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The Thin Man 1934 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke
NR, 93 min. |
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Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber, Cesar Romero
Producer: Hunt Stromberg
Screenplay: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Distributor: MGM
Released: 6.30.34 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
The Thin Man was the first of six movies involving the duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy as the wisecracking couple who
solved murder mysteries together. As Nick and Nora Charles, they are constantly at each other in a playful way, while not
hesitating to down more than a few martinis. In one scene, Nora proceeds to down six martinis in order to catch up with her
drunk husband (not exactly role-model material, but nonetheless funny). In fact, you begin to wonder how they ever solve murders
with as much alcohol as they consume. But it still comes across as a funny, light-hearted film with an interesting story to follow.
Nick Charles (Powell) is a former detective who ocassionally helps the police to investigate hard-to-solve murder mysteries. His drinking
sometimes interferes with his work, but he manages to cope anyway - maybe he's better when he's drunk. At first he is not
interested in the case, but with some prodding from his pecking wife Nora (Loy), he gives in. The case involves the disappearance
of one of Nick's former clients, Clyde, an inventor. He is suspected of murdering his mistress, but things aren't adding up.
Slowly, Nick begins to solve the murder, and eventually gathers all the suspects around a dinner table, where he will uncover
the murderer. This could only happen in the movies, but it's fun to watch anyway.
There aren't any astonishing performances, but the chemistry between Powell and Loy is entertaining. The liberal use of alcohol
throughout the film is a little surprising, especially for the time when the film was released, but it comes across as funny, and
adds another dimension to the story. There are many supporting characters, but none of them are really important - we are
constantly engaged with Nick and Nora, so the others are not needed.
The Thin Man was nominated for four Academy Awards including best picture and best actor, but was up against a true classic
in It Happened One Night, so it went away empty-handed. But that doesn't take away from the pleasant viewing
experience - it's definitely worth catching up with some of The Thin Man series.
© 2001 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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