Shadow of the Thin Man

"What really worries me is that jockey."

"Yes. Still dead,, huh?"

Nick (Powell) and Nora (Loy) Charles go to the racetrack for a relaxing, kid-free day.  When they arrive at the track, everyone assumes they are there to help the police investigate the murder of a jockey.  Lieutenant Abrams (Levene) is the lead investigator on the case, and asks Nick for help.  Later that evening, they are approached by Major Jason Sculley (O'Neill) and reporter Paul Clarke (Nelson) to take down a corrupt gambling ring, led by businessman Link Stephens (Smith).  That evening Paul is found in Stephens' office with a gun and the body of reporter Whitey Barrow (Baxter).

Abrams arrests Paul immediately, but Nick and Nora do not believe he is guilty.  Paul's girlfriend Molly (Reed) worked for Stephens and gave him the key to the office to find evidence against Stephens.  Whitey had a laundry list of enemies and people that wanted him dead, including Link's girlfriend Claire Porter (Adler) and his second in command Fred Macy (Anthony).  With the help of their faithful dog Asta, can Nick and Nora find the real killer before anyone else gets hurt?


This is the fourth film in The Thin Man film series (following The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, and Another Thin Man).  The story picks up a few years after the previous film, and Nick Jr. is now a little boy, reveling in his parents favorite past times.  He is played by Dickie Hall in this film, but other actors portrayed him the remaining films.

William Powell and Myrna Loy have excellent chemistry and appeared in 14 films.  Once again they are great as Nick and Nora.  They have a natural banter and make their relationship and sleuthing careers look easy.  Once again they are surrounded by a colorful group of people, all with strong motives for murder.  Unlike most detective movies, the real culprit is not obvious from the beginning, and you can enjoy the case with Nick and Nora.

The film is still well-written and acted, even on the fourth entry in the series.  I look forward to watching the final two films.

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) 97 minutes
Director: W.S. Van Dyke II
Starring: William Powell as Nick Charles
Myrna Loy as Nora Charles
Barry Nelson as Paul Clarke
Donna Reed as Molly
Sam Levene as Lieutenant Abrams
Alan Baxter as "Whitey" Barrow
Henry O'Neill as Major Jason I. Sculley
Stella Adler as Claire Porter
Loring Smith as "Link" Stephens
Joseph Anthony as Fred Macy
Louise Beavers as Stella
Dickie Hall as Nick Jr.

A Night at the Opera (Marx Brothers): 1000th Review

Finally made it to 1000!

100 Monty Python and the Holy Grail  /  200 Duck Soup  /  300 Super Troopers  /   

400 Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein  /   500 The Odd Couple  /  600 Stir Crazy / 700 Tommy Boy / 800 Jack and the Beanstalk / 900 Caddyshack

"Could he sail tomorrow?"
"You pay him enough money, he could sail yesterday."

Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho) is a business manager looking to find his fortune.  His client, wealthy widow Mrs. Claypool (Dumont), wants to invest in the New York Opera Company and the great tenor they want to sign, Rodolfo Lassparri (King).  Driftwood goes to the Opera to sign the tenor first, but he signs Ricardo Baroni (Jones) instead.  Baroni is a talented singer, but is overshadowed by Lassparri.  Baroni is dating the leading lady, Rosa Castaldi (Carlisle), who is also invited to sign with the New York Opera.

Driftwood and Mrs. Claypool travel to New York with New York Opera manager Herman Gottlief (Ruman).  Baroni, his manager, Fiorello (Chico), and Tomasso (Harpo) hide in Driftwood's bag so they can be with Rosa.  Can they make it to New York before the autorities and Gottlief find them?


This is one of the most iconic and popular Marx Brothers films (along with Duck Soup).  After Duck Soup performed poorly at the box office, Paramount Studios terminated their contract with the brothers and Zeppo left the act.  Two years later, they started making films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Irving Thalberg served as the producer, and created a new format for their films: tone down the crazy and bring in romantic leads to anchor the film.  Sam Wood stepped in as the director (for this film and the next one, A Day at the Races).  The film was a success and led to more Marx Brothers films at MGM studio, with A Day at the Races keeping the same team behind the scenes.

The Brothers performed bits from the movie on vaudeville to test audience reactions and gauge the amount of time needed between jokes.  The jokes in this film are memorable and have taken on a life of their own in popular culture.  Decades later the film is still funny.  The stateroom scene, pictured above, is the real stand-out here, as they keep stuffing people into Groucho's tiny room.

Kitty Carlisle, who played Rosa Castaldi, and Allan Jones, who played Ricardo Baroni, were singers and performed all of their own songs in the film.  Walter Woolf King, who played Rodolfo Lassparri, was also a trained singer, but he did not sing in the film.  His songs were performed by Metropolitan Opera tenor Tandy MacKenzie.  The songs include classic opera staples, along with some original songs.  The song "Alone" became a hit for both Castaldi and Jones.  The songs are ok, but you don't watch a Marx Brothers film for the music... the comedy is the true winner here.

For me, this ranks as in the top 2 of the Marx Brothers' films, after Duck Soup.

You can find another review of this film (and the other Marx Brothers films) at http://theageofcomedy.laurelandhardycentral.com/niteoper.html.

A Night at the Opera (1935) 93 minutes
Director: Sam Wood
Starring: Groucho Marx as Otis B. Driftwood
Harpo Marx as Tomasso
Chico Marx as Fiorello
Kitty Carlisle as Rosa Castaldi
Allan Jones as Ricardo Baroni
Margaret Dumont as Mrs. Claypool
Sig Ruman as Herman Gottlief
Walter Woolf King as Rodolfo Lassparri
Robert Emmett O'Connor as Sergeant Henderson

Jane Eyre (1943)

"Are you always drawn to the loveless and unfriended?"

"When it's deserved."

As a child, Jane Eyre (Garner), is orphaned and sent to live with her wealth aunt, Mrs. Reed (Moorehead).  Mrs. Reed sends Jane to the Lowood Institute for girls to give her discipline.  Jane is excited to make new friends, but the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst (Daniell) makes her an outcast.  Her only friend is Helen Burns (Elizabeth Taylor), who dies young.

Ten years later, Jane (Fontaine) has finished her studies and accepts a governess position at Thornfield mansion.  She is hired by housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax (Barrett) to care for young Adele Varans (O'Brien).  Adele is the ward of Edward Rochester (Welles), the owner of Thornfield.  Jane is captivated and confused by the mysterious and brooding Rochester.  She enjoys life at Thornfield despite the strange noises and locked rooms.  Everything changes when a group of guests arrive at Thornfield.


This film is based on Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel "Jane Eyre."  The novel was not initially a success, but it grew in popularity over time.  Since the 1910s the story has been adapted to film, television, radio programs, theatre, and literary sequels.

"Jane Eyre" is my favorite novel and I have been leery of film adaptations.  I stumbled onto this version and was impressed with the cast and crew lists.  While this isn't 100% faithful to the book (and at 97 minutes, it cuts out quite a bit), I still enjoyed the film.

Joan Fontaine is an interesting choice for Jane.  She is ok, but doesn't fully capture the heroine from the novel.  Orson Welles is good as Rochester, dark and brooding.  Throughout the film, Rochester is shot with a shadow across his face.  Jane is always well-lit.  Margaret O'Brien is adorable as Adele: precocious without veering into annoying.  This was one of the first film roles for Elizabeth Taylor, who has a small and uncredited role as Helen Burns.  Taylor is sweet as Helen, and works well with Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane.  Garner is heartbreaking.  Agnes Moorehead always plays prickly characters and she is the perfect choice to play Mrs. Reed.  Henry Daniell also excels as a villain, here.  I adore John Sutton and he is wonderful as Dr. Rivers.  Dr. Rivers is a new character, but takes his name from St. John Rivers (who does not appear in the adaptation).  They made the interesting choice to not show Bertha, but focus on her aftermath.  I think it is an effective choice for this film and adds to the suspense.

Bernard Hermann wrote the score for the film and George Barnes was as the cinematographer.  Both do well here.  Director Robert Stevenson was later known for his work on on Walt Disney's live-action films, but he handles the dramatic story well.  The film did not win any awards, but it is a well-made and well-acted film.  I wish the film was a little longer and little closer to the novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Jane Eyre (1943) 97 minutes
Director: Robert Stevenson
Starring: Orson Welles as Edward Rochester
Joan Fontaine as Jane Eyre
Margaret O'Brien as Adele Varans
Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane Eyre
John Sutton as Dr. Rivers
Sara Allgood as Bessie
Henry Daniell as Henry Brocklehurst
Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Reed
Aubrey Mather as Colonel Percy Dent
Edith Barrett as Mrs. Fairfax
Barbara Everest as Lady Ingram
Hillary Brooke as Blanche Ingram