Thin Disguise

AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936):
Starring William Powell
and Myrna Loy
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke II
(113 minutes) B&W

The second whodunit comedy featuring Dashiell Hammet's Nick and Nora Charles, follows them home to another round of blackmail, infidelity and multiple murders. The mystery is solved with all the unusual suspects gathered, but what no one seems to suspect is how the secrets revealed uncovered not only the solution to the crimes but also the dark side of what Nick and Nora might well have been.

Nick frequently jokes, between sups from his ever-filled tumbler of alcoholic beverage, how he only married Nora for her money. Here we meet Nora's wealthy cousin Selma, married to a fortune-hunting drunk. Nick also seems to have enjoyed a past full of loose women, and so too has Selma's husband. Selma herself feels frantic, on the edge, trapped in the family mansion with the horrific Aunt Catherine, surrounded by secrets and putting up appearances. Nora escaped all that by marrying Nick.

Everyone here, except Nick and Nora, keeps secrets. Appearances are more important than truth. Nick and Nora have nothing to hide, and their open-door policy about themselves allows life constant entrance.