Editing The Thin Man Goes Home

{{short description|1944 film by Richard Thorpe}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Thin Man Goes Home
| image          = Thinmangoeshomeposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Richard Thorpe]]
| producer       = [[Everett Riskin]]
| writer         = [[Dashiell Hammett]] (characters)
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Robert Riskin]]
* [[Dwight Taylor (writer)|Dwight Taylor]]
}}
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* Robert Riskin
* [[Harry Kurnitz]]
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[William Powell]]
* [[Myrna Loy]]
* [[Lucile Watson]]
}}
| music          = [[David Snell (composer)|David Snell]]
| cinematography = [[Karl Freund]]
| editing        = [[Ralph E. Winters]]
| studio         = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor    = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Inc.]]
| released       = {{Film date|1944|11|21|NYC}}
| runtime        = 100 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1,401,000
| gross          = $2,814,000
}}
'''''The Thin Man Goes Home''''' is a 1944 American [[comedy film|comedy]] [[mystery film]] directed by [[Richard Thorpe]]. It is the fifth of the six ''[[The Thin Man (film)|Thin Man]]'' films starring [[William Powell]] and [[Myrna Loy]] as [[Dashiell Hammett]]'s dapper ex-private detective [[Nick and Nora Charles|Nick Charles and his wife Nora]]. The supporting cast includes [[Lucile Watson]], [[Gloria DeHaven]] and [[Helen Vinson]]. This entry in ''The Thin Man'' series was the first not directed by [[W.S. Van Dyke]], who had died in 1943.

==Plot==
Nick and Nora visit Nick's parents in Nick's hometown, Sycamore Springs, in [[New England]]. The residents are convinced that Nick is in town on an investigation, despite Nick's repeated denials. However, when aircraft factory employee Peter Berton seeks out Nick and is shot dead before he can reveal anything, Nick is on the case.

An old childhood friend, Dr. Bruce Clayworth, performs the autopsy and extracts a pistol bullet. When Nick searches Berton's room for clues, he is knocked unconscious by Crazy Mary, a local eccentric. 
 
Nora's innocent purchase of a painting for Nick's birthday present turns out to be the key to the mystery. When she shows it to her husband, it brings back unpleasant memories for him, so she donates it to a charity bazaar. When Edgar Draque offers Nora a large sum for the painting, Nick wonders why it is so valuable. Nick learns that Draque's wife Helena bought the artwork, but she is knocked out and the painting disappears. Nick discovers that Crazy Mary is Berton's mother and goes to see her, only to come across her lifeless body. Nick and Nora's dog Asta finds the painting in her shack.

Nick puts the pieces together and has the police bring all the suspects to his father's house. Early on, it is revealed that Nick's father, Dr. Bertram Charles, has never been overly impressed with his son's unusual career choice, so this allows Nick to change his father's mind. Using Dr. Charles's [[fluoroscope]], Nick shows that there is a blueprint hidden underneath the paint. Several people identify it as part of the specifications for a new aircraft propeller worth a great deal to a "foreign power". Berton had copied the blueprints and concealed the copies under five paintings. He had a change of heart and was going to confess all to Nick, but was killed by the spies he was dealing with. Nick has a souvenir [[World War II]] Japanese [[Kijirō Nambu|Nambu]] sniper rifle belonging to Dr. Clayworth's brother brought in and claims it was the murder weapon. Then, after proving that the Draques are members of the spy ring, Nick reveals the identity of its leader: Dr. Bruce Clayworth. Clayworth's first slip was the bullet he showed Nick. Nick knew a handgun bullet would not have the power to penetrate as far into Berton's body as the real one went. Clayworth grabs the rifle. He confesses to the murder, and also to a deep hatred for Nick for always being better than him in their youth. He tries to shoot his nemesis, only to find that Nick had taken the precaution of removing the firing pin. Nick's father is very impressed.

==Cast==
* [[William Powell]] as Nick Charles
* [[Myrna Loy]] as Nora Charles, Nick's wife
* [[Lucile Watson]] as Mrs. Charles, Nick's mother
* [[Gloria DeHaven]] as Laurabelle "Laura" Ronson
* [[Anne Revere]] as Crazy Mary
* [[Helen Vinson]] as Helena Draque
* [[Harry Davenport (actor)|Harry Davenport]] as Dr. Bertram Charles
* [[Leon Ames]] as Edgar Draque
* [[Donald Meek]] as Willie Crump
* [[Edward Brophy]] as Brogan; in the [[The Thin Man (film)|first film]] he played a character named Joe Morelli
* [[Lloyd Corrigan]] as Dr. Bruce Clayworth
* [[Anita Sharp-Bolster]] as Hilda (as Anita Bolster)
* Ralph Brooks as Peter Berton
* [[Donald MacBride]] as Police Chief MacGregor
* [[Morris Ankrum]] as Willoughby
* [[Nora Cecil]] as Miss Peavy
* [[Minor Watson]] as Sam Ronson
* [[Charles Halton]] as R.T. Tatum (uncredited)
<!-- * [[Jane Isbell]] not listed in film credits -->

==Production==
Production of a ''Thin Man'' film had been planned for 1942, but [[Myrna Loy]] refused the role because her attention was focused on her recent marriage to John D. Hertz, Jr. and her all-consuming [[World War II|War work]] for the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Cross]]. Fans received the suggestion that [[Irene Dunne]] might take over the role of Nora with horror. [[TCM (North European TV channel)|TCM's]] Roger Fristoe quotes Powell recalling later: "The fans wanted Myrna, and they didn't want anyone else...And I wanted Myrna, too. Besides the favorable reception our pictures always received, I must say it was certainly a pleasure to work with her". Powell remembered the spectacular welcome Loy received on her first day back to a set thronged with well-wishers: "I've never seen a girl so popular with so many people... Everybody from wardrobe was over the set, everybody from makeup, everybody from property, everybody from miles around, it looked like".<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2621/the-thin-man-goes-home#articles-reviews|title=The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) - Articles - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>

''The Thin Man Goes Home'' was Loy's only wartime picture.<ref name="notes">{{Cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2621/the-thin-man-goes-home#notes|title=The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) - Notes - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|language=en|access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>

The cocktail shaker, a staple prop from previous films in the series, ceased to be omnipresent in this one, replaced by a running gag about how difficult it is to get a drink in Nick’s hometown: Nick's faithful flask contains only cider. TCM's Notes on the film say that "according to an April 1944 ''Hollywood Reporter'' news item, wartime liquor rationing prompted producer Everett Riskin to eliminate the heavy drinking that had been an integral part of Nick and Nora's daily life in previous ''The Thin Man'' films".<ref name="notes"/>

The film was the fifth of six based on the characters of Nick and Nora:
* ''[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]'' (1934)
* ''[[After the Thin Man]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Another Thin Man]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Shadow of the Thin Man]]'' (1941)
* ''The Thin Man Goes Home'' (1944)
* ''[[Song of the Thin Man]]'' (1947)

==Box office==
According to MGM records, the film earned $1,770,000 in the US and Canada, and $1,044,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $501,000.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

==External links==
{{Commons category|The Thin Man Goes Home}}
* {{IMDb title|0037365}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-thin-man-goes-home-am21682 ''The Thin Man Goes Home'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|2621}}
* {{AFI film|24205}}

{{Dashiell Hammett}}
{{The Thin Man}}
{{Richard Thorpe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thin Man Goes Home, The}}
[[Category:1945 films]]
[[Category:1945 crime films]]
[[Category:1945 comedy films]]
[[Category:1940s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1945 mystery films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:American detective films]]
[[Category:American sequel films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Richard Thorpe]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Robert Riskin]]
[[Category:The Thin Man films]]
[[Category:Films set in New England]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:Films scored by David L. Snell]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery films]]