The Thin Man

film by Van Dyke [1934]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Article History

The Thin Man, American detective film, released in 1934, that was considered a paragon of the fun, sophisticated, glib dramas produced by Hollywood during the Great Depression. The film is the first in a popular series of detective films featuring William Powell as the dapper detective Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as his witty and irresistible wife, Nora. The Thin Man is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.

Recently retired Nick, heiress Nora, and their faithful terrier, Asta, travel to New York for the Christmas holiday. There they quickly find themselves embroiled in a convoluted mystery involving the disappearance of one of Nick’s friends, Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis), an inventor who is accused of murder. Clyde’s soon-to-be married daughter, Dorothy (Maureen O’Sullivan), implores Nick to come out of retirement to take the case, as does Nora, who loves a good mystery. When Nick finally agrees and begins his investigation, he and Asta stumble upon a skeleton. Although the skeleton is buried with large clothes and what seems to be an identifying belt buckle, it eventually turns out to be a thin man—Clyde. The real murderer is later revealed at a dinner party to which all the suspects have been invited.

The Thin Man was popular with Depression-era audiences who were enthralled by the endearing husband-and-wife detective team as adept at banter and crime-solving as they were at matching one another martini for martini. The film was shot in about two weeks by director W.S. Van Dyke, whose fondness for quick, casual, and sometimes sloppy productions earned him the nickname “One-Shot Woody.” Although the thin man of the title is the murdered Clyde, the moniker came to refer instead to Nick, and all five sequels included it in their titles. The Thin Man also inspired a radio production and a television series.