The Thin Man (film)
| The Thin Man | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | W. S. Van Dyke |
| Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on |
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett |
| Starring | |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Edited by | Robert Kern |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $226,408 |
| Box office | $1,423,000 (worldwide est.) |
The Thin Man is a 1934 American Pre-Code comedy-mystery film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles; Nick is a hard-drinking, retired private detective, and Nora is a wealthy heiress. Their wire-haired fox terrier Asta is played by canine actor Skippy.
The film's screenplay was written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, a married couple. In 1934, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The titular "Thin Man" is not Nick Charles, but the man Charles is initially hired to find – Clyde Wynant (part way through the film, Charles describes Wynant as a "thin man with white hair"). The "Thin Man" moniker was thought by many viewers to refer to Nick Charles and, after a time, it was used in the titles of sequels as if referring to Charles.
Nick Charles (William Powell), a retired detective, and his wife Nora (Myrna Loy) are attempting to settle down. They are based in San Francisco but decide to spend the Christmas holidays in New York. There Nick is pressed back into service by Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O'Sullivan), a young woman whose father was an old client of Nick's. The man, Clyde Wynant (the title's "thin man"), was supposed to be on a secret business trip and promised to be home before his daughter's wedding, but has mysteriously vanished. She convinces Nick to take the case, much to the amusement of his socialite wife. It starts out as a missing person case, but when Wynant's former secretary and love interest, Julia Wolf, is found dead, evidence points to Wynant as the prime suspect, but Dorothy refuses to believe that her father is guilty. The detective begins to uncover clues and eventually solves the mystery of the disappearance through a series of investigative steps.
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Wikipedia