that trick with the gun
[spoiler]
Does anyone understand how that gun trick worked? How did the murderer ever learn about it?
Phil Church was an engineer. He would've explained it to the murderer.
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MovieChat Forums > Another Thin Man (1939) Discussion > that trick with the gun
The book apparently does not explain it, and the explanation in the movie only covers how the current would get to the gun, not what would happen next.
I don't see how it could be done. Even if a current would fire a cartridge, you wouldn't know which one (or ones), and it would more than likely ruin the gun, easy to see for the police.
If the science would actually work, which it wouldn't, you'd need only place one cartridge in the revolver. Most people watching this in 1939 wouldn't have had a clue anyway.
The thing is, you wouldn't need the gun trick at all to get an alibi. The victim wouldn't have been discovered until morning, thus no one would have an alibi for the time of death.
Lois would inherit and Church would get his payday.
Actually, Lois could tell Church to sod off and he couldn't do anything except make unprovable accusations. Which would only serve to incriminate himself in extortion and conspiracy to commit murder. Something he'd be unlikely to do.
The police might suspect her, but without the evidence of the gun trick in Linda Mills apartment, nothing ties her to the murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
-Dennis