Almost as welcome as a shaker full of martinis, The Complete Thin Man Collection represents an eagerly awaited DVD milestone for fans of the fizzy MGM movie series. The best film in the series came first: The Thin Man (1934), W.S. Van Dyke's marvelous adaptation of a Dashiell Hammet novel. The movie gods were in a generous mood when they paired William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, the upper-class sophisticates whose sleuthing escapades somehow joined the classic form of the whodunit with the giddyup of screwball comedy. Among the series' many attributes, one of its most radical notions was the idea that a married couple might find each other delightful and view life as a goofy adventure together.

It is common wisdom that the Thin Man sequels adhere to the law of diminishing returns, and while none of the follow-ups reach the diamond level of the first film, all afford pleasures. There's the cocktail-swilling chemistry of Powell and Loy, for one thing, as well as the considerable satisfaction of average movies made during the studio system: the craftsmanship of studio hands, and a gallery of terrific character actors filling in supporting roles. First sequel After the Thin Man (1936) is very good, with the couple in San Francisco and a supporting part for rising player James Stewart. The scenery moves again, to Long Island, for the rather impudently-titled Another Thin Man (1939), which adds baby Nick, Jr., to the mix (a "bad idea," thought Pauline Kael, perhaps a sign of the domestication of the series).

A delightful mystery-romance-comedy collection

Fans of McMILLAN AND WIFE and COLUMBO should take a look at their source back in the 1930's and 1940's with the six B&W THIN MAN films, starring a never-better William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Warner Home Video has them boxed as THE COMPLETE THIN MAN COLLECTION, selling for a reasonable $45 from Amazon. If you like mysteries with equal parts murder, suspense, alcohol, tender romance, and witty comedy, this DVD set is a must-own.

THE THIN MAN (1934) introduces us to the delightful Nick and Nora, who love to drink and solve murders with equal ease, helped by their scruffy dog Asta, who seems to appear throughout the entire series. The plot is unimportant, something about the title character's disappearance and subsequent murder. As is the pattern with the whole THIN MAN series, Nick gathers the whole cast in one room in the climax and identifies the murderer. The movies are all breezy and fun blends of mystery, romance, and comedy. The first got four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. W.S. "One-take Woody" Van Dyke II directed the first four films in the series and got them made at lightning speed.

AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936) has location filming in San Francisco and involves a murder in a nightclub on New Year's Eve. A young Penny Singleton and James Stewart are among the suspects.

ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939) is notable for two things: (1) the birth of Nick, Jr.; and (2) the murder of a Long Island industrialist. The distinguished writers here are Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN (1941) involves a race track murder, and Nick, Jr. is now a toddler. The writers here are Irving Brecher and Harry Kurnitz.

THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1944) has Nick and Nora going home to Nick's home town of Sycamore Springs to meet his in-laws (Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson). Sure, enough, there's another murder to solve. The outstanding writers this time are Robert Riskin and Dwight Taylor. Richard Thorpe directed.

The last film of the series, SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947), has a murder that takes place during a lavish party on a gambling ship. It is so good a movie that one wonders whether William Powell and Myrna Loy and the crew knew it would be the final movie. They sure went out in style with a gem. Amazingly, it has five credited writers, but has a seamless plot. Edward Buzzell directed this one.

As expected of a prestigious Warner Home Video boxed set, each of these witty and immensely enjoyable mysteries comes with a whole evening of bonuses: "Passing Parade" or Robert Benchley short subjects, color cartoons, and theatrical trailers. Nick and Nora Charles are ageless and set the mold for later TV series, like MR. AND MRS. NORTH in the 1950's and McMILLAN AND WIFE in the 1970's. Fans of TOPPER will also enjoy THE THIN MAN. Powell and Loy are an ageless delight. They often got husband and wife fan mail, even though they were only married on screen.

THE COMPLETE THIN MAN COLLECTION includes a seventh, bonus disk called ALIAS NICK AND NORA. This has affectionate 45 minute Turner Classics biographies of William Powell ("A True Gentleman") and Myrna Loy ("So Nice to Come Home to") for viewers too young to know who they were and always will be.

Before Remington and Laura, before McMillan and Wife there was Nick and Nora

This series is set in the 1930's and 40's and is based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett. Originally planned as a 'B' movie only, (the second, less important film used to fill out a double-bill) and shot in 12 days THE THIN MAN quickly became a hit, due largely to the chemistry between Powell and Loy. The studio eventually followed up with 5 sequels, which may not have been quite as good as the orignal, were still excellent films.

The basic premise is that detective Nick Charles has married wealthy heiress Nora. Nick is now quite content to manage Nora's money and drink far too many cocktails but Nora likes to see Nick 'in action' solving crimes. She enjoys the excitement of the mysteries and the interesting characters from Nick's past.

THE THIN MAN involves the disappearance of an old acquaintance in New York and sets the stage for the series. AFTER THE THIN MAN finds Nick and Nora back in San Francisco for New Years and dealing with a scandal in her family. ANOTHER THIN MAN refers to baby Nick Jr. and another murder among their New York crowd. SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN finds Nick and Nora (and Nicky Jr and Asta) involved in an another murder. In THE THIN MAN GOES HOME, Nick and Nora travel to Nick's hometown for a rest only to find that murders happen in the most peaceful of locales. The final entry, SONG OF THE THIN MAN, involves Nick and Nora in the Jazz world.

There are several running 'gags' in this series, Nick and Nora's drinking, his disreputble friends (although most of the cases involve her family and friends), train travel, Nora's off-the wall comments, Asta's antics, and the final 'gather all the suspects and reveal the culprit' scene. These are delightful films, well worth watching again and again as much for the interaction between Powell and Loy as for the mysteries themselves.


This really is the COMPLETE Thin Man Collection! Besides containing the original Thin Man movie, which does turn up every so often on cable at least, this set includes all the sequels, the trailers, various shorts that were shown with the orignal releases and also includes documentaries on William Powell and Myna Loy, a radio adaptation, and the pilot episode of the TV series.

Great films, plus superb extras

I've waited for eons for AFTER THE THIN MAN, arguably the finest of these six great comedy-mysteries. We all know that the THIN MAN series innovated a concept thought unusual and unmarketable in cinema in 1932: the loving, flirtatious married couple who are as funny (and have fun) together as the day they fell in love ... the marriage as one long romance. We all know that William Powell and Myrna Loy had instant on-the-set chemistry that practically overpowered their films together. (A fine example is the scene in THE THIN MAN in which MacCauley takes a phone call in their hotel room, and a hungover Nora and playful Nick goof around behind him. It's quick, it's inspired, and if you examine carefully it appears that Loy could barely contain very real laughter.)

What you might NOT have noticed about these DVDs (expand the detailed information bullets) is that each contains a full night at the movie, circa the time of the feature film. One-reels, cartoons ... six DVDs with rareties and gems that make sitting down with Nick and Nora an evening's entertainment. You have two of Robert Benchley's superb comedy shorts ("Why Daddy?", "How To Be A Detective"), a handful of Tex Avery, Fritz Freleng, and Hanna/Barbera cartoons, a music melodrama, and a rather gothic adaptation of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," among others.

In all, this set is more than one could hope for. You have the movies ... you have shorts and extras ... and you have two superb bio-pics from TCM on Powell and Loy. This boxed set is a steal at the current retail price.