The Thin Man (1934)

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Albert Hackett (screenplay) and
Frances Goodrich (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

June 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

A laugh tops every thrilling moment!

Plot:

Comedy-mystery featuring Nick and Nora Charles: a former detective and his rich, playful wife. They solve a murder case mostly for the fun of it.

Plot Keywords:

Humor | Dinner Party | Missing Person | Long Distance Call | Police Detective

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

William Powell	...	Nick
Myrna Loy	...	Nora
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Dorothy
Nat Pendleton	...	Guild
Minna Gombell	...	Mimi
Porter Hall	...	MacCaulay
Henry Wadsworth	...	Tommy
William Henry	...	Gilbert
Harold Huber	...	Nunheim
Cesar Romero	...	Chris
Natalie Moorhead	...	Julia Wolf
Edward Brophy	...	Morelli
Edward Ellis	...	Wynant
Cyril Thornton	...	Tanner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Asta	...	Asta (uncredited)
Will Aubrey	...	(uncredited)
Polly Bailey	...	Janitress (uncredited)
Arthur Belasco	...	Detective (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Dance Extra (uncredited)
Tui Bow	...	Stenographer (uncredited)
Raymond Brown	...	Dr. Walton (uncredited)
Ruth Channing	...	Mrs. Jorgenson (uncredited)
Clay Clement	...	Quinn (uncredited)
Nick Copeland	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Cop / Fighter (uncredited)
Douglas Fowley	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Kenneth Gibson	...	Apartment Clerk (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Detective (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Billy the Detective (uncredited)
Arthur Housman	...	Drunken Party Guest (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Restaurant Table Extra (uncredited)
John Larkin	...	Porter (uncredited)
Dixie Laughton	...	Janitress (uncredited)
Walter Long	...	Stutsy Burke (uncredited)
Fred Malatesta	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Detective (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Detective (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	Foster (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Gertrude Short	...	Marion (uncredited)
Ben Taggart	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Phil Tead	...	Reporter (uncredited)
George Templeton	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Guest at Nick's Party (uncredited)
Huey White	...	'Face' Tefler (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Leo, Waiter (uncredited)
Charles Williams	...	Fight Manager (uncredited)

Directed by
W.S. Van Dyke

Writing credits
Albert Hackett		(screenplay) and
Frances Goodrich		(screenplay)
Dashiell Hammett		(novel)

Produced by
Hunt Stromberg	....	producer

Original Music by
William Axt		(as Dr. William Axt)

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Art Department
David Townsend	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted Allen	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe

Production Companies

• Cosmopolitan Productions (for)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (as Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

South Korea:12 (2003) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:(Banned) (1934-1938) | Finland:K-16 (1938) | USA:Approved | Germany:6 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:U

Company:

Cosmopolitan Productions

Trivia:

Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, originally was against the idea of Myrna Loy being cast in this picture but director W.S. Van Dyke wanted to use the stars of the movie Manhattan Melodrama (1934), William Powell and Myrna Loy. Mayer said that Powell was OK for the part since he had already played detectives in other films. Loy eventually got the part and made new image for herself.

Goofs:

Continuity: At Nick and Nora's apartment, Nora folds her arms in front of her. In the next shot, she's holding her hands behind her back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tanner: Your daughter's here, Mr. Wynant. Mr. Wynant! Mr. Wynant!
Clyde Wynant, the thin man: Haven't you got any more sense than to shout at me like that?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

California, Here I Come

Forget the plot, enjoy the banter.

Never mind trying to follow plot, instead follow the banter between Nick and Nora Charles, as portrayed by William Powell and Myrna Loy in this delightful comic mystery. Between the banter and the sexual innuendoes, the constant guzzling and shennanigans, this sophisticated couple actually do manage to solve a murder or three.

This seventy year old film still holds up well today and the reason is that the screenwriters knew how to write dialogue and character and were not dependent on action sequences to fill in the blanks like so many of today's screenwriters and directors, who are too busy chasing the big dollar to make a movie that is going to stand up over time. How many of today's action movies will we be watching seventy years from now?

Admittedly, there is some clumsy acting by some of the minor characters, at least viewed from today's point of view, but don't let that, like the plot, get in your way or you will miss out on what this charming film has to offer. And say, who was that Thin Man, anyway?