The Thin Man : Terrible movie

I'm surprised by it's popularity. It's such a badly directed film, so many characters yet they are completely underdeveloped and uninteresting, so it's hard to be interested in who done it. It's also so strange. Detective and his wife drink all the time (and the movie plays it as normal), has nonsense dialogue, just act weird (she brought a killer to his house and called his husband an idiot for it, then he punched her before attacking killer. What?). Maybe it's supposed to be a comedy in some bits, anyway it's just really dated and bad film.

Well it is not a serious "whodunnit" in the traditional sense and some of the acting creaks by today's standards it was also not an A picture but really a quickie B film, filmed in about 2 weeks (yes 2 weeks) 12 shooting days! Hence the lack of character development.

BUT audiences then as now warmed to the naturalness of the acting and chemistry in the pairing of Bill Powell and Myrna Loy. Their easy knowing chatter is without peer on film.

I have seen the film many times the plot is irrelevant for me now but I marvel at those performances.

It may seem corny but remember in 1934 it was new and unlike anything before it and resulted in the script being nominated for an Oscar.

The Thin Man is a very important movie because of its impact on films since. How many comic murder mysteries have you seen since with joking buddies or even husbands and wife pairings. It started here.

The cinematography of James Wong How is beautiful and helps hide the lack of budget. The later Thin Man movies had much bigger budget and it shows. However for me the slightly dark photography esp. in Wynant's "shop" is a precursor of Film Noir and actually far more effective than the glossy photography of the later films.

Prohibition was still very much on the minds of the audiences and yes they drink a lot but it is toned down in the later films.

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she brought a killer to his house and called his husband an idiot for it

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What?!?

nice try, *beep*

.and Whitey's on the moon

Well said, hamlet-16. This film one of my favorites for the very chemistry you reference. Plus, William is so magnetic and his energy is hard to ignore.

Most excellent rebuttal, hamlet-16. Thank you very much for the time and effort you put into it.

A troll by any other name would still be a troll.

If you're not a troll, my apologies. But what a pity you couldn't enjoy such a fun movie.

Don't cry, there'll be another Star Trek film along for you soon.

Hey, that's not fair. I love this film (and William Powell and Myrna Loy) and I love Star Trek, too. There not mutually exclusive.

Sorry for the typo (should be "they're" not "there"stupid autocorrect!)

I think the 8.2 on IMDB disagrees with you.

When you play the game of monopoly, you win or you go bankrupt. There is no middle ground.

Thank you hamlet18. I love this movie and both William Powell and Myrna Loy.

I thought it was a great dry comedy whodoneit, murder mystery.

It's a comedy - did you realize that? Actually has a little bit of a Three Stooges feeling to it.

What hump?

Well, this troll was well trounced. Kudos to his/her trouncers.

I will add that the book is the offspring of a hard boiled detective story by Dashiell Hammet. You idiot. (Ignorance is hard to take.) That explains the hard drinking. None of your other criticisms deserve reply.

Have a good one!

Ever hear of pearls before swine?

Yeah, that.

I love The Thin man films and Star Trek. But the original poster seems to have missed the mark with Thin Man. Maybe the OP lacked info on context of the time period, but it's a wonderful slice of the times. And Powell and Loy have a timeless chemistry. Watch they other film pairings, starting with Manhattan Melodrama. This film is a milestone and a ton of fun. I'm showing my daughter all the Thin Man films and she's enjoying them. She was curious about them since she remembers our now deceased wire fox terrier. Named, of course, Asta.

I know this is an old post and some people will just never get it but this is an amazing film.

The constant drinking is part of the times, and shows that they're casual but natural detective hobbyists. Remember this is only a few years after the Roaring 20s! They have a banter that most couples regardless of era would love to have.

This is a fun movie with tons of great innuendo (being pre-code) and lots of hilarious timeless witty banter.

Just sit back and let it take you for a ride. It's a fun and excellent movie that captures a time perfectly.

Plus the part with the killer is a little odd but things were different back then. People left their doors unlocked half of the time and things were loose and not filled with the fears we have now.

They don't know he's a killer until he comes in. He punches her (a strange move that wouldn't go today) that throws him off. She's mad at him in a playful way, not for real and it fits in with their relationship.

Again, you just don't get it and won't no matter what anyone says.

I am formerly known as HillieBoliday.Member since May 2006

You are just another TROLL who doesn't give a damn about this movie, and just wants to post some idiotic BS! AndYou're a Class 'A' COWARD who doesn't even come back to try and defend your point of view!

YOU are the kind who throws rocksAnd then hides his hand!

"OOhhhooo.I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

There's always one of these. Are you in the Godfather and Citizen Kane boards too, schooling everyone on how terrible it is?

++++++
Love means never having to say you're ugly. - The Abominable Dr. Phibes