The Thin Man

Where to begin? I guess I'll start off by saying that this is one of my favorite films of all time. I first saw it on TV years ago (I was probably eleven or twelve) and I still totally love it. Every time I see it, I feel like I get more out of it. I feel like I see AND hear more than I did before.

The story goes that creepy Clyde Wynant (wonderful character actor Edward Ellis) wants to give some bonds to his daughter Dorothy (Maureen O'Sullivan) as a wedding present. But his mistress Julia (Natalie Moorhead) has gotten rid of them. When Julia turns up murdered, Wynant is the obvious suspect, but nobody can find him.

Enter Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy), a detective and heiress, just recently married, and clearly very much in love. Nick finds himself pulled into the case, with everyone around him urging him into it. He's reluctant: it's his honeymoon after all. But sure enough he's persuaded to take the case, solves it and exposes the murderer at a climactic dinner party.

Bill Powell and Myrna Loy have astounding chemistry. As husband and wife, they are equals, equally hard-drinking, equally witty, equally fun-loving. They have the same sense of adventure, the same stubbornness, the same competitiveness. In so many scenes, Powell will saw something in his playful, semi-childish, half-drunk sort of way, and Loy will respond with some fabulously delivered retort, in a manner that is almost like a world-wary mother saying to her child 'Now, now, Junior...' It's hard to describe exactly. If anything, I suppose you could say it's deceptively simple. It's one of those things you have to see for yourself.

The rest of the cast is good. I particularly love Minna Gombell, Mynant's ex-wife Mimi, with her latin boyfriend (Cesar Romero) and her tight, shiny black dresses with white fur-lined princess sleeves. Slight, ernest and bespeckeled, William Henry turns in a riotous performance as Gilbert, Mimi and Clyde Wynant's son and Dorothy's brother. A Kinsey-lke figure, the role of Gilbert is one of those bookish, overly-analytical Hollywood stock characters who try to explain other character's subconscious reasons for their actions, and who give strangers peculiar looks at parties. Henry makes the character believable, and he stands out as one of the characters in the movie. Gerturde Short, in an uncredited role, gives a good performance as well. Her delivery of the "I don't like crooks, and if I did like'em..." line is unforgettable. (If you blink, you'll miss Tui Lorraine Bow, friend and step-mother of It Girl Clara Bow! Bert Roach of The Crowd has a small role as well.)

For a modestly-budgeted, rapidly shot, b-level production, The Thin Man is a classy and stylish film. The clothes, assembled by the genial Dolly Tree, are great, and make this a must-see anyone even remotely interested in period fashions. The art deco sets are quite fine, if modest and at times a bit sparse. The editing is good, as is the fairly simplistic photography. Woody Van Dyke, the director, always worked fast, and Myrna Loy recalled that all the movies they worked together on were made at frantic pace. Part of the reason that The Thin Man moves so quickly is the fact that production was so hurried.

The Thin Man gets a ten out of ten from me for being one of the best films ever produced, and one of my absolute favorites of all time.

Never mind trying to follow plot, instead follow the banter between Nick and Nora Charles, as portrayed by William Powell and Myrna Loy in this delightful comic mystery. Between the banter and the sexual innuendoes, the constant guzzling and shennanigans, this sophisticated couple actually do manage to solve a murder or three.

This seventy year old film still holds up well today and the reason is that the screenwriters knew how to write dialogue and character and were not dependent on action sequences to fill in the blanks like so many of today's screenwriters and directors, who are too busy chasing the big dollar to make a movie that is going to stand up over time. How many of today's action movies will we be watching seventy years from now?

Admittedly, there is some clumsy acting by some of the minor characters, at least viewed from today's point of view, but don't let that, like the plot, get in your way or you will miss out on what this charming film has to offer. And say, who was that Thin Man, anyway?

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.

Nick Charles (William Powell) is a former detective who returns to NYC with his new wife Nora (Myrna Loy) and their dog Asta after 4 years in California. He's happily retired after Nora's father left them a fortune. His friend inventor Clyde Wynant has mysteriously disappeared after he confronts his secretary Julia Wolf about $50k in missing bonds. Clyde's ex-wife Mimi (Minna Gombell) is looking for more money but finds a dead Julia Wolf instead. Clyde becomes the prime suspect. Clyde's daughter Dorothy (Maureen O'Sullivan) refuses to believe it. Nora convinces Nick to take the case after gangster Joe Morelli barges in on them.

William Powell and Myrna Loy are terrific together. Their dialog is quick and snappy. It's loads of fun. If anything, this movie needs more of them. That's my only complaint. The movie takes too long to get to them as it concentrates on Wynant and the murder. The murder mystery works well but not necessarily anything original. This is simply a fun couple and the movie is best with both of them on the screen.

"The Thin Man", a deliciously superb mix that keeps getting richer becomes better with every single viewing. The first time I missed a bit of the murder plot, but repeated viewings just enhance the movie.

It has started making me wanted to go out, get a terrier and call it Asta, drink too much for my own good and become a private eye detective. And move to New York. The lovable couple make it all look fun, and even if they do drink too much. Only after I have snapped out of admiration mode for the movie I remember that they were highly paid actors following a script in a hit film of 1934, and I'm living in the year 2000, cannot get a dog, am living in Sydney, and worst of all, I'm fourteen, so I can't drink or become a detective. Such is the modern manner of the movie. It is one of the very few films of its time that retains its freshness, intrigue and brilliant humour.

William Powell and Myrna Loy are incredibly likeable, the wisecracking darlings of society who we all want to know. Their performances were both absolutely brilliant! Some of their antics are a good deal wilder than those we are used to, but in fear of being caught up in murder would keep me away from them, but not long enough. I don't believe there are any shallow characters at all. Thank goodness for "The Thin Man". One of the first to show an affectionate couple in love, I'm still scanning for the same in movies of the 50s.

W.S Dyke is of course not one of the most remembered directors of his time, but for this alone he could be considered a great director. He was not Alfred Hitchcock, but he successfully combined high comedy, crime and thrills into one film. No wonder the major film studios were hot after this property. And Dyke didn't have to rely on the excruciatingly hilarious elements of slapstick. A married couple and a dog was all that was needed. Such a simple thing to emphasise on, and how well it worked! Could there be a more stolen plot of today?

Unfortunately, MGM, despite creating one of the best teamings of the era by putting the platonic Powell and Loy together, released this film in 1934. A nominee for Best Picture, Actor and Director, among other things, it was Capra's "It Happened One Night" that made history by becoming the first film in history to sweep the five major categories at the Oscars. If it had been released in 1933, it would have beaten the now forgotten "Calvacade", in 1935 it may have swept some Oscars up against "Mutiny on the Bounty". I wonder why Loy was not nominated. The film simply could not have been done without her.

Powell and Loy went on to make many movies together. Asta, appeared again as George in the 1938 slapstick masterpiece "Bringing Up Baby".

Although we need some good movies now, no one should even think contemplate for a split second on a remake. There is no way justice could be done to this film. It is a comic masterpiece that continually tricks the viewers, and without a doubt, one of the very best and brightest movies of the 1930s.

I hope I can watch the other "Thin Man" movies. I will definitely be reading the book. The film ended half an hour ago, but I already feel like going back for a second helping.

Rating: 10/10