The Thin Man

"The Thin Man" introduces film audiences to the Dashiell Hammett characters Nick and Nora Charles, portrayed by one of the great screen couples, William Powell and Myrna Loy. MGM was very surprised when the film, for which they had no ambitious plans, became a huge hit and even garnered four Oscar nominations.

This Nick and Nora have very little to do with Hammett's Nick and Nora, and it's just as well. William Powell and Myrna Loy created a lively, fun, loving couple that's all their own. The two actors worked better together than probably any other team - they're the non-dancing Astaire and Rogers. Loy's entrance into this film - she's dragged by Asta into a bar while she's balancing Christmas gifts and ends up flat on her face - is one of the best. Nick is pretty much smashed through most of the movie - people drank a lot more in those days. Powell manages to be elegant, funny, smart, warm, and do slapstick - sometimes all at the same time. Asta has a helluva time keeping up with them.

A very pretty Maureen O'Sullivan costars as a young woman whose father is missing and then is suspected of killing his ex-wife - that's for starters. He seems to be on a killing spree. Though Charles hasn't been involved in detective work in four years, she begs him to help her. After a visit from the police in the middle of the night, Nora asks Nick, "Are you going to take her case?" "Take it?" Nick asks, reaching for the booze. "I'm in it!"

Highly recommended for first-class chemistry, wit, humor, a good mystery, and overall enjoyment.

The Thin Man is directed by W. S. Van Dyke and co-written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. It is based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. Starring are William Powell and Myrna Loy, with support coming from Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall and Skippy as Astra the dog. William Axt scores the music and James Wong Howe is the cinematographer.

Plot finds Powell and Loy as married couple, Nick and Nora Charles, he is a retired detective, she a good time heiress. Planning to finally settle down, their life is upturned when Nick is called back into detective work due to a friend's disappearance and the possibility he was also involved in a murder. Murder, malarkey and mirth are about to become the order of the day.

It was the big surprise hit of 1934. Afforded only a tiny budget because studio head honcho Louis B. Mayer thought it was dud material, and he ordered for it to be completed in under three weeks time! Film made stars out of Powell and Loy and coined an impressive $2 million at the box office. Also birthing a franchise (5 film sequels and a radio and television series would follow), it's a film that has irresistible charm leaping out from every frame. It's easy to see even now why a mid 1930's audience could take so warmly to such an appealing motion picture.

From the off the film was in good hands, Dyke (One-Take Woody as he was sometimes known) was an unfussy director with a keen eye for pacing and casting, both of which are things that shine through in this production. There's also considerable talent in the writing, both in the source material and with the script writers. Hammett based his witty bantering couple on himself and his relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman, this was ideal material for Hackett and Goodrich, themselves a happily married couple fondly thought of in the cut and thrust world of Hollywood. As a couple they would go on to write It's a Wonderful Life for Frank Capra and win the Pulitzer Prize for their play The Diary of Anne Frank.

It stands out as a film of note because it successfully marries a murder mystery story with a screwball comedy spin, this was something new and exciting. While the believable relationship between Powell and Loy was also a breath of fresh air - a married couple deeply in love, devoted, funny, boozey and bouncing off of each other with witty repartee. It can never be overstated just how good Powell and Loy are here, true enough they are given an absolutely zinging script to work from, but the level of comedy, both in visual ticks and delivery of lines, is extraordinarily high.

Small budget and a small shoot, but everything else about The Thin Man is big. Big laughs, big mystery and big love, all bundled up into a joyous bit of classic cinema. 9/10

W.S. Van Dyke's 1934 film "The Thin Man" stars Myrna Loy and William Powell as Nora and Nick Charles, upper class sleuths who unwittingly become caught up in the case of a missing friend and former client. Nick is a former detective who has been in retirement for the last four years, living the high life with Nora when Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O'Sullivan) implores with them to help find her father, who has been missing for three months. Throughout the investigation, Nick and Nora rarely are without a drink in their hands, are forever trading bons mots and getting themselves into comical situations; they even get their terrier Asta in on their investigation.

"The Thin Man" is a great detective story that is enhanced by its classiness and humor. Powell is definitely the physical comedian of the pair, with Loy looking stunning and conveying so much with the looks she gives him. I honestly found myself guessing the outcome until the end, which culminates in a deliciously wonderful dinner party where all of the guests are suspects. It is stunning that this film was made in 1934, because it seems so ahead of its time; which is probably just one reason why it is so highly regarded and remains on many critics' lists. "The Thin Man" is so thoroughly enjoyable, and its stars (including Asta) are so engaging that I look forward to seeing more in the six-film series. Rent this one or catch it on Turner Classic Movies, like I did. It is well worth seeing, and surely an inspiration to many film genres ranging from screwball comedies to detective stories. A very strong 8/10.

--Shelly

A great comic murder mystery that relies on the acting and snappy dialog and less on the plot, which otherwise is a standard whodunit from a novel by Dash Hammett. Powell, Loy and O'Sullivan give it their all as society people caught up in a trashy murder involving Mrs. Tarzan's zany scientist dad. Were it not for these three, the film would likely be unwatchable today. They are nicely supported by an army of bit players doing their best Runyon-esquire impressions as felons and thugs who all seem to have a passion for Powell's Nick Charles, ex-cop and now the gin-swilling husband of millionairess Loy. The story takes place at Christmastime in Manhattan, which gives it a nice sense of time and place even though it was clearly shot on Hollywood sound stages. No one apparently planned on a followup, but the movie proved so popular, the entire production team was back in place two years later for the only slightly less captivating AFTER THE THIN MAN, this time set in California on New Year's Eve.

Often said, but still a marvel to watch, even after 72 years. If you want some intelligent fun with that since long vanished Hollywood class, catch this one. This comic murder mystery introduced the world to one of the most perfect screen matches I know, the incomparable duo William Powell and Myrna Loy. Shot by Woody "one shot" van Dyke in just twelve days with many of the first takes used in the film, it still comes across as wonderfully fresh.

The story revolves around William Powell as detective Nick Charles, who tries to crack the case of a missing scientist, together with his wife Nora (Myrna Loy). But forget about this whodunit aspect of the film, it's not that important. It's just adding to the fun. It's all about the marvellous interaction between Powell and Loy, simply the most wonderful screen pairing ever. Their constant courtship is a marvel to look at and watching the wonderful chemistry burning of the screen leaves me in a pleasant happy daze, slightly intoxicating.

They must be one of the very few boozy characters in the history of cinema, that seem to be drunk all the time and be continuously happy at the same time. On a continuous drinking frenzy, they're either perpetually pixillated or fighting the hang-over. Never marry someone who doesn't join you when drinking. Nora certainly does.

When they meet up in a restaurant Nora asks: 'Say, how many drinks have you had?'. 'Uhmm, this will make six Martini's.' 'Alright, waiter, will you bring me five more Martini's. You can all line them up right here.'

Between the endless string of cocktail parties their lives seem to consist of, he still needs to crack a murder case, as a journalist remembers him. 'Do you know anything about the case?' 'Yes, it's putting me way behind in my drinking.'

A stellar supporting cast, a witty script with wonderful dialog, style and class to spare, and most importantly, the one of a kind chemistry between Powell and Loy all contribute to the enjoyment of this film. A real winner.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10