I found the sequence of four movies woefully inadequate. They seemed awfully dated, awfully thin story line. The dog, Aster, was the best actor. Myrna Loy was pretty in that unusual way we want in pretty woman. But the story lines seemed drawn out for no good reason, making the story lag; and the crimes seemed predictable with predictable solutions. Dialogue was strong and humorous and brought a little sparkle to the films. I was surprised that the films were essentially centered in San Francisco, which I did not realize. Yes, Coit Tower is visible from the Western span of the Bay Bridge. William Powell played the role for laughs and I'm not sure that didn't detract from the movie; Monk found himself in absurd situations of the crime, but played his perplexity straight; William Powell seemed to be playing for laughs. But since there was such thin story line, it really didn't matter. As a matter of film history, they were interesting; as material borrowed from Dashiell Hammet's book--The Thin Man--they were of interest. But they certainly were not 'classic' Hollywood, just 'of interest' Hollywood.

I'm half-way through, approx. 45 minutes, watching this film and I've had to switch off for just now as I'm seriously worried about the stars of the film. Now don't get me wrong here, or jump to conclusions, for I think this is a very good film indeed and so well acted by the two main stars, William Powell and Myrna Loy. No, the reason of my concern is I'm very worried indeed about their health. And more to the point I'm VERY worried indeed about William Powell's health more than Myrna Loy's because he does it more than her, yet not that much. And what is it they both do that is so worrying? Drinking alcohol in such vast quantities that it would knock out an elephant! "Pass me a drink darling" William Powell would say to Myrna. "Of course darling" Myrna would answer, pouring about a half pint of scotch into a glass that he would swig off in a couple of gulps. Glass after glass after glass of liquor was consumed in this fashion and nobody battered an eyelid or fell over or even hiccupped. Fantastic!!

A Charming Who Done It with a Charming Alcoholic Couple. The Camaraderie of William Powell and Myrna Loy as the Classic Nick and Nora Charles and the Relentless Snappy Patter are what makes this one of the Most Popular Films of All Time. But there is more.The Plot is Complicated and Manages to keep Viewers Guessing. The Cast is Equipped with Good Actors Playing Interesting Characters that are Fleshed Out and that is Unusual for a B-Movie. All are Distinctive and Quirky. There isn't One Character On Screen that is not Full Blooded Including the Dog.The "gather all the suspects in one room and unveil the Murderer" is the only Thing that is rather Standard in this Always Engaging, Rapid Fire, Combination of a Screwball, Slapstick, Mystery, Movie with some Impressionism and Dark Undertones. It is one of those Rare Occasions when a Movie Fires on All Cylinders and is a Tightly Wrapped Package. There are many Quotable Lines with most of the Humor Derived from Drinking and the Rich, Married Couples Breezy Relationship.It is an Artifact of its Age in Regards to Attitudes about Alcohol and Drinking. Here it is all done with Funny Quips and there is Never a Hint about the Dangers of Excess as Nick and Nora are more than Competent Drunks and because They are Extremely Wealthy, without a Care in the World They Easily get away with it. The Film Shows in Stark Terms just how the Cultural Considerations can Drastically Change with the Current Hypocrisy (the War on Drugs) that will be ever so Clear with the Passage of Time.

This is the movie that made up the starting point for one of the most famous (even though not very long compared to others: it consists of only 6 movies), and most popular even today crime movie series: "The Thin Man". Shot originally as a B movie, with a comparable modest budget for MGM standards, and with the two protagonists for the first time working together, it was an immediate smash hit - and marked the beginning for one of the most beloved screen couples; and certainly THE most beloved of the non-married in real life ones! William Powell was already an 'old hand' at crime, coming freshly from his "Philo Vance" series success; while Myrna Loy had been playing more in melodramas up to then - but director W.S. van Dyke, who personally chose her for the role, was convinced that she had a GREAT sense of humor as well. And how right he was...Nick Charles is a former 'tough guy' style private dick from New York (although there's not too much left of the original character that Dashiell Hammett had created in the novel which had just been released a few months earlier), who 'married money' (as he himself ironically points out from time to time, much to his wife's chagrin) in the shape of Nora, the daughter of a rich businessman, who nevertheless is a perfect match for him: she loves adventure and crime and doesn't get scared easily - and most of all, she drinks almost as much as Nick himself... The movie was released just a little while after the end of the Prohibition, and so of course everybody could relish in excessive drinking parties even in an MGM movie, where they had always been rather careful about this subject as long as alcohol had been prohibited (in the novel, the story is set during the Prohibition days, and so Nick and Nora are of course often found in speakeasies, ignoring the law...); and the easing off of the horrible social effects of the Depression also shows in a generally carefree, almost childishly funny party atmosphere throughout the movie - even in the middle of a dark, mysterious murder case...Clyde Wynant, an eccentric inventor, has vanished all of a sudden; while his secretary and former lover Julia, who had stolen the bonds he had intended to give to his daughter for her wedding, is found dead in her apartment. So, of course, everybody's searching for Wynant, who is described as the 'thin man with white hair' (hence the title), as the murderer (soon double murderer, when a slimy little informer gets bumped off as well) - and of course, there's a whole bunch of suspects to choose from: Wynant's ex-wife, who also happened to find Julia's body, his lawyer, Julia's boyfriend, the informer's girl, the ex-wife's new lover... And Nick and Nora, the certainly most unusual (on-screen) married couple of the time, drink and party themselves through the case, accompanied by their terrier Asta, and more than once getting in real danger themselves - until Nick, with his cleverness and talent for improvisation, finally reveals the culprit at a hilariously funny and at the same time extremely suspenseful 'murder solving dinner', with all the suspects sitting at the same table! The enormous success of the movie, which so elegantly combines light comedy with tough murders, led to a whole series of films which always used the title of the original one (although it doesn't actually refer to Nick Charles, like many people believe today) - and are until today, and with FULL justification, ranking among the most popular and beloved by a wide audience classic crime comedies of all times!