"What did you tell them?"
"We're out of scotch."
"What a gruesome idea."
Nick (Powell) and Nora (Loy) Charles, and their baby Nicky Jr., are summoned to the Long Island home of Colonel Burr MacFay (Smith), who manages their money. On the way to the Colonel's home, they pass a dead body and are met at various checkpoints by men with guns. The Colonel is paranoid that someone is trying to kill him. A disgruntled former employee / ex-convict, Phil Church (Leonard), has dreamed of the Colonel's death twice. His dreams always come true after three times. While Nick dismisses the idea, strange accidents keep happening involving the Colonel.
That night the Colonel is murdered in the way Church described, making him the ideal suspect, but Nick isn't sure. Many people would benefit from the Colonel's death: his daughter Lois (Grey), Lois' fiance Dudley (Patric Knowles), his shady housekeeper (Phyllis Gordon), his assistant Freddie (Tom Neal) who is secretly in love with Lois, Church's associates Dum-Dum (Abner Biberman) and Smitty (Muriel Hutchison)...
The third film in the successful Thin Man series (after The Thin Man and After the Thin Man). The story picks up about 2 years after it's predecessor, with Nick and Nora enjoying time as parents as well as renowned detectives. With the baby in the picture, neither drink as much as the previous films, which is the only major change to the successful formula. The baby isn't a major piece of the story, but does help setup the climax of the film, which begins with a birthday party for Nicky, thrown by ex-cons with baby boys around the same age. It is an interesting premise and gives ample screen time to Shemp Howard from the 3 Stooges.
The story brings back the character of Lieutenant Guild (Pendleton) from the first film, who is a welcome addition to the Charles' sleuthing: a familiar tete-tete. A decent film, but the series is starting to show wear... It's ok, but not great.
Another Thin Man (1939) 103 minutes
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Starring: William Powell as Nick Charles
Myrna Loy as Nora Charles
Virginia Grey as Lois MacFay
Otto Kruger as Assistant District Attorney Van Slack
C. Aubrey Smith as Colonel Burr MacFay
Ruth Hussey as Dorothy Waters
Nat Pendleton as Lieutenant Guild
Sheldon Leonard as Phil Church
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