Thin Man Movies

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and my DVR, I was able to watch the six Thin Man movies in chronological order as a fantastic way to ring in a new year in 2018. It is Classic Hollywood - William Powell and Myrna Loy in the Thin Man Movies. The Thin Man (1934) was shot over a mere two weeks on a shoestring and conceived by MGM as a B-movie. It became a franchise over six films while the country worked its way through the depression and WWII. Director W.S. Van Dyke’s casting coup of Powell and Loy paid off and The Thin Man was a surprise smash. The Thin Man movies adhere to a rigid formula. They gave people what they wanted, over and over again. Nick attempts to just relax and drink away the afternoon is disrupted again and again by a sudden murder mystery. Reluctantly, and with a big push from Nora, he takes the case, outpacing the actual detective investigating.

Of course one needs to suspend one’s disbelief and movie-viewing cynicism as crime scenes are violated, political correctness is compromised, justice is obstructed, women are objectified, nightclub/party goers are over-served and plots twist.  All that said, it is a pleasure of black & white escapism and entertainment to binge watch Nick and Nora as the formula plays out and all ends well.

The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) and The Song of the Thin Man (1947)…

Happy New Year!