Customer Reviews
The chemistry between Powell and Loy is still strong, but Nora is in danger of becoming Lucy Ricardo - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 17 Aug 2007 
Sycamore Springs is Nick Charles' home town, where his parents still live. It's smalll town Americana, MGM style. We half-way expect that the murderer, when Nick catches him, will turn out to be Andy Hardy. In this, the fifth of the Thin Man series, Nick & Nora (William Powell & Myrna Loy) journey from New York to celebrate his birthday with his parents. Dr. Charles is a medical man who disapproves of Nick's line of work as a "policeman." He had hoped his son would become a doctor & that they could work together. Nick's mother understands & loves them both & bustles around. And Nora, determined to show her father-in-law what such a smart & successful detective Nick reallly is, begins to leak the story that Nick is reallly in Sycamore Springs to solve an important case. "Nicky always says there's a skeleton in nearly every closet," Nora points out to her mother-in-law, "and if you rattle it hard enough something always happens."
It's not long before a number of things happen, including a young man shot by a sniper at the elder Charles' front door, an intense attempt by a shady character & his wife to buy or steal a second-rate painting of a windmill & the death by shotgun blast of a disturbed recluse. Nick has to deal with war plants & war plans, twenty-year-old secrets involving illicit love & an unexpected baby, innocent or not-so innocent theatrics & the impact of some of his street-wise friends on the respectability of his parents. All the way, the need to show his father that he is worthy of respect even if he is just a "policeman" keeps things humming. The conclusion, with everyone gathered around, the true motivation for the murders uncovered & the killer unmasked, ends satisfactorily with his father grinning in approval & a button on Nick's vest popping with pride, just as Nora predicted. This being wartime, Nick's exertions have had to be fueled by apple cider, not martinis.
The pleasure of this movie rests squarely on the personalities of Powell & Loy. They fit into being Nick & Nora with the grace & affection of old friends. That's how we see them, as actors & as Nick & Nora. They're good company & fun to be with. While the mystery itself may not be great shakes (the rationale for the murders seemed to come a little out of left field), the actors are a crowd of familiar faces & predictable & welcome personalities. We get Harry Davenport, everyone's favorite father or grandfather; Leon Ames; Donald Meek, smalll & always flustered; Edward Brophy, Donald MacBride, one of the master's of the double-take; Lloyd Corrigan; Helen Vinson; Lucille Watson & Anne Revere, such a fine actress whose career was ruined by the Hollywood witch-hunts of the late Forties & early Fifties. In a part that lasts probably no more than 20 seconds we even have Moose Mallloy, I mean Mike Mazurki, in a barbershop.
So what could make a fan of Nick & Nora Charles queasy? Here's a hint. Says Nora outside a pool halll to Sycamore Springs' police chief, "There's a man here. I want you to arrest him." "What for?" says the chief. "Does it have to be for something," Nora asks with genuine innocence. Is this the smart, sophisticated Nora from the first two Thin Man movies? Not even close. With The Thin Man Comes Home, MGM has nearly finished the job of turning Nora Charles into an adoring wife & cutely innocent early version of Lucy Ricardo. The affectionate banter between Nick & Nora remains, but little is left of Nora as at least a semi-equal partner in her husband's adventures in murder & crime. Nora's role is to provide comic relief so that we can smile indulgently at the situations she gets herself involved in. I watched the movie with a smile because Powell & Loy are so good together. But in a sad way I also felt I was watching Nora Charles' death by the safe, middle class conventions of Hollywood.
The DVD transfer looks just fine, clear & sharp. There is a Robert Benchley short feature & a cartoon as extras.
