Review: The Thin Man (1934)

USA/B&W-93 m./Dir: W.S. Van Dyke/Wr: Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich/Cast: William Powell (Nick Charles), Myrna Loy (Nora Charles), Skippy (Asta), Maureen O’Sullivan (Dorothy Wynant)

The Thirties saw hardboiled detectives and screwball socialites put away liquor with equal aplomb. So when the two genres were combined with 1934’s The Thin Man, it was a cocktail of explosive magnitude.

This loose adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett novel features William Powell as Nick Charles, a retired detective with a Herculean capacity for Scotch, and Myrna Loy as Nora, his equally swizzled socialite wife. Nick is perfectly happy spending his wife’s money pickling his liver until the daughter of an old client requests his help. It’s only after several dead bodies pile up that he grudgingly agrees to take the case. Once involved, Nick proves himself to be one of soused cinema's most functional alcoholics by solving the murder with a little help from Nora and his tenacious terrier, Asta. Nick’s initial reluctance to get drawn into the investigation is perfectly understandable, because as he states, “It’s putting me way behind in my drinking.”

Incidentally, although the popularity of this screwball mystery led to five sequels with “The Thin Man” in the title, the “thin man” referred to in the original film is not Nick but one of the murder victims.

Drinks Consumed--Gin (dry martinis), rye (straight & highballs), Scotch (straight & with soda), champagne, and cocktails (type unspecified)

Intoxicating Effects--Slurred speech, swaying, staggering, stumbling, sentimentality, harmonizing, and hangover

Potent Quotables-- NORA: Say, how many drinks have you had?
NICK: This will make six martinis.
NORA: All right. (To waiter) Will you bring me five more martinis, Leo, and line them right up here?

Video Availability--The Thin Man is available as a standalone DVD or as part of The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man).

Similarly Sauced Cinema--After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), and Song of the Thin Man (1947). The second film is nearly as flammable as the first, but Nick and Nora curbed the cocktails dramatically in the later series entries.