The Thin Man (1934)

May 25, 1934. MGM released another quickly-produced mystery film starring two of its stars, William Powell and Myrna Loy. That film was based on a Dashiell Hammett novel. It began as just another quickie mystery, but ended up becoming a huge critical and commercial success, as well as being William Powell and Myrna Loy’s defining career roles. Which movie was that again?

The Thin Man. Surprised?

The chronicle of the entire series is best left to better writers, so we direct you to Rich Drees’ essential piece on the subject, whereas Hollywood Dreamland will continue to provide its oddball view of the series for the fan who knows many of the Thin Man basics. And we’re spoiler free, as always.

Nick’s introduction is iconic. The camera moves along as a jazzy dance number fills the hotel bar and we see the back of our hero while he’s giving an impromptu clinic to bartenders on the proper way to mix a Martini:


“The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.”


And thus the magic begins. After the ten-minute set up which covers the mystery part of the film, we get the brilliant opening to one of the greatest-ever movie characters. The setting is sophisticated, the joint itself is wonderful, and the character is holding forth on the subject he knows more about than anyone in this old brown world: Drinking. Nick’s intro is mind blowing when I think about it, because it’s easy to take this perfect entry for granted to a character many of us would love to be. There are very few introductions to characters that measure up to that of William Powell’s tippling super sleuth. And as is often the case in things likes this, the shot was the first used and Powell didn’t even know it until after director Van Dyke said “Print”! Such was the ease and expertise of “One Take Woody” who always got a film done under budget and on time.


“Oh, it's all right, Joe. It's all right. It's my dog; and, uh, my wife.”

“Well you might have mentioned me first on the billing.”




Both Powell and Loy’s introductory scenes were devised by Woody Van Dyke. It’s no small wonder that he would receive a Best Director nomination for The Thin Man. Van Dyke was just as important to the Thin Man’s success as Powell and Loy were. It was he who asked Louis B. Mayer to cast the two as the leads and it was Van Dyke who wanted to direct the property in the first place, as the director was an admirer of Hammett’s work and hardboiled mysteries in general.



“Well, can't you tell us anything about the case?”

“Yes, it's putting me way behind in my drinking.”


Even the trailer for The Thin Man is fresh and amusing because it stars William Powell in character as both of his iconic detective roles. Philo Vance is walking down the street and spots a billboard for the new MGM movie, and Nick Charles, who’s pictured on the billboard, begins a conversation with his former incarnation! It’s brilliant! Imagine if the outgoing James Bond actor had a similar set up with the incoming 007? It’d never happen.


“How'd you like Grant's tomb?”

“It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.”


Nora gets the best lines in this movie, though most everything said by Nick is also highly and dangerously quotable. The more I see this movie—and I’ve seen it a lot—and it keeps getting better. Lines I know by heart invoke a smile and knowing laughter, but then more dialogue sprouts up that I hadn’t taken notice of previously! This film is stacked with wonderfully witty dialogue and it never stops! The immediate sequel, After the Thin Man, may have more laughs, but the original is a better film in every respect. It’s still fresh and vital the thirtieth time around as it is the first. I actually didn’t like the movie the first time around! The second and fourth films received several viewings from me before I had seen this one, so I was accustomed to the sequels’ comedic fireworks. I was initially put off by the first ten minutes of mystery-in-the-making. We don’t even see, hear, or know about Nick and Nora until after the mystery has been established.




“Say, how did you people happen to pop in here?”

“We hear this is getting to be sort of a meeting place for the Wynant family, so we figured we'll stick around just in case the old boy himself should show up. Then we see this bird sneak in, we decide to come up. And lucky for you we did!”

“Yes, I might not have been shot.”

William Powell snagged an Oscar nod for his first turn as Nick Charles, and boy did he deserve it. The sum of Powell’s total charm, elegance, and wit as Nick can be seen in the Christmas party where he works the room spouting off multiple witticisms and banter while distributing a tray of cocktails. He gives Nora a peck on the cheek and Loy’s smile makes me think that it was an improvisation on Powell’s part. Either that, or Myrna Loy was such a good actress that she can make us believe she was surprised. Whatever the case, she’s great and so is he. Effortless charm! And the scene definitely gives off a “Christmas party” feeling, as there’s much merriment in this scene. And Nora is wearing an absolutely gorgeous (red and white?) striped dress for the occasion; I often wonder why it doesn’t get more attention from style mavens.

Best scene in the entire film: Christmas morning at the Charles’ hotel room. Nora is bemusedly watching Nick shoot the Christmas tree bulbs off of the tree with the new “zip gun” she got him for Christmas. This is the kind of device that the Student School Handbook “warned” us about.

Nick: [to Nora in fur coat] “Aren’t you hot in that?”

Nora: “Yes, I’m stifling; but it’s so pretty!”

***

Nick: "I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.

Nora: “I read you were shot five times in the tabloids.”

Nick: “That’s a lie. He didn’t come anywhere near my tabloids!”

The Thin Man was filmed in sixteen days in April 1934. The evil, puritanical Production Code amendment was issued on June 13, 1934 which required films to receive a certificate of approval. The Thin Man was released in May of that year, so it would appear that they got their "naughty" content in under the wire. Otherwise, how would that look-fast-or-you’ll-miss-it lingerie ad make it past the censors? Or what about the Nunheim and Marion characters, who live together yet don’t appear to be married?

The Supporting Cast

Maureen O’Sullivan: (Dorothy Wynant) Young and lovely O’Sullivan was just twenty-three when she appeared made this movie and she’s a delight. Innocent, beautiful, and she’s one of the few three-dimensional characters in all of Thin Man land. She evinces much sympathy and is a delight to watch. It’s interesting to see O’Sullivan here and then flashing forward to 1986’s Hannah and Her Sisters to see her as a show-biz mother, all boozy and temperamental. All those drinks with Nick must’ve done it.

William Henry: (Gilbert) Hard to believe that the actor who played the odd, bookish, twenty-year-old boy with the carefully measured speaking tones would later become a rugged character actor who showed up in countless movie and TV Westerns! I know him from his brief role as “Dodd Draper” in the 1967 John Wayne film, El Dorado. It’s a splendid reinvention.

Nat Pendleton: (Lt. Guild) He’s there with Nick, trying to solve this case. He shoots off a couple good lines, especially one at Gilbert’s expense. Pendleton had already appeared with Powell in Manhattan Melodrama, where he played Clark Gable’s lackey. He wa suitably dopey in that but he’s not as dim here.

Porter Hall: (MacCaulay) Wynant’s attorney. You may also know him as one of the reporters in 1940’s His Girl Friday. Or any number of assorted attorneys and judges in major motion pictures of the 30s and 40s. Hall was a non-nonsense character actor, the kind they can’t/don’t/won’t make anymore. Hall has the great ability to blend into the background and become the character. It’s what great acting is all about.

Harold Huber: (Nunheim) This guy’s name gets said more than any other! I found myself saying the name “Nunheim” like an absent-minded obsessive-compulsive! Nunheim is real trash, the kind they still make, unfortunately. But he manages to elicit sympathy because he’s such a pathetic sap.

Gertrude Short: (Marion) Nunheim’s shacked up with this tootsie, and she’s brilliant! Short has more charisma than most leading ladies today. In The Thin Man, Marion and Nunheim have, shall we say, a less than ideal relationship. She really lets poor Nunheim have it, too.

Edward Brophy: (Morelli) Another “repeat offender” in the Thin Man series. He also appeared as the shrub-loving postcard salesman, Brophy, in The Thin Man Goes Home. Here he’s the dangerous and ill-tempered Morelli, who holds Nick and Nora at gunpoint in their bedroom. Morelli was carrying on with Wynant’s mistress and is a key suspect in the latter’s death.

Cesar Romero: (Chris) He looks suitably menacing and is a deadbeat all at once. The always-enjoyable Romero would enjoy a sixty-year career as a variety of amusing roles. This is the earliest role I’ve seen him in.

Edward Ellis: (Wynant) As most aficionados know, Wynant is the title character. The tag was so catchy that it came to mean any movie in this series. The character’s a curmudgeon and a philanderer, too. I’ve only seen Edward Ellis in a Garson Kanin-directed called A Man to Remember (1938). Ellis plays a small-town doctor and he’s vastly different from the jerk he plays here. The film would appear to be rare because the print TCM showed had Swedish subtitles on it. Perhaps that was all that could be found.

The film’s lovely is again Myrna Loy, who simply radiates with intelligence, beauty, poise, and cool—long before that word’s meaning was killed through misuse. This is Loy before that “Ideal Wife” nonsense killed her original appeal. In her maiden voyage as Nora Charles, she’s just amazing and we’ve never had anyone like her. Loy’s an original, that’s for sure. It's a crime that she was overlooked at Oscar time. A crime.

The finale is done in typical mystery fashion, the assembly of the suspects. Nick and Nora do this with style also, as it’s at a swank dinner party with Nora wearing an amazingly sexy black evening gown. I’m told its black satin, but it looks more like leather! Yowza! Of course Nick solves the mystery of Wynant’s death and while it may take a few viewings to entirely remember the large cast and their motivations and connections, the wit and undeniable chemistry between Powell and Loy will bring you back time and again. There’s nothing more comforting than a cherished classic movie to lift one’s spirits again. The Thin Man does it for me every time.

If I had to live my life in a movie, it would be as Nick Charles in a never-ending Thin Man mystery. I’d crack wise, banter back and forth with my lovely wife, have the best dog ever, and hold a perpetual cocktail in my hand. The Thin Man is well-loved by classic movie lovers, but I still feel—despite the strong sales of the Complete Thin Man Collection DVD set—that it is a film, and series, largely unknown by the general public. It’s known mostly through word-of-mouth and via regular runs on Turner Classic Movies, which is probably the only channel that airs these films. I think of the series as a well-kept, but open, secret.

What are you waiting for? Get this now!

After the Thin Man (1936)

The Plot: Nick and Nora track down Nora’s cousin’s lecherous, waywardly husband, who ends up murdered on New Year’s Eve; many laughs (and plot twists) follow.

The Thin Man was a surprise smash hit, so a sequel was quickly planned in order to capitalize on the tremendous on-screen chemistry between stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. That cinematic lightning-in-a-bottle was enough to convince screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett that the second film should include even more witty repartee for Powell and Loy. The one-liners come from everyone, not just the stars, and it’s staggeringly good stuff. This is the kind of dialogue we could never come up with ourselves, so we’ll just have to borrow the material that Goodrich and Hackett gave us. There are dozens of lines in the film that could be quoted in one’s day-to-day drudgery. We’ll refrain from quoting all the delicious dialogue because even those can act as spoilers to those who haven’t “imbibed” a Thin Man movie. But it’s too good not to mention a few great lines along the way.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m thirsty.”


After the Thin Man is not just an immensely enjoyable mystery-comedy (better make that comedy-mystery, as the yuks are more plentiful this time around), but rather one of the greatest sequels ever made. It’s rare that a sequel comes close to equaling its classic predecessor, but After the Thin Man can be counted on that short list of great sequels. Credit must go to the aforementioned screenwriters, but also to perennial Thin Man director Woody Van Dyke for coordinating this cinematic endeavor. After all, film is the most collaborative of arts.


“Are you packing, dear?”

“Yes, darling. I’m just putting away this liquor.”


After the Thin Man (1936) takes place right after the events in the first film. Nick and Nora Charles, fresh off their triumph of the Wynant case are headed back to San Francisco on New Year’s Eve. Nick wants nothing more than to get some well-needed rest and to enjoy all the money he married Nora for. Upon their return to San Francisco, Nick and Nora are besieged in their own hilltop mansion—Telegraph Hill no less-- by a gaggle of partygoers, none of whom Nick and Nora even know! A wild, drunken swing-era party is in full…swing! There’s a small band, a singer performing “Sing Sing Sing” (which was the second half of the decade’s anthem), some dopey drunks lifting up one another to prove their manliness, and some silly dame with severe self-esteem issues who has to be “rescued” from a “burning” building! Nick and Nora escape to the kitchen, where the staff is hard at work with their harsh, working-class tones in full evidence. Then Aunt Katherine phones the Charles home and Nick is guaranteed no peace on New Year’s Eve!

That opening scene is but a sample of how fast and furious things get. It’s as though the filmmakers were stuffing everything they could for maximum entertainment value and it shows, too. Every aspect of After the Thin Man is pure gold. The “Swing Era” spirit is all over this film; 1936 was indeed something special. The 1934 movie opened with ten minutes of set up for the murder mystery and only afterwards did we receive our introduction to the suave, debonair hero. This entry opens with our glamorous couple westward bound for some much-needed rest after that strenuous Wynant murder case.

And will you get a load of the Charles’ San Francisco home? It’s an art deco masterpiece! MGM was the best studio for a reason, and Cedric Gibbons’ art direction is spectacular! This is my 1930s movie dream home! In the scene where Nick and Nora are chasing the clue-chewing Asta around the place, but I spend the time that scene takes absorbing the beauty of the house! The Cinema Style blog has pictures of this house.

As impressive as the Charles’ Deco home is, the Lichee (pronounced “Lye-Chee”) Club, the swankest Chinese restaurant in all history. It’s the premiere set piece in the film; the joint is jumpin’! The Lichee is certainly a far cry from the Chinese restaurants I’ve ever been to, where sullen workers speak in harsh, clipped tones and answer every question in one word or less. The Lichee Club has the patina of class, like a gilded lily, but there’s dirty double-dealings going on behind the scenes. The patrons are crazy drunk and play miniature novelty instruments. It looks like everyone is having a ball. The Great Depression is an unknown event at this swanky den of bawdy celebration! An interesting pop culture reference of the time is when Nick has commandeered a miniature saxophone and he quotes a hugely popular song of 1936, The Music Goes Round and Round, (Tommy Dorsey had a stellar version of this) a tune that is quoted by Curly Howard in a Three Stooges short, 1936’s Half-Shot Shooters.

"Have you made any New Year's resolutions?"

"Not yet; any complaints or suggestions?"

"A few."

"Which?"

"Complaints."

"All right, shoot."

"Well, you don't scold, you don't nag, and you look far too pretty in the mornings."

"All right, I'll remember: must scold, must nag; mustn’t be too pretty in the mornings."

The sequence leading up to Robert’s murder is well handled and beautifully atmospheric. I don’t think they filmed this on location in San Francisco but the art direction is a world unto itself: foggy, cold, dark, and foreboding. Black and White photography excels at chronicling the darkness of the moment. There’s effective editing which cuts back and forth between the numerous suspects until the final moment of rotten Robert’s short-happy life.

After the Thin Man boasts a wonderful extended, wordless sequence, which takes place when Nick is snooping around a suspect’s apartment. This goes on for about six and a half minutes. I seriously doubt any filmmaker would do that today, given the attention span of the average viewer. The wordless sequence is punctuated by an excellent use of sound effects, culminating in the sharp crack of gunfire as Dancer takes aim at Nick Charles. Tell whomever you’re with to pipe down during that scene because it casts quite a spell on the attentive viewer, or rather, listener.

The Supporting Cast: It’s a large one this time around. The supporting players are a fine blend of character actor stalwarts, obscure bit players, veteran character actors, and one bona fide movie legend. Every single actor in this film gives terrific support. Some of the notables:

James Stewart: Yes, it’s that James Stewart. He plays David; a former boyfriend of Selma’s who sticks around out of loyalty to her, even after her marriage to Robert. You can hear those Jimmyisms in several of his lines and in a short time, Stewart would emerge as the biggest star of anyone in this film. He’s his usual, enjoyable self here although he himself apparently didn’t think much of this early performance.

“When he gives you the sack, let me know, will ya?”

“I certainly will!”

Jessie Ralph: Aunt Katherine is, in Nick’s words, “an old battleaxe.” She lets anyone and everyone have it with both barrels blazing. Nora’s family is certainly eccentric bunch still back in the Victorian Era. Jessie Ralph has played a variety of roles and she’s so convincing as the crotchety Aunt Katherine that it’s amusing whenever I see her playing a nice character in other films like Double Wedding. She’s a hoot in After the Thin Man.

Sam Levene: Lt. Abrams’ first appearance. He’s over-the-top and I love it! He desperately needs Nick’s expertise and relies on whatever Nick gives him. The idea to have a colorful cop Nick helps is a valued element in the first four films. The last two lack this rapport, which Powell and either Levene or Nat Pendleton (Lt. Guild in the first and third movies) providing a fun interaction during the mystery. A running gag with Lt. Abrams is that Asta doesn’t like him; Abrams is the only character who can claim this dubious honor.

Penny Singleton aka Dorothy McNulty: She plays nightclub singer Polly and is quite a character! She’s best known as the voice of Jane Jetson in that futuristic cartoon show, but she’ll always be Polly to me. She warbles a ditty called “Smoke Dreams”, a crappy but catchy song she performs in her Lichee Club act. She’s also part of a blackmail scheme and maybe even…murder! Polly fires off some great one-liners and she steals every scene she’s in.

Paul Fix: Plays Phil, who is Polly’s…just watch the movie and find out. Fix is quite young here and he would go on to become one of John Wayne’s crusty cronies in many of The Duke’s movies from the 1940s to the 1960s. He also played the worthless sheriff in The Rifleman TV show.

Joseph Calleia: Calleia is Dancer, the shady owner of the Lichee Club. He has a passing resemblance to William Powell. His character’s supposed to be Irish, but his accent comes and goes like a deadbeat dad. However, Dancer is as mean as a rattlesnake and one of the nastiest people Nick Charles ever dealt with. Good performance by Calleia.

Elissa Landi: Landi is Selma, Nora’s tormented and emotional cousin. She’s being two-timed by her rotten husband and Aunt Katherine is always on her back like a bad boss. Is it any wonder that the poor thing is on the verge of a complete mental collapse? Notice how she’s about the same age as Nora but she’s dressed in stodgy Victorian clothes, whereas Nora is the picture of 1930s modernism. Actress Elissa Landi was a tragic figure in real life, dying of cancer in 1948, age 44. According to Charles Tranberg in Murder over Cocktails, Landi was only told that she had a “chronic condition.” Perhaps that was the medical industry’s modus operandi.

Mrs. Asta: We don’t get Nick, Jr. in this one, but we do get a sub plot about Asta’s “wife” who’s taken up with a Tom Jones-like Scottish terrier. One of Mrs. Asta’s pups looks just like the scoundrel and don’t you doubt for a second that Asta doesn’t notice this.

*Sighs Wearily*

This is the kind of material that would bog down future Thin Man efforts. The scene is understandable given the pooch’s enormous popularity, but his thespian brilliance is put to better use in the amusing clue-chewing sequence.

The movie's lovely is none other than Myrna Loy. She's at the peak of her beauty, brilliant line delivery, on-screen magnetism, and career peak. I've gone on and on about how William Powell had such a great year in 1936, but Myrna matches him every step of the way. She even got voted "Queen of Hollywood" in a nationwide poll of moviegoers.

“I don’t care whose wife she is! I don’t like a dame that gets noisy after she’s had a few snifters!”

After the Thin Man concludes with the gathering of suspects in a room which gives the viewer one last chance to guess whodunit. But that’s even handled brilliantly here, as each character gets a choice piece of dialogue to throw out there for our benefit. It’s been mentioned that Goodrich and Hackett believed this to be the final Thin Man movie and perhaps they wanted to pack it full of great dialogue. The plan to emphasize William Powell and Myrna Loy’s crackling chemistry can be typified in this film, too. I can’t quite say that this is their finest collaboration, but it’s probably the best dialogue they’d ever have to speak in any movie they did together. Another hint that this was perceived as the last Thin Man film would be the final scene, where Nora is knitting baby booties.

“And you call yourself a detective.”

The Thin Man novice could do a lot worse having After the Thin Man as their initial foray into Nick and Nora’s world as it’s the most comedy-oriented and a fun way to get into this most entertaining of series from a studio that knew--note past tense--how to make ‘em.

Take a Thin Man Walking Tour

Teri Tynes, author of the refreshingly sophisticated blog, Walking Off the Big Apple, has posted a fun article, The Thin Man Walk: A New York Holiday Adventure with Nick and Nora Charles which shows how to approximate a walking tour of Thin Man locations! It seems like the holidays and Nick and Nora go hand in hand. Teri's blog is an immediate hit with yours truly and it is enthusiastically recommended that you visit her swellegant (cyber) digs.

TCM's Thin Man Marathon

Turner Classic Movies (USA) will have a New Year's Eve Thin Man Marathon beginning @ 8pm (EST) on Thursday, December 31! I'm always happy to spend some time with the Charles family, and since Hollywood Dreamland is approaching the shocking conclusion to its own series of "reviews", it's a happy coincidence that TCM is airing all of the films. For those of you who haven't seen all--or any--of these wonderful movies, New Year's Eve would be a fine time to kick back amid your own personal boozery and enjoy Nick and Nora's alcohol-fueled adventures. The Thin Man series is an appropriate choice since Nick and Nora are the premiere tipplers in all of movieland. Even if you're out and about, you can always record the marathon and later use it to nurse your own hangover.

Meanwhile, I hope to have the post completed for After the Thin Man later this week; there's more to chatter about with the first two Thin Mans...

UPDATE: Amazon.com currently has the Complete Thin Man Collection DVD set for a measly $23.39!!! (12/31/09: Price is back to $47)