William Powell was 55 and Myrna Loy 42 when Song of the Thin Man came out to box office that was not as good as the previous five entries. MGM thought they were getting too old for the roles and they and the stars called a halt to this most acclaimed of film series. I think they carried their parts off well myself.
I think the problem was that this last one was too violent. Myrna Loy is almost killed by one of the suspects and the final unmasking of the villain was very violent, not at all in keeping with the usual lightheartedness that characterized the Thin Man series. I think the audience rejected it for that reason.
A bandleader, Phillip Reed, is murdered on board a gambling ship and later on the band's vocalist Gloria Grahame is also killed. The usual array of suspects is on hand for Bill Powell to sift through and expose.
Song of the Thin Man has Dean Stockwell as their young son, Nick Charles, Jr. and Powell and Loy get a sidekick in the form of sideman saxophonist Keenan Wynn. If the series had kept going, Wynn might have become a regular.
Though it's not as good as the five previous entries, Song of the Thin Man is good one for this series to go out on.
I think the problem was that this last one was too violent. Myrna Loy is almost killed by one of the suspects and the final unmasking of the villain was very violent, not at all in keeping with the usual lightheartedness that characterized the Thin Man series. I think the audience rejected it for that reason.
A bandleader, Phillip Reed, is murdered on board a gambling ship and later on the band's vocalist Gloria Grahame is also killed. The usual array of suspects is on hand for Bill Powell to sift through and expose.
Song of the Thin Man has Dean Stockwell as their young son, Nick Charles, Jr. and Powell and Loy get a sidekick in the form of sideman saxophonist Keenan Wynn. If the series had kept going, Wynn might have become a regular.
Though it's not as good as the five previous entries, Song of the Thin Man is good one for this series to go out on.