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The Thin Man
Directed by	W.S. Van Dyke
Produced by	Hunt Stromberg
Written by	Dashiell Hammett (novel) Albert Hackett Frances Goodrich
Starring	William Powell Myrna Loy
Music by	William Axt
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	May 23, 1934 (USA)
Running time	93 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$226,408 (est.)
Followed by	After the Thin Man
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Thin Man was the first of six comic detective films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a hard-drinking and flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Their dog, the Wire-Haired Fox Terrier Asta, played by Skippy, was also a popular character.

Completed in 1934 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke from a script by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich; the screenplay was based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, supposedly based on his relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman. Also appearing in the film were Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Cesar Romero, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber and Natalie Moorhead.

The "Thin Man" of the title was actually the lead suspect, but the name was thought by virtually everyone to refer to Nick Charles, and it was used in the titles of the sequels, although no one ever called him that.

In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry after being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Nick Charles, a retired detective, and his wife Nora are attempting to settle down when he's pulled back into service by a friend's disappearance and possible involvement in a murder. The friend, Clyde Wynant (the "thin man" referenced by the film's title), has mysteriously vanished just after his former lover is found dead. Wynant quickly becomes the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy can't believe he did it. She convinces Nick to take the case much to the amusement of his socialite wife. With a drink in his hand and a smirk on his face, the detective stumbles off to find clues. The mystery deepens as the empty martini glasses and dead bodies pile up. Between witty exchanges, the couple manages to piece things together. The murderer is finally revealed in an amusing dinner-party scene, featuring all of the suspects.

• After the Thin Man (1936)
• Another Thin Man (1939)
• Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
• The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
• Song of the Thin Man (1947)

The Adventures of the Thin Man radio series initially starred Les Damon and Claudia Morgan. It was broadcast on all four major radio networks between 1941 and 1950.

The half-hour weekly TV series, produced by MGM Television, was shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959, starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as the Charleses. In 1975, Craig Stevens and Jo Ann Pflug starred in the television film Nick and Nora. A 1991 musical, Nick & Nora, starring Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason in the title roles, closed after only nine performances.

Some of the interior scenes from were shot inside the Bidwell Mansion in Chico, California.

In the 1976 comedy spoof movie Murder by Death, the characters of Nick and Nora Charles became Dick and Dora Charleston, played by David Niven and Maggie Smith.

• List of United States comedy films

• The Thin Man at the Internet Movie Database
• The Internet Archive holds a radio adaptation of the film, originally broadcast on June 8, 1936 by Lux Radio Theater.