Motion Picture Review Digest (Jan-Dec 1937)

MOTION PICTURE REVIEW DIGEST 'The Thin Man' so widely popular, yet in the end leaves the impression of a rather pale imitation. Smart, entertaining, it assures a pleasant evening, and yet it gives no sound grounds for continuing the story indefinitely." Laura Els ton + Canadian M p23 Mr '37 "Worthy successor to 'The Thin Man.' . . Well-paced screen play with plenty of suspense and a good surprise ending. Adults & young people." -j Christian Science Monitor pl5 F 15 '37 "It is long and there are occasional lapses of action, but new interest is quickly generated and in the end the results are enjoyable, even though not outstanding." J. P. Cunningham + — Commonweal p276 Ja 1 '37 "Apparently they can't come back. Metro's first 'Thin Man' came as a delightful surprise. The second 'Thin Man' is a great deal thinner than the first. The same characters, the same people playing them, the same director in charge, manage only to squeeze out an inferior piece of screen entertainment. For one thing, Bill Powell, around whom the story revolves, is drunk for two-thirds of the footage. . . The millions of people who will patronize the picture with the expectation of seeing a brilliant detective brilliantly solving a baffling murder mystery, will see only a bemuddled sot playing with it. at his side a wife being amused by a condition she should resent. There may be entertainment in that for some people. I can give you only my personal reaction. I was bored all the way through the film." — Hollywood Spec p8 D 19 '36 "[It is] a smash comedy-melodrama. Unless somebody tells you all the answers, you'll never guess the identity of the culprit." (3% stars) Beverly Hills Liberty p47 Ja 20 '37 "It is not as good as 'The Thin Man,' partly because it is too much like it; but of course it is very funny, and the direction of W. S. Van Dyke gives us as usual a whirl of sophisticated thrills." Mark Van Doren H Nation p81 Ja 16 '37 "[It is] less satisfying from a plot point of view [than 'Thin Man.'] The cast is still expert enough and the direction sleek enough however to provide above-average entertainment value." + New Theatre & Film p58 Mr '37 "If 'After the Thin Man' tends to confirm the theory that sequels never measure up to their originals, it is still an absorbing and glibly amusing photoplay. [It] brings together again that almost perfect cinematic couple, Myrna Loy and William Powell, in a brisk-paced and intriguing mixture of violence and brash fooling. It is not as engaging as 'The Thin Man,' but it recaptures a great deal of its notable prototype's bright, insouciant quality. With the shrewdly showman-like W. S. Van Dyke doing a smart directorial job and a supporting company that is downright brilliant, it is a show that is bound to enliven the Yuletide season." Howard Barnes + NY Herald Tribune pl2 D 25 *36 "If 'After the Thin Man' is not quite the delierht 'The Thin Man' was, it is, at the very least, one of the most urbane comedies of the season and an enterprise so agreeable that we are convinced that the Capitol (where it begins its engagement todav) is one of Santa Claus's favorite Broadway children. Sequels commonly are disappointing and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was borrowing trouble when it dared advance a companion piece to one of the best pictures of 1934. . . We won't mention the other details. It will be better for you to enjoy them for yourselves. We warn you that you will." F. S. Nugent + NY Times pl9 D 25 '36 "Nobody will be quite as happy about 'After the Thin Man' as we all were about 'The Thin Man.' . . Everything should have been just fine, but something of the old bloom is gone. . . Not that as pictures go in this great world is this a dud film. Only in comparison with its predecessor does it disappoint you. There's plenty of shooting, and there's so much 'mystery' that I finally lost track of things altogether and didn't know what had happened, or why people went on the way they did. I didn't guess the solution of the mystery, either. In fact, I found it just one of those trick turns that never seem reasonable even in thrillers." John Mosher H New Yorker p50 Ja 2 '37 "Bowing to the fate that hounds most sequels, 'After the Thin Man' fails to measure up to its precursor. Despite that, it is hard to imagine anyone missing it." + News-Wk p24 Ja 2 '37 "I was beginning to feel glum when suddenly the story turned handsprings and headed for the bull's-eye with the accuracy one has learned to expect of Woody Van Dyke's productions. Chalk up another success for the lad!" Herb Sterne + Script pl2 Ja 2 '37 "[It] avoids the pitfall of most sequels, that of seeming a weak copy of the original, by being so much like its original that only experts in Dashiell Hammett plots will be able to tell the difference. . . Before Detective Charles has pinned responsibility for the murder to the least likely character involved, 'After the Thin Man' has introduced to cinema audiences as amusing a group of suspects as Author Hammett, its No. 1 purveyor of this specialty, has yet contributed to the screen." + Time p21 Ja 4 '37 Trade Paper Revieivs "Maintaining the hilarious pace of its popular predecessor, this offering of thrills and nonsense can fare even better at the turnst;l°s bf^ause of the cumulative value of 'The Thin Man's' universal success. While a bit slow in the opening stanzas, the film soon speeds up and sterling performances by a generally grand cast carry it to a smashing conclusion, with Myrna Loy and William Powell clowning their way through parts for which they are both inimitablv suited. Family." -f Box Office pl9 D 12 '36 " 'After the Thin Man' is a picture that all the exhibitors will want to get, and one that they can plan for extra time, no matter what type of audience they cater to. If Metro were to produce one of these pictures every six months, it would still be too few for exhibitors and fans. Entertainment such as this is difficult to get, and almost impossible to beat." + Canadian Moving Pict Digest p6 Ja 30 '37 "First thing every one will want to know about this one is whether it is as good as 'The Thin Man,' and the answer is that it is — and it isn't. It has the same stars, the same style of breezy direction by W. S. Van Dyke, almost as many sparkling lines of dialog and amusing situations, but it hasn't, and probably couldn't have, the same freshness and originality of its predecessor. Nevertheless, 'After the Thin Man' is big box office, possessing superlative marquee display, and many will want to see it and all will not be disappointed." + Variety plO D 30 '36 APRIL ROMANCE. Alliance 80min Ja 26 '37 Cast: Richard Tauber. Jane Baxter. Carl Esmond. Athene Seyler. Paul Graetz Director: Paul L. Stein Music: G. H. Clutsam Dialogue film made in England. The pathetic, frustrated romance of the inarticulate Schubert serves as a background for his famous songs. + + Exceptionally Good; + Good; -j Fair; [ Mediocre; — Poor; Exceptionally Poor