‘Thin Man’ adds slapstick to ‘Noir’ series

THE THIN MAN, directed by W.S. Van Dyke, written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, 91 minutes. Tonight only, sundown, Pickering Square, Bangor. Free to the public.

W.S. Van Dyke’s “The Thin Man” – the second film in the River City Cinema Society’s Noir Beneath the Stars series – was an enormous hit upon its 1934 release.

It caused a sensation, earning four Academy Award nominations – including Best Picture and Best Actor – and spawning a series of five additional “Thin Man” films, the last of which appeared in 1947. Not bad for a movie shot in just 12 days.

Based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel, the film is beautifully shallow, sophisticated and smart; there’s no keeping it down. It’s pure slapstick noir, a breezy social comedy whose likable characters are consistently half in the bag, which is much of the fun.

As written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, the film is a post-prohibition potboiler that slyly thumbs its nose at the end of a ridiculously restrictive era, with the robust, nonstop drinking of its main characters fueling an atmosphere that’s at once giddy and infectious.

The movie follows Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy), two high-flying millionaires who love their martinis almost as much as they love solving crime. With their dog, Asta, at their side, these two are a gas, so loaded with booze, bitchy bon mots, swanky digs and couture, you’d think the movie was shot in the 1920s rather than the Depression. But of course that’s the point.

With the exception of a few hangovers – and the occasional dead body turning up for good measure – there isn’t a trace of hardship here, just grand living punctuated with rounds of clever repartee. Is there anything better? Not here.

This is an escape movie of the first order, with Van Dyke and company boldly taking the world with them.

The plot is almost secondary to the chemistry blistering between Powell and Loy – theirs was one of the great screen romances. Still, a primer is helpful. In the film, Nick and Nora find themselves involved in the disappearance of the wealthy inventor Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), who may or may not be responsible for several grisly murders.

What begins as a way to pass the time for the couple – they’re spectacularly bored and only enter into this whodunit because Wynant’s daughter, Dorothy (Maureen O’Sullivan), is a friend of Nick’s – quickly becomes all-engrossing as they set out to learn the truth.

Several shady characters add dice to the mix, but then so do the conniving high-society types. It’s the final clash between those two groups at a dinner party thrown by the Charleses that gives “The Thin Man” one of cinema’s best climactic moments.

In spite of the threat of rain that plagued last week’s Noir Beneath the Stars, the event was a hit, with more than a hundred people showing up for the free event. Tonight’s showing of “The Thin Man” should be no exception. Bring your lawn chairs – maybe an umbrella – and enjoy.

Grade: A

On video and DVD

THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, written and directed by Denys Arcand, 99 minutes, rated R. In French with English subtitles.

Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, is a sequel to his 1986 film “The Decline of the American Empire,” a modest hit that shook up the mid-’80s by featuring a group of friends talking frankly about their kinky sexual exploits, most of which were shared with each other.

Now, with the characters having aged nearly 20 years, the spry verbal dance that once defined them has become a waltz, with the 63-year-old Arcand no longer as interested in the sex talk as he is in the process of dying. Set in Quebec, the film follows “Empire’s” original cast as they review their friendships and love affairs over the deathbed of former college professor Remy (Remy Girard), the difficult patriarch of a splintered family whose younger days were spent cheating on his former wife, Louise (Dorothy Berryman).

The most important relationship of his life is the relationship he never had – the one with his estranged son, Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau), a wealthy investment capitalist who is his father’s polar opposite.

Together, Sebastien and Remy are poison; they wrinkle the screen. But when Sebastien learns that his father’s cancer is indeed terminal, he rises to the occasion and does what he does best: He negotiates a better end for the man, using his business acumen to find the proper help. Even if it’s illegal.

The title of the film is twofold, recalling the cancer bombarding Remy’s system and the terrorist attacks that took place against our country, both of which have left Remy and his friends scarred but also emotionally stronger. Indeed, even in the face of death, these friends are survivors, perhaps more eager now to share a laugh than they were when the world slipped away from them, stealing with it Remy’s health.

The film’s emotional ending is deeply felt and powerful, working as well as it does because Arcand doesn’t go too far. He examines the pain and the humor of life, but he doesn’t betray either with pathos or melodrama.

As such, his film resonates and lingers.

Grade: A

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, 5:30 p.m. Thursdays on WLBZ 2 Bangor and WCSH 6 Portland, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.