MovieChat Forums > After the Thin Man (1936) Discussion > Questions about the plot (spoilers)

Questions about the plot (spoilers)


So I saw this film for the first time last night, and I'm still struggling with plot issues. I'm hoping some of you smart people out there can help me out. I have a number of issues/questions.

1) Where exactly was David when he killed Robert? After Selma has found Robert, we then see and hear David noisily get out of the car from back up the street whence Selma and Robert had come. We don't hear any car drive up and stop, we don't hear anyone get *into* a car (and we already know that car's doors are noisy). So David shot Robert from the car? Ok, let's go with that.

But then where was Selma when he fired? He would have had to lean out the window to make the shot. If Selma had not yet passed the car, she would have seen him. If she *had* passed the car, she would be blocking the shot. I can't see how this happened.

2) David knew that Robert was going back to the house to get his clothes, so he could have followed him there. But there's no way he could have known that Selma was going to follow him out of the house, let alone with a gun. For all his "planning", there doesn't seem to be any plan at all here. Robert could have gotten in and out of the house without seeing Selma. Or they could have had a big argument in the house without her following him out. It was pure luck that Selma followed him out with the gun. So why did David go to the house in the first place? What was his plan?

3) Why did he fire? This also doesn't really seem to make sense. Did he see that Selma had the gun? If he didn't, then firing then doesn't make sense, because if she didn't have the gun, then he couldn't frame her. But if he *did* see that she had the gun-- and this seems likely, she was holding it pretty out in the open-- then why bother to fire at all? Why not give her the chance to actually kill him herself? Then he's in the clear, doesn't have to worry about any complicated framing or anything; Robert would be dead and Selma would hang for it.

4) The preceding point is especially relevent given the next problem: his whole framing ploy is ridiculously rickety. He tells her to not tell anyone she had the gun, and he goes off and throws the gun away. Yes, he has to throw the gun away to conceal the fact that it was never fired and couldn't be the murder weapon. But what if she had simply done as he told her? The fact is, the only way *anybody* knew about the gun was because *she* blurted out about it at the police station. Nobody else admitted to having been there or seen her there. Nobody had anything on her for the murder if she doesn't say anything. So if she did this-- which again, is what he *told* her to do-- then how could he possibly have pinned the murder on her?

5) Why did he throw the rock/message through the window? What did that accomplish? In the big finale seen, Nick says something about it being to lead himself, Nick, to find Phil's body and Dancer's fingerprints. But both would have been found anyway at some point, there was no reason to plant a note. Nick also says something about it being to throw himself, Nick, off of David's trial. But Nick was never *on* David's trail. He didn't even remotely begin to suspect Nick until he noticed the 6-year-old mustache picture.

6) The story of the janitor doesn't add up either. So the janitor went into "Anderson"'s room to lay carpet (why?) and, to quote Nick, "didn't like the looks of things", so he changed the lock on the door. Try that again? Didn't like the looks of what? The spy stuff was hidden under the floor, Nick had to do some real sleuthing to find it. The ladder was just a bunch of pipes, wouldn't mean much to anyone. What would he have seen that would make his first action to be-- change the lock? Not call the police or even Nick, but change the lock? That's a time-consuming and unusual task. Seriously, does that make sense? But ok. But then he goes to call Nick. Why Nick? He doesn't know Nick. Isn't that a pretty odd thing? See something suspicious in a room, so you go call up a stranger occasional-detective? Ok, he knew Nora, maybe he somehow knew Nick was married to Nora. But even this is a reach, he was just the gardener, it certainly doesn't seem like he was at all close to Nora.

7) This one, while the least important, is the one that makes the least sense of all to me: What was up with Lum? When Dancer goes out for "some air", Lum sneaks out right after him. We see him being driven by his chaufeur during the murder scene when there are cut-aways to what everyone is up to. We see him come back afterwards. As Abrams points out, it doesn't make sense for both owners to be casually leaving their club on a busy New Years eve. Lum's actions are deliberate and sneaky and suspicious. Except-- what are they? Where did he go? What was he doing? I totally don't get it.

Can anyone shed some insight? I'd be most appreciative.

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It won't answer all your questions cause the screenwriters changed things a bit, but Hammett's original story/treatment for this film and the next in the series were published in one volume and he does cover a few of the plot points you have questions about.

They're actually good reading as detective stories and for the humorous dialogue which Hammett was actually quite good at.

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I'm so disappointed that after two years, no one has actually addressed your original post. I've had most of the same questions in my head and was hoping that someone could satisfy my confusion. Oh well... It's a great flick even with the holes.

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"1) Where exactly was David when he killed Robert? "
"2)...What was his plan?"
"3) Why did he fire?"

It was a drive-by shooting. All David's plans were falling apart since Robert was leaving Selma and offering to be bought off by David. David had to act fast. Selma showing up was something he decided to take advantage of off the top of his head. Which is why he took her gun. He knew it wouldn't match the slug.
And it was a foggy night. Selma couldn't see very far. And David didn't know she was there. Like I said, his plan had fallen apart. Then it dawns on him that Selma could be framed. From here on David is only reacting to events.

"5) Why did he throw the rock...?"

To lead Nick and police to a motive for Selma to kill Robert. They will learn of the scam Polly and Dancer are pulling on Robert through investigating Phil Burns. David had to kill Burns because he was blackmailing David for Roberts murder.
Killing two birds with one stone. Sorry, bad pun.

"6)..."

Sorry, can't shed any light on the janitor except as a plot point to get Nick to pay attention to the photograph and to give Nick an opportunity to find his body which leads him and us the viewers to look at the photo.


"7)... Why did Lum go out?"

Again merely a plot device to lead us away from David. His actions don't need to make sense as they don't lead us anywhere.
But maybe, he didn't trust Dancer. Knew of the scam Dancer and Polly were pulling.
And wanted in on it or use it to somehow gain ownership of the Lai Che?
So he was following Dancer.





"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
-Dennis

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