These films follow Nick and Nora Charles as they solve mysteries, and charm the world. Nick (William Powell) is a retired private investigator who is accompanied by his gorgeous, beautifully dressed, pent-house-rich wife, Nora (Myrna Loy). Even Asta, their darling little Fox Terrier, helps solve some crimes in his own special way. (Nothing too cute – more like wandering off, into an important clue-gathering setting.)
The Thin Man movies are based on Dashiell Hammett‘s The Thin Man mystery book. The dialogue runs at a clipped pace. There is a lot of smart banter, the most obvious between Nick and Nora.
Nora, having grown weary of her silver-spoon existence, is fascinated by the world of private investigation. It seems to thrill her, even though Nick is not quite so enthralled by it. I have not read Dashiell Hammett’s mystery, so I cannot comment on how close The Thin Man movies are to it. I can say that these movies are comedies — even though their “business” is murder and death.
- The Thin Man (1934)
- After the Thin Man (1936)
- Another Thin Man (1939)
- Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
- Song of the Thin Man (1947)
As an extra bonus, you will be able to see the other “stars” of Hollywood’s heyday: Jimmy Stewart, Cesar Romero, Maureen O’Sullivan, Donna Reed, the list goes on and on.
This movie series is definitely better if watched in its chronological order. You will meet characters who become “regulars” in Nick’s and Nora’s lives. Also, you learn how they, as a couple, become involved in the world of mystery-solving.>>> a world you wouldn’t expect to be as funny as it appears to be!
PS>>> I do have a warning of sorts: As with most movies from the 1930s and 1940s, there are several… “martini scenes” scattered throughout the movies… They don’t bother me – I just consider the times the movies were made – but I thought I should at least mention this to you.
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linda says
Danna, Now I did , and still do, liked to see movies with these actors that you have listed in this posting.. I don’t know why I didn’t care for Doris Day. I just didn’t. WWWWAAYYYYY back then, the movie houses, around here anyway, would have twin bills. The first movie would be what I suppose today would be called B movies(?). Some were really good, others not so.
I did see a lot of Doris Day movies but I just don’t watch these anymore.
One of the first things I do each morning is to check to see what is on TCM. There are some really good old movies on that channel! The mysteries are really and truly mysterious!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda, sounds like you are a prime candidate for the TCM magazine Andie told us about!
Marsha says
I am so glad I have the Thin Man Collection I enjoy all of them so much !!! I watch them often !!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marsha, I love these movies! There’s only one thing I don’t like about them: As in a lot of the movies from this same era, the drunk scenes seem to be “comedic situations” >>> which I’m not crazy about…
Trice says
William Powell also played Philo Vance in four of the movies of the series.
Besides the other stars in the movies it was always interesting to see the character actors from one movie to the next.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Trice, you are totally right! I saw S. S. Van Dine’s The Kennel Murder Case.>>> That movie was the reason I started seeking out Mary Astor movies, which led me to Dodsworth.
Tanya says
Oh, I love “Dodsworth”. For me, that was the movie that started me on a Mary Astor kick. She was so impressive to me.
Laura says
Danna: Totally agree on this one! I have the dvd set and have to say the later movies were not quite as good as the earlier ones, but still fun to watch.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Laura, I sort of remember having that same feeling Re: the later movies not being quite as good, but still fun…
linda says
I too don’t care for a lot of the remakes of most old movies. The newer versions seem, to me, to have way too much sex and violence that take away the storyline. There are exceptions though. I love the newer version of “The Miracle on 34th Street” better than the older version, maybe because I watched the newer one first.
Most of the newer versions of older TV series are the same way, to me anyway. The commercials of the newer TV versions of old shows (Example, Hawaii 5 O) show mostly the sex and violence. I see too much of that on the Evening News!
.
Julia says
I love the Thin Man movies, but I agree the first ones were the best. My favorite is “After the Thin Man”, which I believe was Jimmy Stewart’s debut (I could be wrong but I think that’s what it says on the DVD jacket). As much as I enjoy Dean Stockwell as an adult actor, I just couldn’t warm up to “Little Nicky.”
Petie says
I, too, have the entire THIN MAN series and never tire of watching them. The ‘martini scenes’ are so tame compared to what is filmed today … just shows you can have true entertainment without sex & filth. Classics in every way.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Petie, you make a great point: the “martini scenes” are nothing compared to today’s movies. These really are classics. How many of today’s will be watched 70 years from today?!?
Dru says
I love the Thin Man series, having watched them every time I see it on TV.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dru, looks like there are a lot of us who enjoy it that much!
Tori says
I’m another fan of the Thin Man series of movies! I think I did read the book years and years ago. As I recall it’s much more solemn and not as fun.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Tori, that makes sense. I never read any of Dashiell Hammett’s work, but I wouldn’t have thought of his books as being “light comedies”.
Tanya says
My Mom was determined to read the “Thin Man” by Hammett, she wanted to see the original character of ‘Nick Charles’. I warned her that he most probably wouldn’t be as likable as the guy in the films. He was a lot more of “ladies man” in the books. I think Nick & Nora had a kind of “open marriage” to accommodate his appetite, in the books.
Andie says
I have always been a fan of Willilam Powell in almost all of his roles and even with the “martini scenes” he was a believable detective.
During the ’60s, I worked for an internist who was later the medical director of the Motion Picture Country home and Hospital and many of the old film stars were patients and I often volunteered to work at fund raising events and got to meet many of the residents at MPCH. I met Mr. Powell at one of the events and he and his wife “Mousie” were just delightful.
He was wonderful in the Thin Man films but I think his best role was My Man Godfrey, which was only marginally a “mystery.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andie, how exciting! I have read about William Powell and “Mousie”>>> You must have loved volunteering at those fund raisers!
I have another Powell and Loy movie (The Great Ziegfeld) in my Sage’s TCM queue. I saw it years ago, but I am currently taping TCM showings that I think my husband would like. All this William Powell talk has me thinking that Ziegfeld will be our next venture…
Julia says
There is another old William Powell mystery (not a Thin Man) that you can purchase through Amazon (it’s one of those made-on-demand DVDs): Star of Midnight. Ginger Rogers is the co-star, and it really is a great example of the genre of mystery/screwball comedy. I saw it years ago on TCM and happened to remember it as I was pondering ways to spend my Christmas gift cards.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julia, I’ll program Star of Midnight on my DVR machine. Thanks for the tip about it. My husband and I love those old black and white movies. I looked at the description and think it looks a little like The Mad Miss Manton with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. (I am slowly introducing my husband to all of my favorite old movies.)
Andie says
I meant to add in my last post about the Detective & Mystery site: http://www.filmsite.org/mysteryfilms.html
which has a list of the early movie mysteries as well as the more recent ones.
I don’t know of a more comprehensive list, except for the extensive UCLA site that does take time to examine.
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks for all of the informative sites, Andie!
Patti says
I love the Thin Man series and have the set of DVD’s. I really prefer watching the older movies over the new ones out today. By the way, did you catch the Hildegarde Withers movies that have been on TCM on Saturday morning at 7:00 AM (CT). I love these movies, too, and unfortunately, they are not available on DVD. She is a teacher who manages to get involved in solving crimes. It is a treat!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Patti, I missed the Stuart Palmer’s Hildegarde Withers movies, but yesterday Andie told us about the next showing:
“On 10/15 at 5 a.m. Pacific time the Hildegarde Wither’s mystery “Murder on a Honeymoon” starring Edna Mae Oliver (1935) will air on TCM.”
I can’t wait!
Robin says
Laughed myself silly over these movies. The interchange between James Gleason as the cop and Miss Withers is a classic. I get so tired of what passes for witty dialogue in more modern film.
Susan says
Hi everyone! First of all, could someone explain TCM for a non-American please? 🙂
Secondly, while I’ve never actually seen the Thin Man movies, I treasure an old paperback copy of the book. It’s great, and I think a lot of people on here would like it. It’s not as dark as Hammett’s other work – which includes the classic ‘Maltese Falcon’!*
Whilst he was definitely not a cozy writer, he wasn’t as explicitly violent as a lot of today’s crime writers. (No graphic sex, either!!) I can highly recommend him if anyone wants something a little different.
Cheers everyone!
Susan.
*I do have this movie! I found the DVD in a local charity shop for $2 recently. Must watch it!! Lol!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I’m sorry, it never occurred to me that we were talking about something some of “our people” wouldn’t have access to.
TCM stands for Turner Classic Movies. It’s a channel that is devoted to just that. They have a huge inventory, and run the movies without advertisements spliced in between the film. A lot of the time, the movie starts without a host introducing the movie. But, when you’re lucky, a host introduces the movie. Robert Osborne is one of the channel’s beloved hosts who does a terrific job telling us little details about the production of the movie, etc.
Also, thank you for telling us about how good Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man mystery book is.
Make sure to make time to go watch that $2.00 movie. >>> I know you got your money’s worth on that bargain!!!
Andie says
For collectors of classic movies, etc., there is a compilation of online vendors at Reel Classics
http://www.reelclassics.com/Buy/videos.htm
and for folks in the UK, scroll down to Foreign Formats:
There you can find several vendors who specialize in the old classics.
I have both a PAL VHS and a region 2 DVD player for the many I have purchased from the UK that were not available in the US.
I used to buy a lot of VHS from BlackStar – now SendIt.
Including all of the “Carry On” films and many mysteries.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andie, it sounds like your television system is set up for every which way you get your movies!
Andie says
I am so lucky that a dear friend, unfortunately now gone, who was a sound technician in the film industry for half a century, set up my home theater for me and made it easy to add new technology as it became available. Besides the VHS and DVD players, I still have a laser disc player as he bequeathed me more than a thousand movies on laser disc. They are much larger and more difficult to store than DVDs but the resolution is far superior when seen side by side. The IMAX movies especially look incredibly sharp.
Vickie B says
I love love love this movie series!! I know what I am asking for on my Christmas list.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Vickie, and I have my Christmas/birthday list all ready, also!
Ann Philipp says
I love the Thin Man Series! I just watched Another Thin Man. I love how Nick is always friends with ex-cons that he’s ‘sent up the river’. In this one, one of the ex-con’s organizes a One Year Old Birthday party for little Nicky! So, funny!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ann, and it took someone like William Powell to make that whole “sent up the river”-best friends scenario plausible!
Susan says
Thanks Danna! No problems – and I have the day off today. It’s raining, so perfect for curling up with a hot drink and a good movie! 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I hope you enjoyed your day off!
Andie says
If anyone is hankering for more Thin Man productions, the radio shows that ran for nine years are just now being offered (two episodes so far) on Old Radio World.
(Did I mention I was a geeky 72-year-old gal who actually heard some of these shows live?)
http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Adventures_of_the_Thin_Man.php
Eventually they will all be available.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andie, no, you didn’t mention it. And, thanks for the information… about the old radio shows. I know someone who is quite interested in the old radio shows, so I am sure he will enjoy looking at this site.
Donna (Merry Mishaps blog) says
The only thing I like as much as reading a good mystery is watching a good classic film! William Powell is just dreamy. (Why don’t they make men like him anymore?) He’s in the fifties -era movie How to Marry a Millionaire and just as handsome and charming then as he was in the thirties! The novel isn’t quite as funny as the film but a good, traditional mystery in the pulp fiction genre. I like Hammett’s books but Raymond Chandler is my favorite.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, I just love William Powell. He always seems to have just a glint of the mischievous bad boy in his eyes. I bet he was a handful when he was a little tyke…
cc says
It’s a couple of years after your post, but I just stumbled upon the article and comments. How great to have met William Powell. I’d love to hear more about him in the 60s and 70s. There isn’t much about his later years.
Ed says
The first in the Thin Man series is in a darker tone and has more plot nuances because it was based on Hammett’s last novel written in 1933. He was going to be involved in the sequel but personal difficulties and difficulties the the growing power of the production code and the Legion of Decency prevented him from doing that. The Production Code and public attitudes about marriage changed the tone of the series by the last film which shows the fully domesticated Nick and Nora at Nick’s boyhood home.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Ed, for the information about the Thin Man movies.
barb says
I always seem to be late to the party!! lol I grew up watching old movies with my mom. I still love them. My favorites are murder mysteries!! Nick and Nora, Miss Marple, Poirot, Hildegarde (withers?), Philo Vance, oh the list goes on !! Nice to know I am not alone out here loving the old classics!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Barb, I’m glad you found us. You are definitely not alone!