Welcome to "Saturday Night at the Movies."

I'm your host, Glen Holland.

Tonight's film, is 1936s "After The Thin Man."

The first of five sequels to "The Thin Man," released two years earlier in 1934.

Like all of the "Thin Man" mysteries.

"After The Thin Man" stars, William Powell and Myrnle Loy as Nick and Nora Charles.

Ably assisted by Asta, their wirehaired fox terrier.

The supporting cast includes Elissa Landi, James Stewart, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Sam Levene, and Dorothy McNulty.

McNulty, later became better known under her married name, Penny Singleton.

In 28, Blondie Films between 1938 and 1950.

"After the Thin Man," begins right where "The Thin Man" left off.

With Nick and Nora Charles, as well as Asta on a transcontinental train journey from New York to their home in San Francisco.

As soon as they arrive, Nick is mobbed by reporters who want information about "The Thin Man" case Nick has just solved.

But Nick insists he's retired from detective work and just wants to enjoy his new wife's money.

But, being married to Nora means having to put up with her assorted older relatives; including her formidable Aunt Catherine.

Who invites Nick and Nora to a formal family dinner.

Nick is reluctant to attend, but Nora's cousin Selma Landis pleads with her to come.

Despite Aunt Catherine's disdain for Nick and his former profession.

She wants him to help the family by quietly locating Selma's husband, Robert.

Who has been missing for several days.

learning that Robert frequents a night spot in Chinatown, Nick and Nora go to the LiChi Club and find Robert.

Who is involved with a club singer, Poly Burns.

Robert has approached David Graham, Selma's former fiance.

And offered to divorce Selma, and leave San Francisco in return for $25,000.

What Robert doesn't know, is that his girlfriend, Poly, has plotted with the LiChi Club's co-owner dancer to steal the payoff money.

After David gives Robert the amount he demanded, Robert returns to Aunt Catherine's house for a brief cruel farewell to Selma.

He walks off into the fog.

Shortly afterward, David drives up and finds Selma standing over Robert's dead body with a gun in her hand.

He takes the gun from her and tells her to keep quiet.

But once the murder is discovered, Selma becomes the chief suspect.

And it is up to Nick and Nora to clear her name and find the real killer.

After the great success of "The Thin Man" in 1934, audiences wanted more of the witty and debonair detectives, Nick and Nora Charles.

And Metro Golden Mayor was only too happy to oblige.

This was no surprise.

Whether an exciting story with intriguing characters is told around a fire, read in books, seen on stage, or portrayed on the silver screen.

One of the perennial desires of a delighted audience is more of the same, only different.

Legendary tales of god's and heroes thrilled audiences in the ancient world.

And heroic stories about Roland, or Robinhood, or King Arthur and his knights multiplied during the Middle Ages.

Conan Doyle's Victorian detective, Sherlock Holmes, kept readers enthralled through 56 short stories, and four novels between 1887 and 1927.

The clamoring fans even demanded that Holmes be resurrected after Conan Doyle's frustrated attempt to kill the detective off in 1893.

Motion Pictures had their own ways of providing their audiences with more of the same, only different.

Early silent comedies would feature the same character.

Charlie Chaplin's, "Little Tramp."

Harold Lloyd's, "Eager Go Getter."

Buster Keaton's, well, Buster Keaton.

In different Unconnected stories.

This practice continued in the sound era.

With Laurel and Hardy and the Marks Brothers.

And was the model for cartoon characters like, Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny.

Movie series also offered recurring characters, say, Lupe Velez as the "Mexican Spitfire" and eight films for RKO.

Or "The Three Mesquiteers" in 51 B westerns for Republic Pictures.

In stories that included some sense of continuity from one film to the next.

The same sense of continuity through different episodes, is basic to most television series today.

As long as any given plot line doesn't interfere too much with more of the same.

"The Thin man," was not originally intended to be the beginning of a series.

But, its popularity and the popularity of the films that followed it kept us happily married slews in the public eye for the next 13 years.

The trailer for "After the Thin Man" left no doubt the new movie would offer audiences who adored the first movie more of the same, only different.

The trailer begins with the closing scenes of "The Thin Man" and asks, "Remember this happy ending?"

And now it announces a new "Thin Man" adventure, that starts where the other left off.

It promises the same stars, the same authors, the same director, but new laughs, new excitement, new mystery and thrills.

These were not empty promises.

"The Thin Man" ends with Nick and Nora preparing for bed on a train traveling west to the strains of, "California, here I come."

"After The Thin Man," begins with Nick and Nora on the same train, with Myrna Loy wearing the same peignoir she wore at the end of the first film.

While, "California here I come," plays in the background.

When Nick and Nora disembark in San Francisco, a mob of reporters follows Nick asking him about the big case he broke in New York; with one asking, "Pick us up another thin man will ya, Nick?"

And of course, this is exactly what the new movie does.

"After The Thin Man" included most of the features that had made the first movie such a hit.

There was a large cast of high society folks mixed with low lives.

Clever banter between Nick and Nora, a convoluted plot with several plausible suspects.

A climactic scene in which Nick brings everyone together to unmask the guilty party.

And lots of uninhibited drinking.

But the sequel's budget was larger, and the shooting schedule longer than the originals, 16 days.

According to Myrnle Loy, "We worked terribly hard on that San Francisco location.

We shot all over town with about 60 principles and crew and hundreds of local extras."

But, Woody Van Dyke always liked the festive company.

So, there were lots of parties.

Loy also recalled, Jimmy Stewart was very excited and enthusiastic about it all, rushing around with his camera, taking pictures of everybody on the set.

Declaring, "I'm going to marry Myrnle Loy!"

"After The Thin Man" was Stewart's ninth feature and his eighth in the single year, 1936.

After appearing in his first feature, "The Murder Man" a year earlier in 1935.

James Stewart acted in 109 features, shorts and television programs between 1934 and 1991.

And "After The Thin Man" is one of the few in which he plays the villain.

And what a villain.

His frustrated love for Selma Landis fuels a cruel calculated homicidal revenge that wouldn't be out of place in an Agatha Christie mystery.

But, Stewart's affable demeanor as David Graham and his apparent concern for Selma makes the final reveal a surprise.

Especially for today's viewers, who know him from many later films in which his character's affability and plain humanity are genuine.

Both the sequel and the third film in the series, "Another Thin Man" released in 1939.

Had titles that referred back to the mystery in the first film.

Which the characters referred to as "The Thin Man" case.

But, the titles of the series last two entries "The Thin Man Goes Home" and "Song of the Thin Man" released in 1945 and 1947.

Clearly are instead referring to Nick Charles himself as "The Thin Man."

Both audiences and the honchos at MGM seemed to have forgotten by that time, that "The Thin Man" in the first film was in fact the suspected murderer, not Nick Charles.

One can imagine William Powell commiserating over cocktails with Boris Karloff.

About the way both of their most famous film characters were consistently misidentified.

Because "After The Thin Man," unlike his predecessor, was made after the imposition of the motion picture production code.

The sexual heat between Nick and Nora Charles is more subdued than in the earlier film.

And they're consigned to twin beds.

At the same time, as one wag has pointed out.

"After The Thin Man" includes the first instance of doggy adultery in a feature film.

And yes, I used the term wag deliberately.

The movie is also notable for an early scene in which Aunt Catherine's daughtering old butler says to Nick, "Walk this way, sir."

And Nick follows him, copying his shuffling steps.

You might have rolled your eyes at this old gag, but in fact, "After The Thin Man" is its first appearance on the silver screen.

And is still funny.

Please join us again next time, for another "Saturday Night at the Movies."

I'm Glen Holland.

Good night.