Dir.
W.S. Van Dyke, 1934, US, 80 mins, b/w
Cast:
William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Thin Man remains one of the all time great detective films - crammed with sparkling dialogue (the sound era was just seven years old), enough plot twists to give you whiplash and setting the standard for buddy films ever since.
Filmed in 1934 from a Dashiell Hammett novel, the first Thin Man spawned a successful series of six films, giving the public what it wanted in ever decreasing doses while setting in motion the concept of the sequel that would underpin Hollywood 's fortunes for decades to come.
The Thin Man franchise features Nick and Nora Charles (played by Powell and Loy) as a wealthy husband and wife detective team. The concept proved durable enough to make a successful cross-over to television in the late 1950s and later generated successful imitators in the form of McMillan and Wife and then Hart to Hart .
On screen, Nick and Nora Charles offer a taste of luxury and indulgence that appealed to a nation still in the grip of the Depression. Nick has retired as a detective to live off (or perhaps drink) his wife's immense inheritance and only reluctantly gets involved in solving crimes. He'd prefer to shake martinis, knock back tumblers of rye and glide through the hedonistic world of night clubs (Prohibition had just ended in December 1933) than do anything too energetic.
Although the title of the first film refers to the murder victim, the sobriquet is indelibly linked with the medium-build Powell himself. Suave, glib, and always with a glass in his hand, he leads us through a haze of low-life that his sleuthing partner wants to experience first hand.
This is Nora Charles at her most liberated and intelligent - as the sequels rolled off the assembly line, Nick and Nora become more domesticated, they have a baby, move to the suburbs and by the last film in 1947 Nick has finally been housebroken without a glimpse of a gin bottle anywhere.
But in this first outing, the sleuths ricochet like pin balls off hoodlums, gigolos, stool pigeons, crooked accountants and dodgy lawyers until finally Nick unveils the murderer at a dinner party he has thrown for all the suspects.
The plot twists and turns at incredible speed, but we're willing to trust Nick and his rat-tat-tat commentary will deliver us safely to the truth. Blink and you might miss a gem, such as when Nick is wounded by a gun-toting gangster, he discusses the newspaper coverage of the event the following morning with Nora.
Nick : I was shot twice in the Tribune .
Nora : I read you were shot five times in the tabloids.
Nick : It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.
The first of the Thin Man films was nominated for four Academy Awards but lost out to the equally ground-breaking It Happened One Night which swept the board that year with five Oscars.
Despite being made more than 70 years ago, The Thin Man remains essential viewing for any lover of sophisticated comedy, superb writing and expert direction. A classic!
Paul Hannon
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