"The Thin Man" (1957) TV series 1957-1959

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

20 September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Plot:

Nick Charles, an ex-private detective, marries Nora and lives in a luxurious Park Avenue apartment in New York City...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Husband Wife Relationship | Amateur Detective | Nick And Nora Charles | Based On Film

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Peter Lawford	...	Nick Charles (72 episodes, 1957-1959)
Phyllis Kirk	...	Nora Charles (72 episodes, 1957-1959)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Clarington Productions

Trivia:

Peter Lawford's mother, Mary Somerville, appeared as society columnist in the episode "Ring Around Rosie".

Movie Connections:

Featured in "MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1992)

Would Like To See This Again Now . . .

In the early '60s before TV ad rates became astronomical and before small local stations joined large syndicated networks, the airwaves were full of old movies and TV series reruns because no one much cared about the ratings during off hours. Among the antique TV shows from the early and mid '50s that were endlessly repeated were (probably terrible) chestnuts like MY LITTLE MARGIE, OH, SUSANNAH!, PRIVATE SECRETARY, THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE, AMOS 'N' ANDY, THE LIFE OF RILEY, December BRIDE, TOPPER, I MARRIED JOAN, OUR MISS BROOKS, LOVE THAT BOB, and one that I remember especially fondly, THE THIN MAN starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk and with the sexy and incomparable Nita Talbot in a recurring role.

I remember virtually nothing about it except the impressions it left me with: Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk seemed dry, pleasant and sophisticated and had a nice chemistry together. I knew nothing of Powell and Loy and the original series of films at the time, so Lawford and Kirk seemed delightful. And even in childhood, I LOVED Nita Talbot, who guested on lots of other series of the period. Tall, with a model's figure and bearing, she usually wore a Veronica Lake pageboy and had a wry, slinky beauty which suggested a cross between Lauren Bacall and Anne Francis. But her voice was honking and grating and she had a N.Y. accent as thick as a slice of corned beef. The incongruity was delicious and she was wonderful.

The only plot I remember in the series was one in which it was implied that a murdered woman (I seem to remember her as a waitress) had been hacked to pieces and hidden in a trunk -- precisely the kind of grisly detail a child would remember.

While I'm willing to believe this series was awful (certainly most or all of the others I listed must have been) I'd love to see several episodes again, and I'd love to know whatever happened to Nita Talbot.