The Thin Man

The Thin Man. 1934 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Ellis
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Available from Amazon as a single DVD (in a keepcase, we must note), or as part of the Complete Thin Man Collection with six other titles.

The film saga of Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by writer Dashell Hammett, begins right here, which saw six total films made between 1934 and 1947, a long running radio show called The Adventures of the Thin Man, and a television program featuring Peter Lawford that ran on NBC for two seasons. By the way, the title "Thin Man" does not refer to Nick Charles, who was actually overweight in Hammett's novel, but he was still played on film by the trim William Powell.

Here, Nick Charles is recently retired and fond of his martinis, and he and his wife Nora (Loy) are trying to ease into their private lives when Nick is prompted back into service by the disappearance of his friend Clyde Wynant (Ellis), who vanished just after a former girlfriend (Moorhead) was found dead. Clyde, the "real" Thin Man, becomes the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy (O'Sullivan) can't believe he really did it, so she asks Nick to take the case, with help from Nora. The murderer's true identity is revealed at a dinner party between cocktails and the main course.

The Thin Man was intended to be a 'B' movie, and MGM made it for relatively cheap in less than two weeks. Regardless, a classic movie and huge box office hit was born. Highly recommended movie.