The Thin Man (1934)
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A retired detective and his wealthy wife find themselves entangled in a murder mystery involving a missing fortune and a mysterious disappearance.
The story
While visiting New York City for Christmas, retired private detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora encounter Dorothy Wynant. Dorothy reveals that her father, an inventor named Clyde, has vanished after leaving on a secret business trip. However, Clyde's disappearance is complicated by the fact that his mistress, Julia Wolf, has already been caught in a scandal involving missing bonds. As the mystery unfolds, a series of murders occurs, including the death of Julia and a blackmailing informant. Nick and Nora must navigate a web of secrets involving alimony, embezzlement, and hidden motives to uncover the truth behind the missing man.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dorothy Wynant informs her inventor father, Clyde, of her upcoming wedding, only for Clyde to discover $50,000 in wedding bonds are missing. He suspects his mistress, Julia Wolf, who admits to cashing some but not all of the bonds. Three months later, Nick Charles and his wife Nora are in New York for Christmas when Dorothy tells Nick that her father has disappeared. Meanwhile, Clyde's ex-wife Mimi finds Julia murdered and steals Clyde's watch chain. When an informant named Nunheim is killed while attempting to collect blackmail money, the police suspect Clyde. Nick, searching Clyde's shop with his dog Asta, finds skeletal remains in the basement. While the police assume the remains are an old enemy's, Nick notices shrapnel in the corpse's leg and realizes it is actually Clyde's body. To expose the killer, Nick hosts a dinner party for the suspects. He reveals that Julia was embezzling money with Clyde's bookkeeper, Tanner. Clyde had confronted the man he thought was robbing him, and that man killed Clyde and buried him. The murderer, who had been blackmailing others and bribing Mimi, is revealed to be Clyde's lawyer, Herbert MacCaulay, who was trying to keep the money flowing from Clyde's estate. Nick punches MacCaulay out, and the couple eventually returns to California.
- First release year
- 1934
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- W. S. Van Dyke
- Writers
- Albert Hackett · screenplay; Frances Goodrich · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- William Powell · Nick Charles; Myrna Loy · Nora Charles; Maureen O'Sullivan · Dorothy Wynant; Nat Pendleton · Lieutenant John Guild; Minna Gombell · Mimi; Skippy · Asta
- Genres
- comedy; mystery
- Themes
- Mystery; Wit; Class
- Tone and mood
- Sophisticated; Witty; Entertaining
- Premise and plot tags
- Murder Mystery; Detective; Comedy; Pre-Code
- Source material / true-story basis
- novel by Dashiell Hammett
- Franchise connections
- The Thin Man
- Reception
- The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews, praised for the chemistry between Powell and Loy and its sophisticated dialogue. It was a box-office success, a cult classic, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Picture · 1934 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The scene of Nick shooting ornaments was improvised by Powell.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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