A moderne font is used for credits of After the Thin Man, 1936, directed by W. S. Van Dyke. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
Main title. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
Sometimes it happens, when a movie sequel equals or surpasses the original such as The Godfather Part 2 and Bride of Frankenstein. And so it is with 1936’s After the Thin Man, the follow up to The Thin Man. Nobody at M-G-M expected The Thin Man to be the huge hit that it became. Given a B picture budget, and one star considered past his prime, William Powell and a feature player on her way up, Myrna Loy, director W. S. Van Dyke completed the film in two and half weeks. The film re-established William Powell as a top star and it propelled Myrna Loy in the “A” ranks of stars at M-G-M. Normally a sequel would follow immediately. But M-G-M waited two and half years before releasing the second Thin Man film. In the mean time other studios made imitation “Thin Man” type mysteries, some even starring William Powell. These films only whetted the audience’s appetite for a genuine sequel. By the end of 1936 public excitement for the follow up had reached a high point. After the Thin Man opened in New York City on Christmas Day and around the country shortly after. It was M-G-M’s Christmas gift to movie audiences.
After the Thin Man’s opening at Manhattan’s Capitol Theatre Christmas week, 1936. Image from Hollywoodhistoricphotos.com.
After the Thin Man begins exactly where the Thin Man ends, with Nick and Nora on the train heading home to San Francisco in time for New Year’s Eve.
The Sunset Limited bringing Nick and Nora home from New York at the start of After the Thin Man. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
Establishing the location with the arrival of the train and actual shots of Nick and Nora in their Packard Super 8 arriving to a spectacular home in the Telegraph Hill district of San Francisco.
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- Arriving at the base of the driveway. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Nick and Nora exhausted from their cross country train trip. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- The walkway leading to the yard and the front door. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Asta running across the yard, happy to be home. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
A very happy Asta leaps over a nice Art Deco lawn deer. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
From this point on the film reverts to sets on studio sound stages in Hollywood. And these sets with art direction by Cedric Gibbons (1890 – 1960) and set direction by Henry Grace (1907 – 1983) are a showcase for home decoration of the mid-1930’s.
Home, sweet, home. Nick and Nora approaching their front door. Great bas relief over the door. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
Gibbons set decorations in the late 1920’s starting with Our Dancing Daughters (1928) helped to usher in modern design to the United States. The exuberant designs dominated by triangles of the first era of modernism had given way to a streamline form in less than a decade. Gibbons stayed up-to-date with trends and his work for After the Thin Man shows the way modern design was heading.
The Living Room
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- The Charles’s arrive home to an unwelcome welcome home party. To the right of the dancers is a Paul Frankl “Speed Chair” designed in 1932. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- A better shot of the Paul Frankl “Speed Chair”. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Shot looking from the living room towards the foyer and stairs. Block wall with built in lighting is reminiscent of the walls in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House of 1924. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Typical living room seating arrangement in the era before television, two sofas facing each other for conversation. Round mirrors adorn the walls with artwork in between. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
The Kitchen
The 1936 dream kitchen. Streamline metal cabinets. Small knick knack shelves on both sides of the window and modern appliances, including a General Electric vacuum coffee pot on the counter. Image from the Warner Bros. DVD.
The Bedroom
Nick puts Asta out for the night. Another round mirror and some nice metal deers on the dresser framing the radio. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- The bedroom in the era of the Production Code, twin beds. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Nick is ready to call it a night. A Manning-Bowman Carafon on the night stand. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Time for some breakfast, eating nook in the bedroom. Very nice “Machine Age” sconces on the wall. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
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- Detail view of the “Machine Age” wall sconce in the Charles bedroom. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.
So if you are not planning to go out partying for New Year’s Eve, consider spending sometime with Nick and Nora Charles and watch After the Thin Man. I guarantee you’ll have a good time and the only drunks you’ll encounter are those in the film.
Stylish end title. Image from Warner Bros. DVD.