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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Thin Man Collection
A laugh tops every thrilling moment!
Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke and adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Thin Man combines witty dialogue, sophisticated comedy, romance, and classic mystery. William Powell and Myrna Loy are perfectly matched as Nick and Nora Charles, whose playful banter and effortless chemistry made them one of Hollywood’s most beloved screen couples. This stylish 1934 mystery remains a landmark of classic American cinema.
John Chard
Dec 23, 2018 · via TMDB
Waiter, will you serve the nuts? ...I mean, will you serve the guests the nuts? 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
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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William Powell
Nick Charles
Myrna Loy
Nora Charles
Maureen O'Sullivan
Dorothy Wynant
Nat Pendleton
Inspector Guild
Minna Gombell
Mimi Wynant
Porter Hall
Herbert MacCaulay
Henry Wadsworth
Tommy
William Henry
Gilbert Wynant
Harold Huber
Arthur Nunheim
Cesar Romero
Chris Jorgenson
Natalie Moorhead
Julia Wolf
Edward Brophy
Joe Morelli
Edward Ellis
Clyde Wynant
Brooks Benedict
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
Tui Bow
Stenographer (uncredited)
Ruth Channing
Mrs. Jorgenson (uncredited)
Jack Cheatham
Detective (uncredited)
Clay Clement
Quinn (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty
Fighter at Party (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Nick's Party Guest (uncredited)
Douglas Fowley
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank
Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Creighton Hale
Reporter (uncredited)
Edward Hearn
Detective (uncredited)
Robert Homans
Billy (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson
Reporter (uncredited)
Sydney Jarvis
Witness (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
John Larkin
Porter (uncredited)
Walter Long
Stutsy Burke (uncredited)
Fred Malatesta
Joe (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien
Bartender (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor
Detective Waiter (uncredited)
Garry Owen
Detective (uncredited)
Lee Phelps
Detective (uncredited)
Bob Reeves
Cop (uncredited)
Bert Roach
Crying Man at Party (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan
Waiter (uncredited)
Gertrude Short
Marian (uncredited)
Lee Shumway
Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Pietro Sosso
Butler (uncredited)
Ben Taggart
Police Captain (uncredited)
Phil Tead
Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook
Guest at Nick's Party (uncredited)
Leo White
Leo (uncredited)
Charles Williams
Fighter Manager (uncredited)
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
David Townsend
Assistant Art Director
Edwin B. Willis
Assistant Art Director
James Wong Howe
Director of Photography
Eugene Joseff
Other
Lesley Selander
Assistant Director
W.S. Van Dyke
Director
Hunt Stromberg
Producer
David Snell
Orchestrator
Douglas Shearer
Sound Director
Dashiell Hammett
Novel
Albert Hackett
Screenplay
Frances Goodrich
Screenplay
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Stripper Wives
1999
Sally's Beauty Spot
1990
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
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