The Thin Man

Summary

“Alright. Will you bring me five martinis, Leo? Line them right up there.”

Noir fiction has been some of my favorite reading material since I was a young man. I was introduced to that style of fiction indirectly when a friend of my father bought me a copy of Damon Runyon’s Guys and Dolls. This love of noir bled over into my love of film, so film noir is one of my favorite genres. My wife and I named our second son Dashiell after the pulp fiction writer Dashiell Hammett. I love Hammett’s book Red Harvest in particular, but I have read and enjoyed every single one of his novels. That is not hard to do, because he only wrote five novels in total. 

Hammett is as fascinating a literary figure as one is likely to encounter. Hammett was a private detective for the Pinkerton agency from 1915 until 1922. He also served in World War I. In the mid-twenties, he began publishing stories in the Black Mask magazine. In 1929 his novel Red Harvest was published and became a hit. He wrote in succession The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, and in 1934 he wrote his final novel The Thin Man. Amazingly, the end of his literary career occurred a full twenty five years before he perished. He went on to enlist in World War II despite being tubercular and an avowed Communist. He served as a crypto analyst and newspaper editor. Returning from the war, no novels followed, but his legacy was already cemented as one of the greatest writers of the noir genre and one of the most influential detective novelists. 

His novel The Thin Man was adapted in 1934 by married writers Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich under the guidance of director W.S. Van Dyke. He encouraged the writers to use the plot of the novel as a guideline, and to focus in on witty repartee between the characters. The resulting film was a smash success that earned over a million dollars at the box office and spawned five sequels (two of which have been brought to Blu-ray by Warner so far!) Despite my affinity for Hammett’s work, I had failed to view The Thin Man until our city faced an unprecedented snow storm. My wife and I drew a fire in our fireplace, poured a drink, and settled in to watch Nick and Nora piece together a crime while they stay consistently tipsy on martinis. The Warner Archive Blu-ray features a beautiful presentation of the black and white film.

As the film begins, wealthy scientist Clyde Wynant is preparing to take a business trip without any specified location regarding one of his inventions. His daughter Dorothy (Maureen O’Sullivan) visits him with her fiancée and he promises that he will return before Christmas. After she leaves, Clyde realizes that some funds are missing. He visits his secretary Julia Wolf to ask her about the funds, and it is obvious that she has been with another man. When he leaves the property upset, he is not seen again. Married couple Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are visiting New York from San Francisco during a Christmas vacation. They have rented an apartment. Nick is a retired detective and his wife Nora is incredibly wealthy. This allows Nick to be drunk on gin martinis as often as he likes. At a party, Dorothy arrives panicked because her father has not kept his promise of returning before Christmas and her pending wedding. Clyde was an old client of Nick’s, and she asks him to look into his disappearance. Despite Nick’s reservations, Nora pushes him towards accepting the case of locating the thin man who has disappeared. The couple works together towards solving the mystery, while associates of Clyde begin to turn up dead. The authorities believe that Clyde may be responsible for the murders, but this theory does not appeal to Nick.

The Thin Man is a fantastic movie. Director W.S. Van Dyke delivered an entertaining film by allowing the story structure to play out in the background and allowing Nick and Nora to take the center focus. Writers Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich wrote some of the best banter imaginable for a married couple. The lines flow so effortlessly from Nick and Nora, that the relationship feels lived in. I assume that the fact that the two writers were actually married helped the scriptwriting process a tremendous amount. It is easy to imagine them sitting around a typewriter and laughing as they try to one-up each other with one-liners. The dialogue is also helped by the pitch perfect delivery by William Powell and Myrna Loy. It would be difficult to find a better pair to play the lead roles. Both are fantastic in the film. I can’t imagine that Hammett could have been anything less than pleased with what W.S. Van Dyke did with his material, which still holds true to the original plot points from the novel.

The Thin Man is essentially a perfect date movie. The whole film has the feeling of a boozy party with guests that you actually would like to have a drink with. The central mystery is appealing and makes good sense when it is laid out in the finale. The film also benefits from cinematography from the legendary James Wong Howe. Howe was one of the greatest of all time, and his work here is effective. Overall, I highly recommend pouring yourself and your loved one a martini and checking out The Thin Man.

Video

Warner Archive have provided an excellent new transfer of the film using an MPEG-4 AVC codec from a brand new 4K remaster of the film sourced from the best surviving elements. The film’s age is only apparent in the occasional soft focus that occurs, but this film was lensed by legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe. Howe is one of my favorite cinematographers of all time and I believe his work on The Sweet Smell of Success is some of the greatest black and white cinematography ever put to celluloid. Howe was already fifteen years into his career when he filmed The Thin Man, and it benefits from his unique abilities. The film was shot in 1.37:1, so there are black bars on the sides of widescreen televisions. Warner understands exactly how to restore these older black and white films, and this is another great example of their pedigree in this field. A great presentation.

Audio

This DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track has excellent fidelity to the original elements. This is a dialogue driven affair. The score by William Axt has been restored carefully. Clarity is top-notch. I did not notice any hiss or drop-outs during my viewing. I can’t think of anything wrong with this track.

Supplements:

• Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast – audio only – features the director and many original cast members.
• Scene of the Crime -An episode of The Thin Man TV series.
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Thin Man is a fantastic mystery and screwball comedy from the Thirties. The film benefits from fantastic writing, an excellent cast, and taut direction and pacing. The principal storyline from Hammett’s novel is preserved, but the dialogue was amplified by writers Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich to hone in on comedic repartee. This is certainly one of the better date movies from its era and has been elevated to classic status with good reason. Warner Archive’s Blu-ray features a great looking transfer and a few supplements from the DVD release years back. Highly recommended!