Song of the Thin Man

Nick and Nora go aboard a ship for a charity night. A jazz band is playing and before the night is over the bandleader is shot. Nick says he is retired and nobody believes him. The investigation moves into the musicians' world; clubs, rehearsals and a set of people speaking their own language. Nick does not know that language and a clarinet player interprets for him. Nora comes along everywhere. Their son Nicky has grown and there is a minder waiting for him at home. Edward Buzzell directs. William Powell plays Nick and Myrna Loy plays Nora. Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell and Gloria Grahame are in the cast. It is an American production. This is the sixth and last film in the series. The narrative settles into the postwar jazz world and moves away from the drawing room air of the earlier films. The structure particular to the series is kept; at the end every suspect is gathered in one room and the killer is named there. The exchange between Nick and Nora is the real attraction and the murder comes second. Powell and Loy played the same couple for fourteen years and this was their last meeting as them. The narrative makes a running joke out of the musicians' slang. Dean Stockwell plays the son; the character is larger here than at any point in the series. The ending closes the run without saying goodbye. Its limit is fatigue; the plot is tangled, the suspects too many, and the series repeats itself. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood detective films and sparring couples. Who it is not for: it is dated, tangled, and the ending routine.