Film Review: The Thin Man (1934)

William Powell and Myrna Loy represent one of the greatest screen couples in history of Hollywood. When they first appear together in Manhattan Melodrama, their screen chemistry was so strong that the studios paired them in thirteen more films. Six of those films belong to the series of crime comedies started with The Thin Man, 1934 film directed W. S. Van Dyke.

The film is based on 1933 novel by Dashiell Hammett. The protagonist is Nick Charles (played by Powell), former detective who abandoned his career after marrying rich socialite Nora (played by Loy). The couple, due to large amounts of money at their disposal, spend all their time travelling around country, sleeping in luxury hotels, partying and drinking with their large set of friends. That involves Dorothy Wynant (played by Margaret O’Sullivan) who asks Nick to employ his old skills to help her find her father, inventor Clyde Wynant (played by Edward Ellis) who failed to show up at her wedding despite promising to do so three months earlier. Nick’s quest becomes complicated when Clyde’s secretary and lover Julia Wolf (played by Natalie Moorhead), who embezzled money from his company, gets murdered. Police led by Lt. John Guild (played by Nat Pendleton) are convinced that Clyde did and make him a suspect in another murder. Nick, however, thinks differently and, with a help of Nora’s trusted wire-haired fox terrier Asta (played by “Skippy”), makes a shocking discovery that would turns investigation upside down.

The original novel and even more its adaptation might look odd for the opus of Dashiel Hammett, author best known for “hard boiled” crime fiction about cynical private investigators dealing with underbelly of urban America. Thin Man is, on the other hand, has amateur detective as protagonist and is set in upper class milieu. The film actually looks more like an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel, especially during finale in which Nick gathers all suspects in order to pronounce the real murderer. For Hammett the novel was rather personal affair, because the banter between Nick and Nora Charles was inspired by his own experiences with romantic partner and fellow writer Lillian Hellman. That quality was recognised by scriptwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, a married couple that improved with the dialogues but, more importantly, efficiently depicted spouses that, despite of years living together, haven’t lost passion for each other. Sharp dialogue and occasional scenes of light physical comedy benefit a lot from excellent work by Powell and Loy. Characters of Nick and Nora also their fuel their carefree lifestyle and attitudes with large amounts of alcohol that make them drunk and sometimes having to deal with hangovers, also shown in comical ways. That was clearly film makers’ references on recently repealed Prohibition and new ability of Americans to enjoy drinking openly. This content is more enjoyable than rather weak “whodunnit” plot that are made interesting only due to large number of murder suspects, played by very good character actors. As one of the very last Hollywood films released before the enforcement of infamous MPAA Production Code, The Thin Man also features some sexual innuendo that would soon become unacceptable, including the final scene in sleeping car very much like the one in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest quarter of century later. MGM didn’t expect much of the film, directed efficiently by W. S. Van Dyke, but it turned out to be big hit at the box office and, surprisingly, got nominated for number of Oscars. Popularity of Nick, Nora and Asta led to five sequels (three directed by Van Dyke, who had already started another successful series with Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1932) who were using “Thin Man” in titles despite such character in original film not being Nick Charles.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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