Shadow of the Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth of six The Thin Man murder mystery comedy films. It was released by MGM in 1941 and was directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Also, in this film their son Nick Jr. (Dickie Hall) is old enough to figure in the comic subplot. Other cast members include Donna Reed and Barry Nelson. This was one of three films in which Stella Adler appeared. Plot Nick and Nora Charles are looking forward to a relaxing day at a racetrack, but when a jockey accused of throwing a race is found shot to death, Police Lieutenant Abrams requests Nick's help. The trail leads to a gambling syndicate that operates out of a wrestling arena, a murdered reporter, and a pretty secretary whose boyfriend has been framed. Along the way, Nick and Nora must contend with a wild wrestling match, a dizzying day at a merry-go-round (accompanied by Nick, Jr.), and a table-clearing restaurant brawl. Cast William Powell as Nick Charles Myrna Loy as Nora Charles Barry Nelson as Paul Clarke Louise Beavers as Stella 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 (aka Clara Peters) Loring Smith as "Link" Stephens Joseph Anthony as Fred Macy Will Wright as Maguire - Nervous Ticket Seller (uncredited) Sid Melton as "Fingers" (uncredited) Adeline De Walt Reynolds as Barrow's landlady (uncredited) Tor Johnson as Jack the Ripper - wrestler (uncredited) Frankie Burke as Jockey at the races (uncredited) Joe Oakie as Spider Webb (uncredited) Lou Lubin as Rainbow Benny Richard Hall as Nick Jr. Production Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the husband and wife team who wrote the first three Thin Man scripts, refused to write another one. Goodrich said: "They press you awfully hard there…when they started talking about another Thin Man, we started throwing up and crying into our typewriters. We had the nervous breakdown together, [so] we said, "let's get out of here [and] we quit". It was based on a story by Harry Kurnitz, not Dashiell Hammett, as the previous films had been, with the script written by Harry Kurnitz and Irving Brecher.