Rating: NR
Genre:
Mystery
Release Date: 08/02/2005
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol/Por
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 91 Minutes
Flags: Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Filmed on what
MGM considered a B-picture budget and schedule (14 days, which at
Universal or
Columbia would have been considered extravagant),
The Thin Man proved to be "sleeper," spawning a popular film, radio, and television series. Contrary to popular belief, the title does not refer to star
William Powell, but to
Edward Ellis, playing the mean-spirited inventor who sets the plot in motion. The recently divorced
Clyde Wynant (
Ellis) discovers that his new girlfriend,
Julia Wolf (
Natalie Moorhead), has stolen 50,000 dollars and is carrying on with other men. Not long afterward, he disappears. Anxious to locate her father,
Wynant' daughter,
Dorothy (
Maureen O'Sullivan), goes to private detective
Nick Charles (
William Powell) for help. Having just married the lovely and wealthy
Nora (
Myrna Loy),
Nick has no desire to return to sleuthing, but the thrill-seeking
Nora eagerly talks him into taking
Dorothy's case. Shortly thereafter,
Wynant's lady friend is murdered; so far as police detective
John Guild (
Nat Pendleton) is concerned, the still-missing
Wynant is the guilty party.
Nick is unsatisfied with this deduction, and with the help of his wire fox terrier, Asta, he manages to uncover several vital clues -- including a decomposed corpse. At a fancy dinner party, between cocktails and the first course,
Nick solves the mystery and exposes a hidden murderer. The story itself, lifted almost verbatim by scenarists
Albert Hackett and
Frances Goodrich from the
Dashiell Hammett novel on which
The Thin Man is based, hardly matters. The film's strong suit is the witty repartee between
Nick and
Nora Charles, who manage to behave like saucily illicit lovers throughout the film even though they're married. The chemistry between
William Powell and
Myrna Loy would be adroitly exploited by
MGM in several subsequent films, including five additional
Thin Man mysteries produced between 1936 and 1948.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
;)
