The Thin Man (1934)

Director: WS Van Dyke
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan

Synopsis:
The disappearance of an old client and the murder of his mistress may prove to be enough to lure former private detective Nick Charles out of retirement.

Impressions:
I was actually introduced to Nick and Nora Charles via the parody in Murder By Death. I was thankful to get the opportunity to delve into the source material. You'd have a hard time believing the novel this is based on was written by the same guy who gave us The Maltese Falcon. Quite unlike the hardboiled Sam Spade, the Charleses are light and breezy. Even dealing with murder and threats of peril, it's fun and funny from beginning to end. Coming out just before the Hays Code really started cracking down on films, there's a lot of racy humor and our leads (particularly Nick) spend most of their screentime completely sloshed. There's great chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy and their interaction both verbal and nonverbal is a real treat to watch. This really set the trend for a lot of couples mystery comedies to follow. This really is a great film and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Watch It