Review of The Thin Man (1934) by Sean F — 14 Sep 2004
Ah, those fun days when alcoholism was a comedy bit and not a disease. Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man" is a story about a socialite couple who like to solve crimes when they're not too busy drinking.
The couple are Nick and Nora Charles, and, boy, do they ever drink. When we first meet Nick, he's instructing a bartender on the proper way to shake a martini. When we first meet Nora, she orders six martinis just to catch up with Nick.
Immediately after waking up in the middle of the night, Nick goes to the bar, which is conveniently located at the foot of the bed. Nick and Nora are always just a little drunk, but never so much that we don't want to be around them.
As played by William Powell and Myrna Loy, they are the most devoted of couples who don't need to be bothered with the rest of the world as long as they have each other. When Nora walks in on Nick with another woman in his arms, she doesn't misinterpret and get mad as so many other movies would have happen; she and Nick make faces at each other over the shoulder of the other woman.
They pick on each other, tease each other, play fight each other, and above all love each other. That's the reason we like to spend our time with Nick and Nora. It's certainly not because of the mystery.
Greater minds than mine could actually follow the one presented here, I guess, but Hammett wasn't known for stories that made sense, and director W. S. Van Dyke doesn't make much of an attempt to film the mystery clearly.
But those are small issues. The appeal of "The Thin Man" series is to be in the presences of that lovely Charles couple. And for that we can thank Powell and Loy.
This review of The Thin Man (1934) was written by Sean F on 14 Sep 2004.
The Thin Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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