A Man of Flowers

Starring:Norman Kaye, Alyson Best, Chris Haywood, Sarah Walker (II), Julia Blake, Bob Ellis, Barry Dickins, Patrick Cook, Victoria Eagger, Werner Herzog, Hilary Kelly, James Stratford, Eileen Joyce, Marianne Baillieu, Lirit Bilu, Juliet Bacskai, Dawn Klingberg, Tony Llewellyn-Jones
Director: Paul Cox
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Director John McTiernan (Die Hard) does an underwhelming job with this potentially interesting story of a research scientist (Sean Connery) who discovers a cure for cancer in the Brazilian rain forest, but then can't retrace his steps in creating the potion. Added pressure on his work is coming from developers burning down the forest, while an American bureaucrat (Lorraine Bracco), who holds the purse strings on the grant, has arrived to give him a bad time. The crucial chemistry between the stars just isn't there (Bracco can be hard to take at times), and, despite the added exotica of local witch doctors and seeing Connery swing through the trees, the elements just don't come together in this well-meaning but disappointing movie. --Tom Keogh

Description

Academy Award(R)-winning star Sean Connery (Best Supporting Actor, 1987 -- THE UNTOUCHABLES), reunites with action director John McTiernan (THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, DIE HARD) for another powerful collaboration in the heroic box office smash MEDICINE MAN! Screen favorite Connery plays Dr. Robert Campbell, a brilliant but unorthodox scientist racing against time in his bold research for a cure against cancer. Set deep in the forbidding Amazon rain forest, this action-packed hit follows Campbell hot on the trail of an amazing discovery -- but the eccentric recluse soon finds himself caught in the midst of an explosive adventure! Also starring Oscar(R)-nominee Lorraine Bracco (Best Supporting Actress, 1990 -- GOODFELLAS), MEDICINE MAN delivers unmatched entertainment with its spectacular mix of breathtaking scenery, captivating performances, and thrilling, nonstop excitement!

Customer Reviews:

People actually like this dud of a movie. Give it a try........2007-06-06

A king sized helping of irritating with a dollop of boring. I can't believe this movie is liked by so many people. It was mildly interesting as far as "old jaded scientist hates greenhorn until he starts liking her" formula movies go. But the chemistry between them bit! Which made the musical score really funny when you hear the first "triumphant" symphonic piece. You frown and say, "I don't get it, I thought they still hated each other...is this 'Gone with the Wind' drama because she likes the view from the ropes?" And Lorraine Bracco's character is soooo annoying. The fact that he wants her to return with him isn't even believable. Connery's okay, but a bad match for his style. I watched the whole thing though, and other people liked it. But, like one of the other reviewers wrote, I figured out the cure for cancer before the characters did. And so will you!

A Cure for Cancer from the Amazon Jungle?.......2007-05-17

An introspective scientist, Dr. Robert Campbell, lives in the Brazilian jungle. He is attempting to isolate a potion that will cure cancer. He thinks that he has it, but then he loses it. Chromatography keeps showing Peak 37 missing and, without this peak, the potions are useless. Will he ever re-discover the missing ingredient? There is also a race against time. Developers who are cutting down the jungle are getting closer and closer.

He lives among native Amazonians. At one time, there were 9 million of them. But now the Europeans' diseases have reduced the native population to only 200,000. At one time, he has a joust with the native medicine man. The encounter is hilarious.

Dr. Campbell is joined by Dr. Bronx, a scientist who had studied in such prestigious places as Cambridge. But she thinks that he is discriminating against her because of her gender. She also complains that he treats her as a 19 year-old graduate student seeking to develop a resume. At one point, she accuses him of scientific fraud. But in time their professional (and personal) relationships take a completely new turn.

Medicine man.......2007-03-19

I watched this movie at least 10 times, and thoroghly enjoy it every time. These 2 actors are fantastic together!

Interesting role for Sean Connery.......2007-03-14

This movie definitely put Sean Connery in a different light. He, at first, is not believable but as the movie gains speed, he is perfect for the role.

Terrific!.......2007-02-07

Sean Connery shines as does the cinematography. A terrifying story of what's happening to our enviornment. To think such a discovery could be made only to be destroyed by man isn't too far a stretch. The music is perfect and memorable. I've viewed it so many times I know the dialog...and I have the music memorized.

Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. 1 (Michael Shayne: Private Detective / The Man Who Wouldn't Die / Sleepers West / Blue, White, and Perfect)

Average customer rating:

Review of Michael Shayne Vol 1
Classic B-Movies
Michael Shayne
action thriller
Good film noir

Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. 1 (Michael Shayne: Private Detective / The Man Who Wouldn't Die / Sleepers West / Blue, White, and Perfect)
Starring: Lloyd Nolan , Marjorie Weaver , Joan Valerie , Walter Abel , and Elizabeth Patterson
Director: Eugene Forde , and Herbert I. Leeds
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LC4ZDK
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

This very welcome box set turns up the heat on one of detective films' cold cases. Created by Brett Halliday, Michael Shayne appeared in 31 books between the 1940s and '70s. He is not as popularly known as other screen shamuses, but he's good company. As portrayed by Lloyd Nolan (best known as curmudgeonly Dr. Chegley on the groundbreaking sitcom Julia), Shayne is not as hard-boiled as Sam Spade or as sage as Charlie Chan. But, as one shady character observes to someone whom Shayne has just pasted, "You know better than to mix with Shayne." He's a working-class mug ("His office is in his hat, his home is in his car," he remarks), usually "down on his luck" and short on cash. As Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1940) opens, the furniture from his office is being repossessed. Still, Shayne has ethics enough to turn down $5,000 for a suspicious-sounding case. ("$5,000 will buy a lot of ethics," he's told). He's got some odd habits, from twirling his keychain to singing the odd Irish ditty. In each film, Shayne manages to get himself into some "screwy scrapes." In Private Detective, a "gag" backfires when an attempt to scare a gambling heiress straight results in a murder with Shayne's gun at the scene of the crime. In The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1942), Shayne pretends to be a wealthy woman's husband to get the lowdown on a body that won't stay buried. In Sleepers West (1941), he's on the right track when he accompanies a murder witness by train to San Francisco. Blue, White and Perfect (1942) is a real gem that finds Shayne embroiled in wartime espionage, smuggled diamonds and dodging his jealous, matrimonial-minded girlfriend.

These lively B-films each clock in at less than 80 minutes. What they lack in budget they more than make up for in shadow-drenched, dark, and stormy atmosphere, Shayne's moxie and inestimable support from some great character actors, such as Clarence Kolb (the crooked mayor in His Girl Friday) and Douglass Dumbrille (the nasty racetrack owner in A Day at the Races), who appear in Private Detective. For a collection of obscure films, this box set has all the trimmings, with three original featurettes that provide efficient primers on Halliday, Shayne, and Robert McGinnis, the artist who created luscious and lurid covers for the Shayne paperbacks. There is also an interactive trivia guide that makes the six-degrees connections between cast members and the film-noir world. This is volume 1, to which we can only say, "Come back, Shayne." --Donald Liebenson

Description

Disc 1 Side A: MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (1942) Disc 1 Side B: THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE (1942) Disc 2 Side A: SLEEPERS WEST (1941) Disc 2 Side B: BLUE, WHITE, & PERFECT (1942)

**Plus Featurettes **Packaging designed by Michael Shayne and artist Robert McGinnis

Customer Reviews:

Review of Michael Shayne Vol 1.......2007-06-28

I think these movies made in the 1940's were fun to watch. I particularly enjoyed LLoyd Nolan playing the lead role. I also enjoyed seeing old glamorous movie stars like Lynn Bari and Mary Beth Hughes in action again.

Classic B-Movies.......2007-06-12

I am a fan of Lloyd Nolan. He has always shined in B-movies. And his signature role as Michael Shayne is no different. His wit and timing are nothing short of outstanding. I hope that another boxed set of these films are released soon.

I would even like to see the one's with Hugh Beaumont. It would be nice to see Beaumont play a character besides Ward Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver. But, Lloyd Nolan is still the best to play this character.

Michael Shayne.......2007-06-08

The Michael Shayne mysteries are not only clever, but very funny. Lloyd
Nolan is great and the best Michael Shayne there ever was. Can't wait
till Volume 2 comes out.

action thriller.......2007-05-16

this dvd box set of michael shayne is very good and well worth buying for any film buff who likes lloyd Nolan. he plays the part very good and is comical also. the rest of the cast also are well worth watching, I do hope 20th centry Fox turn out more of Mike Shayne in the near future, I have been waiting for this series to come on dvd and now they are out Im more than pleased I purchased them. I realy do say this that Mike shayne is excellent and well worth the price of this set. and Lloyd Nolan takes the part well and I highly recommend it. well worth buying if you Like Nolan

Good film noir.......2007-05-13

Had not heard of these before, but ordered them and they were very good.

The Flowers of St Francis - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

another fine criterion release
Historically Interesting But Only Mildly Entertaining
Unbelievable, in the worse sense of the word
Not necessarily entertainment but a deeply human experience
The best Francis movie I have seen so far.

The Flowers of St Francis - Criterion Collection
Starring: Brother Nazario Gerardi , Peparuolo , Fra' Severino Pisacane , Roberto Sorrentino , and Gianfranco Bellini
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009WIE2U
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Description

In a series of simple and joyous vignettes, director Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly convey the universal teachings#of humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice#of the People#s Saint. Shot in a neorealist manner, with monks from the Nocere Inferiore monastery playing the roles of St. Francis and his disciples, The Flowers of St. Francis is a timeless and moving portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.

Customer Reviews:

another fine criterion release.......2007-01-29

i love the story of st francis.. This is a fine black and white movie - one of Rossellini's better films of the period.. While it is not quite as powerful as 'Open City' it is a very important movie and deserves to be seen..

Historically Interesting But Only Mildly Entertaining.......2006-10-15

Let me start by saying that I came to this DVD as someone who wanted to see a Roberto Rossellini film, not as someone who was avid to see another story of St. Francis. While I have nothing against films of a religious nature, I tend to be drawn to more controversial and less pious works.

Having seen "The Flowers of St. Francis," however, I do not feel as if I have any more insight into St. Francis's legacy than I did prior to the viewing. The film is structured as a series of vignettes--mostly sweet, idyllic, naive and/or comical. This was not a conventional narrative, so the entertainment that you derive from the film comes from how much you appreciate these stories. I found them innocuous enough, a couple were amusing--but ultimately I wished for more illumination.

Having studied Rossellini's intent behind "Flowers," I know it was a personal film for him. He wanted to show glimpses of St. Francis and hint at the appeal and ardor that his followers had. He consciously chose this narrative style to make simple "Franciscan" teaching moments. He was happy with the outcome, and that's why it's important in Rossellini's film oeuvre.

While the film might not be my cup of tea entertainment-wise, it is interesting to fit it into Rossellini's filmography--both as a personal statement and as an evolution of his style. I'll still take "Open City" anyday, but I don't dismiss "Flowers." KGHarris, 10/06.

Unbelievable, in the worse sense of the word.......2006-09-23

This movie is a disaster.

It does not cover the conversion of St. Francis, since it begins after the Pope has allowed him to found the order. It does not present what his principles were, other than to care for the poor. Poverty (his own) and simplicity are barely present, and then handled badly with unseemly inconsistencies. At one point, Francis even praises his own humility. That's not very humble as far as I'm concerned.

It would seem that Francis was actually quite an inspiration to his brethren, but in this film he is a stern, distant, unfeeling father figure. He gives commands which are frequently disobeyed without any remorse. Even though Francis himself is reputed to have run through the streets stark naked to show his disassociation from the material world, he is appalled at one of the brothers who gives away his cloak to the poor and returns shirtless.

Many films portray Jesus as a relatively distant person, withdrawn, often emotion-less and passive. Francis gets this kind of portrayal in this film. In fact, the only character to which one can relate is Brother Ginepro (forgive spelling please). The final scene emphasizes the treatment of Francis as Jesus in an over-obvious and almost silly allegory for "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" which in the Gospels was followed by Jesus' ascension. In reality, Francis knew he was a flawed, repentant sinner, saved by God's grace into a life of simple happiness and good works, not an error-free Christ-figure.

The setting is not redeeming. The brothers live in little stone huts, from which they emerge only on certain occasions, acting much like a bunch of chicks in a chicken yard. Though the Church calls the order "beggars", these beggars are more persistent and more obnoxious than any present-day street beggars. They seldom have anything to give to the poor, so they go out and badger reticent donors and then give only some of their receipts to the poor. Very much NOT what St. Francis was about.

The scene with the tyrant appears to have been dropped in from some other movie, and its point is far from clear. It is not at all apparent what it has to do with St. Francis and his teachings.

Though not a five-star movie in itself, Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a much better production than this. By comparison it is marvelous.

Not necessarily entertainment but a deeply human experience.......2006-09-04

Be sure and read Rossellini's intro before you watch the movie. I did not and stopped watching less than half way through the film. After finally reading his introduction, I found the film absorbing and satisfying. Rossellini's objective was, briefly, to bring St. Francis, his beliefs and his enviornment to us as he believes they really were without acceding to preconceptions. And he does it with his usual brillance. Finally, there is an interview with his daughter, Isabella, which is worth the price of the DVD. I expect this movie will be watched for hundreds of years.

The best Francis movie I have seen so far........2006-08-26

I've watched a few films about St. Francis, and most of them have been about his upbringing and childhood. This film focuses on his life as the leader of his friars. The whole feel to the film is very lighthearted and is more a collection of short stories than a novel. I have received a Franciscan education and have several friars as friends, and I feel that this film represents the spirit of their life; a devoted life to God and helping other people.

Average customer rating:

Charming and unique.
Man of Flowers - An excellent film
A Real Gem!
Thanks to the previous reviewer
something the world has lost

A Man of Flowers
Starring: Norman Kaye , Alyson Best , Chris Haywood , Sarah Walker (II) , and Julia Blake
Director: Paul Cox
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QAPP
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Description

Charles Bremer is a recluse and collector of rare flowers and objects d'art. Loved and smothered by his mother, the past remains as real to him as his present life. Paul Cox's "Man of Flowers" is a film about the confrontation between modern art and traditional art; between modern love and traditional love; between modern life and traditional life. A film about art, insanity, loneliness and sex.

Customer Reviews:

Charming and unique........2002-05-20

"Man of Flowers" shows a few months from the life of a man who as the result of childhood traumas has become devoid of the need for human relationships, and consequently, never developed social skills necessary to build and sustain them. Being thus freed from the hang-up on relationships, he has become rarefied, and has escaped instead into the safety of another hang-up - beauty in its various forms: flowers, music, human body in painting and sculpture. He's not unhappy, but he is considered to be so, and to cure this perceived suffering he is in psychotherapy. As part of it, he's told to build relationships, and he tries to, clumsily and hilariously, with quite unlikely characters: his therapist, postman, long-deceased mother, construction contractor. None of those are real and normal relationships, and as he fails to see that, and lacks the sense of danger, he is easy prey to manipulators. He also has an on-going acquaintance with a young and pretty girl - an artists' model. At first glance it looks like this one might be a normal relationship, but on his side it's nothing more than an acquaintance - he doesn't see the girl as a person, but merely as an object of beauty (his "flower"). He doesn't do it out of ill will, he simply doesn't have a need, or an idea, for anything more. The girl, on the other hand, becomes fond of him, increasingly more so as her relationship with her junkie boyfriend deteriorates. He turns down her offer of living together, and proves to be more protective than fond of her by solving her boyfriend problem in a truly ingenious way.
A charming movie, portraying a man who's not "from Mars" but perhaps from Jupiter.

Man of Flowers - An excellent film.......2002-03-22

With a bit of eye candy in the begining of the film, this film is an excellent film about one man's psychological problem with nudity. As a wealthy art collector he pays a model to strip to a clasical music score then departs to play an organ at a nearby church. The model starts to develop fellings for him.

Depending on what you are looking for this is a good or bad movie to investigate. If you are looking for a lot of blood and gore, then don't waste your time. If you are looking for a little entertainment with the kids, forget it - the eye candy at the begining makes this not suitable. If you are looking for a nice dinner and a movie evening then this is an excellent one - just put the kids to bed first. If you are looking for a bit of eye candy then this is for you.

It did not get five stars because the acting is a bit wooden.

A Real Gem!.......2002-03-12

It's a rare thing to see a film that so unabashedly (without being over-sentimental!) reveals an individual's need to fulfil his desire for aesthetic beauty. This is a quiet, honest film that is a 'must see' for people who also share a great love for art and music. I wish they made more films like this!

Thanks to the previous reviewer.......2002-03-04

Thanks to the previous reviewer for reminding me of the difference between Paul Cox's delightful "Lonely Hearts," and this movie. You can skip this one.

something the world has lost.......2001-11-01

After the mainstream success of his 1982 Lonely Hearts, Paul Cox went arthouse for this film, a meditation on art, religion, sex and death. Norman Kaye plays a vampire-like recluse, who dresses like a priest and is described as "something the world has lost". Independently wealthy, he collects beautiful things and has a flower fetish. This fetish extends to regular visits by Alyson Best, whom he calls"his little flower" and who strips for his pleasure. Best is also associated with Chris Hayward, a manipulative abstract painter. The scenario is credited to Cox, with dialogue by Bob Ellis, who appears in an amusing scene as Kaye's South African-accented anaylst. The treatment tries to legitimise Kaye by demonstrating that everyone else has their own eccentricities, but no one else has dream flashbacks in super8 stock, where even as a child, Kaye seems strange. Cox overdoes the use of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, so that the slight tale of grand guignol that he aims for is flooded in overindulgence, with only small redeeming qualities - the stilted body language of Werner Herzog as the father in flashback, and the lack of eye contact given by the priest of the church where Kaye plays the organ in demonic chords.

Average customer rating:

Nick and Nora Charles stroll off arm-in-arm into the distance. We'll miss them
"I hope you don't mind drinking this early."
The last film of The Thin Man series.
The 6-Film "Thin Man" Series Ends on a High Note.

Song of the Thin Man
Starring: William Powell , Myrna Loy , Keenan Wynn , Dean Stockwell , and Phillip Reed
Director: Edward Buzzell
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BZXYGG
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Product Description

Nick and Nora Charles are attending a charity benefit aboard a gambling ship. The festive atmosphere conceals many tensions among those connected with the ship, with most of the friction centering around Tommy Drake, its unpopular, spiteful band-leader. When he is murdered later that night, suspicion falls on Phil Brant, who had argued with Drake earlier in the evening. When Phil and his wife seek help from Nick and Nora, Nick refuses to get involved. But when shots are fired outside his own apartment, Nick begins to investigate, and he soon finds himself in a confusing case with numerous suspects.

Customer Reviews:

Nick and Nora Charles stroll off arm-in-arm into the distance. We'll miss them.......2007-06-07

Song of the Thin Man is a sad-sweet experience, something like meeting a good friend you haven't seen in years and realizing how much affection you still have for him... but also how much you both have aged. It's been 13 years since The Thin Man appeared in 1934. We have to stop and remember that Nick Charles wasn't the thin man back then; that particular thin man was just one of the many murder victims Nick and Nora came across in their six movies. We remember the sophistication and insouciance of this affectionate and clever couple. They were never at a loss for a quick come-back or to shake a cold, gin martini. Even Nick's modus operandi to bring all the suspects together at the conclusion and pick apart the case until he has the murderer squirming never quite got stale. Alas, with Song of the Thin Man we have the MGM factory squeezing out one more film to try to wring a profit from it, this time attempting to make it "contemporary" by setting the story in the post-WWII social world of after-hours jazz clubs, bebop musicians and hep cat dialogue. Nick and Nora never looked uncomfortable anywhere their adventures took them in the past. They look at times now as out of place as salesmen from Peru, Indiana, at a Linda and Cole Porter party.

Gone is the sophisticated world of white sofas and polished black floors, of naughty Porter lyrics and earnestly sophisticated Gershwin tunes. Martinis seem oddly old fashioned now (and so do Old Fashioneds) as Nick drinks high balls and Nora sips sherry. And instead of clever repartee, Song of the Thin Man gives us the kind of dialogue only studio journeymen can write. Says one character, "I must have blown my top, kicking Buddy over for a road company Casanova like you!" The solution depends on the kind of half-baked, melodramatic psychology popular at the time. To make it even more tedious, there are no characters except Nick and Nora to care about. The movie is peopled with crooks, opportunists, gold-diggers, scat-talking musicians and the unattractive rich. The acting is so variable that it doesn't take long to realize we're watching the kind of movie that MGM did not waste much effort on.

Why spend time on it? Two names: William Powell and Myrna Loy. Even though 13 years have elapsed, even though, at 55, Powell is a little fuller around the face (Loy at 42 doesn't seem to have changed a bit) and even though WWII altered decisively the world of films, they remain one of the most refreshing, attractive and delightful movie pairs in screen history. They raise the movie, if at least not to their level, to a level of enduring affection for their style, their warmth, their intelligence and, that word again, their insouciance. So three stars is too much for the movie but five stars is too little for them.

The DVD transfer looks just fine. There are a couple of extras, a cartoon and a short feature.

"I hope you don't mind drinking this early.".......2007-05-26

Starting with "The Thin Man," William Powell and Myrna Loy were Nick and Nora Charles, Dashiell Hammett's greatest creation. This series stood apart from others in that it was a class "A" production all the way, MGM giving these wildly popular films their best contract players and their finest behind the scenes people to create something unparalleled in American film history.

The original "The Thin Man" was a masterpiece of light and witty comedy mystery that has never been equaled. For that reason it is unfair to compare the five films that followed with the first one, and once that is set aside, each of the five was charming, witty and classy, the perfect way to solve a mystery and be entertained at the same time. This was the last entry and was just teriffic, as "The Thin Man" went out in style.

Manhattan meets the hip jazz scene in this one as Nick and Nora are involved in solving another delicious murder, with nice touches from Nicky Jr. and, of course, their dog Asta. It begins when Nick and Nora have a night out on the gambling ship "S. S. Fortune."

The film opens with a young and stunningly beautiful Gloria Grahame singing "Your Not That Easy to Forget" and only gets better. As Nick and Nora rub shoulders with the elite and a few of Nicky's old pals a chain of events leads to murder, discovered the next morning when the chief suspect stops by with his fiance to ask for Nick's help. Nick turns him over to the cops for his own safety when he is shot at but the deal is sealed when the bullet hits a bottle Nick had been saving for a special occasion, and as he puts it, "An old friend of mine went completely to pieces."

There are no shortage of suspects as Nick and Nora start nosing around, aided by a young Keenan Wynn as one of the hip band members. It's very funny as Nora begins to pick up the lingo of Wynn and his jazz friends, who seem to have a language of their own. The victim seemingly had no end of enemies. He was deep in debt to a dangerous gambler, had been cheating on his girlfriend, was running out on a contract to play at the "S. S. Fortune" for greener pastures, had publicly humiliated Grahame's former boyfriend Buddy Hollis (Don Taylor), and more.

Before it's over, Nick and Nora will walk in on another murder, and Nick will stage a suprise back on the waters, gathering all the suspects back on the swanky "S. S. Fortune" to trick a killer. Patricia Morison, Jayne Meadows, Dean Stockwell, Ralph Morgan, William Bishop and Marie Windsor all offer fine support to make this closing chapter one of their best. Some nice family moments (Nick and Nora style) with Asta and Nicky Jr. are put in the mix as well, Nicky Jr. seemingly a chip of the old block.

The same carefree and fun loving ambiance that was a staple of every entry is here and a good atmospheric mystery to boot. There is nothing shabby about "Song of the Thin Man." It is a bar that many have attempted to reach when making a light comedy mystery but these films have endured because of their wit, fun and charm. Nothing has ever come close to them and you won't want to miss this one!

The last film of The Thin Man series........2006-09-17

DVD will automatically play if option has not been chosen in nearly 2 minutes.
William Powell, Myrna Loy and Asta (Skippy) too return for this sixth and last caper. Powell and Loy appeared in 13 films together, only six "Thin Man" films.
Aboard the S.S. Fortune, which is a gambling ship that Nick Charles (William Powell) and his wife, Nora (Myrna Loy) are on, Tommy Drake (Philip Reed) is shot. The newspaper headlines blames Janet Thayer (Jayne Meadows) and her secret Lover, Phil Brant (Bruce Cowling), who were also aboard the vessel, the suspects in the killing. So absurd, that Janet and Phil ask the Charles' to investigate and get them off the rap. Suddenly another shot rings out and hits Nick's wine bottle he was holding. Nobody hurt, but Asta has licked up all that spilled wine.
Nick is going to investigate without the help of the police and Nick Jr. (Dean Stockwell) wants to help solve the mystery too.
Also in the cast: Keenan Wynn, Gloria Grahame, Leon Ames, Bess Flowers, Henry Nemo, Clinton Sundberg, William Bishop, marie Windsor.
DVD includes in Special Features, Theatrical trailer, 10-minute feature "John Nesbitt's Passing Parade, 'A Really Important Person' with Dean Stockwell and Connie Gilchrist.
MGM Technicolor "Slap Happy Lion" by Tex Avery.
No audio commentary.
The Thin Man tv series (1957-59) starred Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk.

The 6-Film "Thin Man" Series Ends on a High Note. .......2006-03-22

"Song of the Thin Man" (1947) is the third-best film in the "Thin Man" series, after the original "The Thin Man" (1934) and "After the Thin Man" (1936). Typical of the "Thin Man" movies, there is no shortage of suspects or red herrings, and the case is solved when Nick Charles brings everyone together at the end to sweat the solution out of them. Screenwriters Steve Fischer and Nat Perrin and director Edward Buzzell are all newcomers to the franchise, but this mystery is one of the best. Tommy Drake (Philip Reed), bandleader and inveterate gambler, is shot to death aboard a gambling ship owned by Phil Brant (Bruce Cowling). Tommy was in debt to a bookie, just had a fight over a woman with his unstable reed man, announced he was taking his band and leaving Phil for greener and richer pastures, and was disliked by everyone. But the police blame Phil Brant, who has just married the blue-blooded Janet Thayer (Jayne Meadows) against her father's strong objections. Janet and Phil turn to their friends Nick and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy and William Powell) in desperation, hoping that Nick can crack the case and clear Phil's name.

The "Thin Man" franchise is in its 13th year at this point, and Nick and Nora Charles are looking very much the middle-aged couple with a son (Dean Stockwell), who is increasingly like his father, in grade school. Nick doesn't seem to drink anymore. And Nora is no longer a fashion plate. I like the fact that this film admits they are not young. It would be ridiculous if it didn't. Nick's sleuthing takes the couple into the world of jazz musicians, who speak a hipster lingo that befuddles Nick and Nora, poking fun at the generation gap. Newlyweds Janet and Phil are a younger version of the Charleses, an aristocratic woman who married an ambitious street-wise working stiff, who look to the older couple for understanding. Two actresses who became staples of film noir in the years to come have small roles: Gloria Grahame is "canary" and suspect Fran Page, and Marie Windsor plays a bookie's wife. Nick's method of eliciting a confession is more far-fetched than usual, and that seemed like a flaw to me. But "Song of the Thin Man" is one of the most entertaining mysteries in the series. As Nick says to an anxious Nora: "We're on no spot that the solution of the crime won't get us off."

The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005): Bonus features include a short film, a cartoon, and a theatrical trailer (3 min). "A Really Important Person" (11 min) is a John Nesbitt "Passing Parade" short film starring Dean Stockwell as an 8-year-old boy who is looking for someone important to write about for an essay contest and finally decides that that person is his father. "Slap Happy Lion" (7 min) is a cartoon about a formerly ferocious and fearless lion who is now afraid of a particularly self-assured and pesky mouse.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Yes Acoustic

Tenacious D: The Complete Master Works

Baton Baton Mein [1979]

DVD: Joe Lewis How to Use Tactical Footwork-D

Mike Stern - Guitar Instructional