Review of The Thin Man (1934) by Allan C — 05 Jan 2016

A real American film classic. Director W. S. Van Dyke thought the Dashiell Hammett story would be a fun throwaway vehicle (it was shot in just one week) for the studio, but the film ended up being a major hit and spawned numerous sequels (none as good as the original) and also kicked off a long running onscreen pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy.

In this film, they playa debonaire Manhattan couple, Nick and Nora Charles. Nick is a former detective who gets sucked into a convoluted missing person case involving the titular thin man. This film epitomized sophisticated witty comedy and Loy and Powell are just magical on screen.

Besides their wonderful characterizations as Nick and Nora, they inhabit a world that I think most every person watching film would wish to inhabit. It's a world full of Manhattan nightclubs, colorful characters, witty repartee, and lots of drinking.

As great as Powell and Loy are, I think this element of the film is under appreciated. Photographed by the great James Wong Howe, he makes this New York City high society seem a rich and lush place that you'd be unable to reciting wanting to be a part of.

Cesar Romero also appears in the film, as does Maureen O'Sullivan, who I'd recently become kind of obsessed with and never realized she was in this film before. This film is a real classic and I think is one that would appeal to all audiences, even those who don't think they like black and white, classic films.