame. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
DinasClassichollywoodbios Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 The Cid --- I adore the documentaries as well on The Thn Man DVD set. I treasure them. If anyone wants to read about our Bill and Myrna as a companion to the marathon please check out http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/powellloy.htm I had a blast writing it and choosing the photos especially the vintage movie magazine covers! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Janet0312 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I'm excited. I love these movies. I never tire of them. Since my New Year Eve date is working, I'm going to be down at my parents' house and we're going to have a Thin Man New Years Eve shindig. I own all six films, so I'm going to bring them with me in case we can't start the party right at 5pm when they start airing on TCM. We'll have to cut away briefly, a few minutes before midnight, so that we can see the ball drop, but aside from that, I'm all in when it comes to seeing Nick and Nora. I also love that the daytime theme is Marx Brothers. Aside from the short films, this is probably the only time when I can say that I own all the films that TCM is showing that day. That sounds like a lot of fun. Can I come? 2 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 The Cid --- I adore the documentaries as well on The Thn Man DVD set. I treasure them. If anyone wants to read about our Bill and Myrna as a companion to the marathon please check out I had a blast writing it and choosing the photos especially the vintage movie magazine covers! Wow, that is one great write up of two of my favorite stars of the studio-era (and my favorite team). Just fantastic. Thanks for posting the link. Funny but when my wife see a film with them in it she still asks me 'are you sure they were never married?'. That type of chemistry is something that only comes around once every 50 years or so! 3 Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 That sounds like a lot of fun. Can I come? Lol. Sure. It'll be a long plane ride from MA to OR. Link to post Share on other sites
DinasClassichollywoodbios Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 "Nora and Asta" Will be adding more pics and vintage magazine covers throughput the day ???? Please read this as a companion to tonight's festivities. Learn all about Bill, Myrna and enjoy fun behind- the-scenes anecdotes. http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/powellloy.htm 1 Link to post Share on other sites
DinasClassichollywoodbios Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Posted Today, 12:22 PM "Nora and Asta" Will be adding more pics and vintage magazine covers throughput the day ???? Please read this as a companion to tonight's festivities. Learn all about Bill, Myrna and enjoy fun behind- the-scenes anecdotes. http://www.classicho...m/powellloy.htm Link to post Share on other sites
lydecker Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Can't wait for New Year's Eve with Nick and Nora although I must admit that I loathe "Song of the Thin Man" (Nick and Nora notwithstanding.) Keenan Wynn with all of his "jive talk" is dated and boring. The first three in the series are definitely the best, to me. The series really, really missed Hackett and Goodrich's great screenplays after they bowed out after "Another Thin Man." Lydecker 1 Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Can't wait for New Year's Eve with Nick and Nora although I must admit that I loathe "Song of the Thin Man" (Nick and Nora notwithstanding.) Keenan Wynn with all of his "jive talk" is dated and boring. The first three in the series are definitely the best, to me. The series really, really missed Hackett and Goodrich's great screenplays after they bowed out after "Another Thin Man." Lydecker I love Song of the Thin Man solely because I like the music in the movie. I cannot even remember Keenan Wynn's jive talk. I also liked that one of the main characters was a clarinetist, because I played clarinet in band. Lol. I believe this is the one where Myrna Loy gets thrown all over the dance floor by a bunch of different men (Now I can't remember! Lol. The "Thin Mans" seem to run together for me). Oh well. We all have different reasons why we might like and dislike a film. I thought it was a poor move adding a child to the Charles' shenanigans. Fortunately though, Nick Jr. doesn't seem to interrupt the action too badly. Link to post Share on other sites
lydecker Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I love Song of the Thin Man solely because I like the music in the movie. I cannot even remember Keenan Wynn's jive talk. I also liked that one of the main characters was a clarinetist, because I played clarinet in band. Lol. I believe this is the one where Myrna Loy gets thrown all over the dance floor by a bunch of different men (Now I can't remember! Lol. The "Thin Mans" seem to run together for me). Oh well. We all have different reasons why we might like and dislike a film. I thought it was a poor move adding a child to the Charles' shenanigans. Fortunately though, Nick Jr. doesn't seem to interrupt the action too badly. It was definitely a mistake to add a child to the the Charles' household but the studio apparently didn't have the balls to let a married couple be without a child, for whatever reason. I think WWII also impacted the series since suddenly we had an annoying child who ran around in a little uniform in one movie (wow, aren't Nick and Nora just so patriotic!) as well as a film in the series in which Nick was forced to drink "apple cider" (instead of martinis) because the studio felt that Nick's drinking was no longer "acceptable" to WWII audiences. But, I'll take Nick and Nora in any film, even though I think the first 3 were the best. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
speedracer5 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 It was definitely a mistake to add a child to the the Charles' household but the studio apparently didn't have the balls to let a married couple be without a child, for whatever reason. I think WWII also impacted the series since suddenly we had an annoying child who ran around in a little uniform in one movie (wow, aren't Nick and Nora just so patriotic!) as well as a film in the series in which Nick was forced to drink "apple cider" (instead of martinis) because the studio felt that Nick's drinking was no longer "acceptable" to WWII audiences. But, I'll take Nick and Nora in any film, even though I think the first 3 were the best. Oh yes. The apple cider thing was lame. It was one thing I suppose if Nick Charles decided to become a teetotaler or whatever, but I didn't like how they kept mentioning the cider thing over and over, just to remind us that Nick is in fact, NOT DRINKING anymore. I'm glad I'm not the only one who found their child annoying. In the one 'Thin Man' where they have the baby party, that part was very annoying. But like you, I'm always game for some Nick and Nora. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Oh yes. The apple cider thing was lame. It was one thing I suppose if Nick Charles decided to become a teetotaler or whatever, but I didn't like how they kept mentioning the cider thing over and over, just to remind us that Nick is in fact, NOT DRINKING anymore. I'm glad I'm not the only one who found their child annoying. In the one 'Thin Man' where they have the baby party, that part was very annoying. But like you, I'm always game for some Nick and Nora. Another Thin Man is the one with the baby party at the end. The baby parts being one of the reasons I rank this one #5 on my list. I place Shadow of The Thin Man above "Another" because of the horse race setting and Donna Reed. But yea, the parts with the kid are more annoying then interesting. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
DinasClassichollywoodbios Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 Breathtaking Myrna Please read this as a companion to tonight's festivities. Learn all about Bill & Myrna and enjoy behind-the-scenes anecdotes. http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/powellloy.htm Link to post Share on other sites
mrroberts Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Since William Powell is my favorite actor (and Myrna is high on my actress list) it goes without saying how much I enjoy all of the "Thin Man" films. It wasn't too many years ago that TCM ran the 6 films on New Tears Eve (probably the time when Powell was star of the month on a December). There are certainly other "themes" that TCM could have followed but a group of light hearted comedies seems most appropriate and the Thin Man films certainly fit that requirement. I always hope that some new viewers get their first exposure to these films and join the fan club. In retrospect the 6 films do well as a group but after "Song of the Thin Man" it was getting a little stale so I am glad the series ended at that point (although the last film was still a good one). Introducing a child into the series might have seemed a good idea at first but clearly the "kid" became a distraction and the writers didn't know what to do with him in the later films. And the heavy emphasis on Nick and Nora's imbibing in the first few films had to be toned down as the series went on. In the first film it seemed appropriate as a way of the public celebration of the end of Prohibition but later on they had to behave a little more responsibly. I always see that "The Thin Man Goes Home" usually gets panned as the low point of the series but even that film has some really good moments of fun in it. The murder mystery always is of secondary importance in these films you know. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ElCid Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 . I think WWII also impacted the series since suddenly we had an annoying child who ran around in a little uniform in one movie (wow, aren't Nick and Nora just so patriotic!) as well as a film in the series in which Nick was forced to drink "apple cider" (instead of martinis) because the studio felt that Nick's drinking was no longer "acceptable" to WWII audiences. But, I'll take Nick and Nora in any film, even though I think the first 3 were the best. Shadow was released in 1941, so may not have had that much patriotic influence. I always thought that Nicky Jr. was in uniform because he was supposedly at a military school. This would give the writers plenty of opportunity in the future to not have him around. As for the drinking, Nick switched to cider simply because his father thought he drank too much. Therefore, he was going to tone it down for the visit. Why would WW II audiences no longer accept Nick's drinking? As I recall, he drank a pretty good bit in the final movie. Link to post Share on other sites
Emily Dean Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I truly enjoyed my evening of THE THIN MAN and the added joy of seeing them in the order in which they were made and shown. No need to argue over which one is the best, pros and cons of Nick Jr. etc. My goodness it is the New Year....just sit down and enjoy. Happy New Year Link to post Share on other sites
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