Another Thin Man Online Quiz | A

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The name of the film, "Another Thin Man", refers to the baby Nick and Nora have had since the end of the previous "Thin Man" movie. The three of them have just returned to New York from San Francisco ("Nick was sober in Kansas City", says Nora) and they're staying in a luxury hotel. Shortly after checking in, they're almost burglarized by one of Nick's criminal acquaintances who he once sent up the river. What is the burglar's name?

Answer: Creeps Binder

Creeps has a pretty job lined up from himself, not knowing that he's about to burgle the Charles family. Nick catches him raiding the dresser drawers but Creeps is so happy to see Nick that he doesn't mind being caught. The characters Wacky, Dum Dum and Phil Church come along later in the movie.

2. Nick, Nora, their baby, nurse and, of course, their dog Asta head for Long Island. The business partner of Nora's father, Colonel McFay, is being terrorized by an ex-employee named Phil Church. While there, Nick and Nora also meet McFay's current business associates, Dudley Horn and Freddie Coleman and they also meet the Colonel's adopted daughter, Lois (Horn is Lois's fiance). Church and his crony, Dum Dum, want money from McFay. They manage to get through the defenses at McFay's house and do what?

Answer: Set the bath house on fire

As part of their plan to terrorize Colonel McFay, they break into his estate and set the bath house (next to the swimming pool) on fire. They also kill Lois McFay's dog.

3. Nick goes to the house Phil Church and Dum Dum are renting. After he gets there, he meets Phil Church's girl, Smitty, and tries to settle Church's score with McFay. During the discussion, someone gets punched in the face. Who?

Answer: Phil Church

Church threatens Nick's family and Nick responds with a left hook to Church's eye. Dum Dum throws a knife at Nick and barely misses while Smitty pulls a pistol out of her garter. Nick leaves without any further violence.

4. Colonel McFay is murdered in his bed in a very gruesome way. How is he killed?

Answer: Throat cut, wrist broken

A gunshot goes off from Colonel McFay's room, alerting the household. The Colonel is found with his throat cut and his right wrist broken. Colonel McFay's gun is found lying next to his bed near a wet newspaper, overturned lamp and empty water glass.

A bullet hole is found in the wall and the police infer that the killer was bearing down on McFay, who was able to get his gun. As he fired it, the killer hit his wrist, breaking it. Phil Church has supposedly left town but he is suspected of the murder anyway.

5. Detective Van Slack and the local police are called in to investigate (Nick is always officially retired.). Asta finds a knife and leads Nick and the police on a merry chase to retrieve it from Asta's mouth. During the resultant confusion, what happens?

Answer: Dudley Horn is killed.

While Van Slack, Nick and the police chase Asta, Dudley Horn has arrived with a gun. For a reason solved later in the plot, Dudley fires his gun in the direction of Nick and Lois McFay. He is gunned down by the police.

6. Nick, Nora and all of our main suspects from McFay's household return to New York City. Lieutenant Guild (a recurrent character) joins Nick and Van Slack to try to solve McFay's murder. Nick gets a lead and heads to what nightclub?

Answer: The West Indies Club

Phil Church has left town but Dum Dum and Smitty are still in New York. Nick, Guild and Van Slack investigate Smitty and Nick finds a matchbook from The West Indies Club. He goes there to see what he can find out.

7. At The West Indies club, Nick meets up with Dum Dum and one of Dum Dum's drunk buddies. The drunk tells Nick about one of Church's girlfriends in town, named Linda Mills. Nick goes to her place at the Chesterfield Apartments to investigate her. He finds what clues in Linda Mills's room?

Answer: Bullet hole in the wall, scorched spot on the floor

In Linda Mills's apartment, Nick finds a bullet hole in the wall and a scorched spot on the floor and sees the similarities between this scene and the scene at McFay's murder. He deduces that a trick has been practiced here and then executed when McFay was killed.

A gun has been rigged to go off at a certain time. The trick is electrical and is set up by connecting a gun to an electrical cord from a lamp, covering the gun with a newspaper and then dousing it with water. The effect is a delayed reaction before the gun goes off, giving McFay's killer plenty of time to seek out other people to confirm that he/she was with them when the gun was fired.

The overturned lamp, wet newspaper and McFay's gun at the murder scene fit the trick perfectly.

8. Creeps Binder comes back into our story now. He and several of his petty criminal pals throw a baby party for Nick Jr. at Nick and Nora's apartment, complete with babies for each mug. One of our gang of merry crooks is named Wacky. What famous comedian plays Wacky?

Answer: Shemp Howard

Shemp Howard was one of the original Three Stooges on stage (along with Moe Howard and Larry Fine) before leaving for Hollywood. He had bit parts in many comedic films including a small part as Wacky in "Another Thin Man".

9. Phil Church also returns to our story at this point. He holds up Nick and Nora before leaving their hotel room via the balcony. What happens to Phil Church?

Answer: He's shot dead.

Turns out that Phil Church has never left town at all and his appearance at Nick and Nora's hotel room is part of an overall plan. Church has stayed in town flaunting himself in front of witnesses to prove that he couldn't have killed Colonel McFay. Church knows that he will get tried for the murder and he comes to Nick and Nora's to get himself arrested.

He plans to let the trial go on, then bring in his witnesses to support his alibi. He then walks away scot free and can't be tried for the same crime twice. Church has an accomplice and the accomplice has killed McFay.

After Church walks, McFay's murder goes unsolved and Church and his accomplice share the Colonel's money. Church's accomplice is at Nick and Nora's hotel room when Church arrives.

He/she sees him and shoots him for reasons explained in question 10.

10. So now we have the murders of Colonel McFay and Phil Church to go along with the death of Dudley Horn. Nick puts all of the pieces together and exposes our murderer. Who is the killer, who is at the heart of the affairs of our dead trio?

Answer: Lois McFay

Yes, pretty, sweet Lois McFay turns out to be not so sweet after all. She hates the Colonel and conspires with Phil Church and Dum Dum to get the Colonel's money, which she would inherit upon his death. She and Church plan the trick with the gun to give her an alibi for her adopted father's murder, a murder which she has committed.

It is Lois who is truly Linda Mills and she and Chruch practice their trick in Linda Mills/Lois's room. Dudley Horn comes to suspect her, so she manipulates the situation to get Horn killed by the police.

She then shoots Phil Church when Church throws her over for Smitty and Lois knows that Church could (and would) blackmail her for life. Whew! What a soap opera!

Source: Author wwwocls

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
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Another Thin Man Trivia Quiz

Time for my second "Thin Man" quiz. Enjoy "Another Thin Man"!

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