Life, at times, can be misleading.  We can be especially out of sorts if we do not look to God for, as the Lord’s Prayer puts it, “our daily bread.”  One can, and should, interpret that concretely as pertaining to the food we eat every day.  It may not seem like it when thought about superficially, but God is responsible for that which nourishes us, physically and spiritually.  Without the spiritual, we are dull witted automatons that go through life lacking the Divine spark that has guided civilization throughout the centuries.  The things we do sans God are devoid of purpose and appear repetitive.  At the same time, I have heard it said of Catholicism that it is the same thing over and over again, which misses the point entirely.  Those ideas have also been applied to Hollywood.  Take the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), for example.  Are any of those films truly unique?  What elevates them are the way they make us feel.  One could read a title like Another Thin Man (1939) and trip over the first word.  “Another?”  How many of these are there, could be the question.  There are six, actually, and this is the third.  While there is a definite pattern to them, I will take them over so many other titles, past or present.

If you have seen any of the movies in the series, you will not be surprised with Another Thin Man starting with a load of luggage hauling the personal items of the Charles family.  As usual, the family is returning from somewhere, though this time they have a new addition, Nick Jr. (William A. Poulsen).  As is also their custom, they do not get long to rest as they receive a phone call from Colonel Burr MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith), a longtime business associate of Nora Charles’ (Myrna Loy) father.  The old man is under some distress and desires the assistance of Nora’s famous detective husband, Nick Charles (William Powell).  Before they can uproot once more to head to Colonel MacFay’s Long Island estate, a nanny for Nick Jr. must be hastily interviewed.  She is Dorothy Walters (Ruth Hussey), and before her references can be checked she is accompanying the Charles family out of New York City.  When they get to Colonel MacFay’s mansion, they find its owner in an agitated state, not entirely helped by the numerous armed guards around the house’s perimeter. To Colonel MacFay, the cause of his angst is Phil Church (Sheldon Leonard).  Phil is a former business partner that Colonel MacFay had put in prison for a number of years.  Phil claims to have no part in the troubles, but he says he has had dreams of seeing Colonel MacFay dead, and his dreams always come true.  With everyone’s urging, particularly Colonel MacFay’s daughter Lois MacFay (Virginia Grey), and her erstwhile fiancé Dudley Horn (Patric Knowles), Nick agrees to stay and lend his expertise.  As these things tend to do when Nick is around, events begin to accelerate.  First, not long after meeting with Phil, Colonel MacFay is murdered in his bed.  Immediately after this, we see Dorothy sneak off into the night.  The primary suspect is naturally Phil, though when they get to his nearby house they find it empty.  In the running around in the dark, Dudley takes a shot at Nick, but is saved by Lois.  She is wounded in the process and is taken care of by Mrs. Isabella Bellam (Phyllis Gordon).  As Lois comes to, Mrs. Bellam tries to tell the heiress that the servant of many decades is the young woman’s real mother.  It is at this point that the real questioning by the police begins, with even Nick being suspected as having a role in these murders.  Once that matter is cleared, Lieutenant Guild (Nat Pendleton) asks Nick if the renowned gumshoe will assist in the investigation.  Once again with these movies, Nora is eager to assist with the sleuthing, but Nick gives her the slip as he heads out the door.  This means she is still in their apartment to answer a phone call from a person claiming to have knowledge of the killings.  She agrees to meet him later while Nick goes with Lieutenant Guild to find Dum-Dum (Abner Biberman), Phil’s chief henchman.  They catch Dum-Dum in the apartment of Phil’s girlfriend, Smitty (Muriel Hutchison), and they claim to know nothing about Phil’s whereabouts.  This is tested when they are visited by Diamond Back Vogel (Don Costello), a shadowy figure Nick had spotted watching Phil’s place the night of Colonel MacFay’s death.  There is a struggle between them over what they know, but Nick instead leaves, following a clue that takes him to a Cuban club downtown.  It is there that he meets back with Nora, who is about to get the information she seeks.  This takes them to a room rented by Lois MacFay under a pseudonym.  Next to the bed, Nick finds a contraption capable of firing a single shot.  Having received the last needed clue, it is time for the familiar final act of entries in this series.  Nick gathers all the people we have come to know into one place, though some like Dorothy arrive at the Charles’ residence of their own accord.  Once they are in the room, Nick goes through the crimes from the beginning.  This time, though it may be obvious, the main suspect did have a part to play instead of being one of the numerous red herrings.  As it turns out, it is Lois who is responsible for the death of her father.  She had secretly developed a relationship with Phil, but knew it would be impossible to run away with a man Colonel MacFay despised.  Everything else, for the most part, is window dressing, including Dudley being show by the police.  With that, an exhausted Nick and Nora lay down on their bed with Nick Jr., and the film comes to a close.

It is little wonder that Nick and Nora are tired at the end of Another Thin Man.  I cannot speak from personal experience, either regarding solving crimes or any of their other activities.  “Other activities” is a nebulous term, but I am not necessarily referring to the fact that they are now parents.  Despite not having a family of my own, I have plenty of family and friends with children, giving me an upfront glimpse into what goes into that lifestyle.  What has to be adding to their exertion, particularly for Nick, is his near constant boozing.  I have commented on this before, but it bears repeating that nearly every opportunity there is for him to have a drink, including in the middle of an investigation, he is taking it.  Please note that there is nothing wrong with alcohol in the eyes of the Catholic Church.  Indeed, there is likely a monk or nun somewhere in history who deserves thanks for many of our beverages of choice.  As should be expected, the key is moderation, a concept seemingly foreign to Nick.  That is worrisome, but he does deserve some praise.  Where Nick and Mora excel is in their charitable attitude.  Despite their misgiving, they are always willing to help those who ask them.  Along these lines, the moment that is particularly Christian of them is when a criminal Nick had once sent to jail, Creeps (Harry Bellaver), is caught by Nick trying to steal silver from his apartment.  Not only does Nick promptly forgive Creeps, but accepts a joint birthday party the petty thief suddenly dreams up when he meets Nick Jr. to take place at the Charles’ residence.  Nick and Nora, with some trepidation, welcome in a motley assortment of people on the day that Nick solves the case.  It reminds me of parable of the wedding feast found in Matthew 22:1-14.  In it, a king invites his fellows to a banquet, but many of the invitees make their excuses for not attending.  As such, a wide variety of people end up being present for this august occasion, not unlike the people at this party.  After all, one of them shows up with a kid he “borrows” just to be in the room!  Thankfully, we do not have to kidnap anyone in order to answer God’s call.

Another Thin Man is unremarkable when compared to any of the others in the series, and that is okay.  I will still take it over many other examples of cinema.  You can also jump into the franchise at this point and still understand everything that is happening.  It is a solid piece of moviemaking.