WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

mark.waltz A crowded train would be the obvious place for a murder, but in spite of a lack of room, the disallowance of pets in the sitting car and huge lines for the dining car, that's not where the murder occurs. It's in Nick Charles's home town, a quaint suburb of Boston where eccentrics roam around with rumors of something evil going on. Nick's parents are seemingly normal, but the neighbors not so much, so when a young man is suddenly shot and killed (right as he is ringing Nick's parents' doorbell), there are a lot of suspects, and between Nick, Nora and Asta, the killer is obviously going to be exposed.The fifth and second to last installment of the "Thin Man" series is a comic delight with suspense to boot. The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy remains strong, with Lucille Watson and Harry Davenport a delight as Nick's homey parents. Anne Revere lets her hair down as a downtrodden recluse, with Donald meek, Lloyd Corrigan, Donald MacBride and Edward Brophy among the town eccentrics. The young Gloria DeHaven is boisterous but shrill as the girlfriend of the murder victim. Other minor roles are played with babbity and provincial coldness by some delightful minor character places.Focusing more on the visual farce from the start (Powell chasing after Asta in a crowded train station; Nick and Nora trying to get through a crowded train corridor while a fat man coming towards them tries the same thing; Nora getting a spanking in front of his parents, and later a reluctant participant in a sudden jitterbug), this is light entertainment, and if not in the same class as the entries directed by W.S. Van Dyke, it is still quite good. The script is clever and witty, and the mystery filled with twists and turns quite surprising.

classicsoncall I've read comments from other reviewers that as the Thin Man series went on, the quality of the movies went down hill. Well you can't really tell by this, the fifth film in the line up, as this one had me fully engaged right from the start. Asta has a fair share of quality time, Myrna Loy adds a layer of 'I Love Lucy' to her character Nora Charles, and lo and behold, Nick (William Powell) runs the entire show on apple cider instead of booze. The venue is also a nice change of pace, as the Charles's head over to Nick's home town in Sycamore Springs for a restful vacation.As usual, there are a whole host of interesting characters on hand, as the inevitable happens and Nick is drawn into a murder case when someone is actually shot on the doorstep of his parents' home! Never before has wife Nora been so animated in her desire to have Nick get involved in a case, as this time it would demonstrate how clever he is to a father who had become disillusioned over his son's choice of profession. But you know, I didn't think it was very admirable the way Nick took his wife over a knee for that spanking - ouch! Can you just hear the wailing of the war on women folks if this was made today?! Here's a question - what's the shortest amount of screen time on record for a character in a movie? Holy smokes, Ralph Brooke, the actor who portrayed Peter Berton might have been visible for about a minute before he got shot! I fully expected that the actor remained uncredited but he's right there in the cast line up. I hope he fared better in his other movie appearances.Here's what I have to admit though. Whenever Nick Charles goes into one of his illuminating explanations revealing the identity of the killer, I just about completely zone out. I suppose I could back track and try to follow the details here but ultimately it doesn't make too much difference. At least this one had that neat back story with the tampered paintings and the espionage angle going for it. What I was really hoping for though was for Asta to come along and take a whizz on the collie in the windmill painting.

bkoganbing The Thin Man Goes Home find's Nick and Nora Charles visiting Nick's parents in their small New England town. The parents are Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson and Davenport has never gotten quite over the fact that Bill Powell did not choose to follow him in the medical profession. And he disapproves of Powell's liquid lunches mightily. Powell goes on a spartan diet of apple cider though no one believes him and that's a source of a lot of the comedy in The Thin Man Goes Home.Of course no one also believes that Powell could be in town on anything but business and his mere presence touches off one guy ready to confess to some illegal activity when he's shot to death right on the doorstep of Davenport. An espionage ring his uncovered during the course of the investigation and the murderer who is eventually uncovered is not someone we would suspect. Due to some falsification of evidence the murderer almost gets away with it.Here's a hint for you though. Forensics here more than in any other Thin Man film plays a part in the solution leading Harry Davenport to be proud that his influence was for the good with Powell.When World War II started Myrna Loy unlike any other female star in Hollywood completely abandoned her career to devote herself to work with the Red Cross and other civilian agencies. It was a sacrifice that no other star of her gender made during the war years. This film was the only one she made from Pearl Harbor to V.E. Day.This fifth film of the Thin Man series is also the first made without director Woody Van Dyke who committed suicide when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. One of MGM's able studio directors, Richard Thorpe, pinch hit admirably for Van Dyke.Funniest scene in the film is when Powell ditches Loy onto a jitterbugging sailor while he investigates. Worth it to see that alone.

Neil Doyle Nick and Nora take a vacation to Sycamore Springs to visit Nick's parents, his disapproving father (HARRY DAVENPORT) and LUCILLE WATSON. But he can't get away from murder when a plot involving espionage at a local manufacturing plant comes to his attention. Goaded by Nora to prove himself to his father, he decides it's time to forget about the planned vacation and go about the business of solving a crime.WILLIAM POWELL and MYRNA LOY have more comic moments than usual in this outing, and that's probably a good thing because the mystery is not only rather uninteresting but rather slight. Neverthelss, there are the usual abundant suspects, including GLORIA deHAVEN, LEON AMES, ANNE REVERE (in a quirky role as "Crazy Mary"), HELEN VINSON, DONALD MEEK and LLOYD CORRIGAN.The material has worn a little thin by this time and this post-war entry had really only one major difference in the storyline--Nick is on the wagon and remains sober to solve the crime. Now that's something that probably shocked viewers of the first few "Thin Man" films.