The Thin Man (film)

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For other uses, see The Thin Man (disambiguation).

The Thin Man

Directed by	W.S. Van Dyke
Produced by	Hunt Stromberg
Written by	Dashiell Hammett (novel) Albert Hackett Frances Goodrich
Starring	William Powell Myrna Loy
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	May 23, 1934 (USA)
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
Budget	$226,408 (est.)
IMDb profile

The Thin Man was the first of six comic detective films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a hard-drinking and flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they easily solve crimes. Their dog, the Wire-Haired Fox Terrier Asta, played by Skippy, was also a popular character.

Completed in 1934 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke from a script by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich; the screenplay was based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, supposedly based on his relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman. Also appearing in the film were Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Cesar Romero, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber and Natalie Moorhead.

The "Thin Man" of the title was actually the lead suspect, but the name was thought by virtually everyone to refer to Nick Charles, and it was used in the titles of the sequels, although no one ever called him that.

This movie was followed by five sequels:

After the Thin Man (1936)

Another Thin Man (1939)

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

The 1934 film has been selected for preservation in the United States' National Film Registry.

1 Plot
2 Radio and television
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Nick Charles, a retired detective, and his wife Nora are attempting to settle down when he's pulled back into service by a friend's disapearance and possible involvement in a murder. The friend, Clyde Wynant (the thin man referenced by the film's title), has mysteriously vanished just after his former lover is found dead. Wynant quickly becomes the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy can't believe he did it. She convinces Nick to take the case much to the amusement of his socialite wife. With a drink in his hand and a smirk on his face, the detective stumbles off to find clues. The mystery deepens as the empty martini glasses and dead bodies pile up. Between witty exchanges, the couple manages to piece things together. The murderer is finally revealed in an amusing meeting between all of the prime suspects.

[edit] Radio and television

The Adventures of the Thin Man radio series, initially starring Les Damon and Claudia Morgan, was broadcast on all four major radio networks during the years 1941 to 1950.

The half-hour weekly TV series, produced by MGM Television, was shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959, starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as the Charleses. In 1975, Craig Stevens and Jo Ann Pflug starred in the television film Nick and Nora. A 1991 musical, Nick and Nora, starring Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason in the title roles, closed after only nine performances.