William Powell and Myrna Loy were so linked together in the public mind that people just assumed that they were married. More than once, when they had to check into a hotel together while working on a film, they had to specifically tell the desk clerk that they wanted separate rooms.

More than one critic has said that The Thin Man is really about marriage. All of the couples in the movie are horrible to each other, except for Nick and Nora. They love each other, they trust each other, and they protect each other. That scene where Nora walks in on Nick while he's consoling another woman is telling. She's a bit surprised, but she's not jealous. She knows he wouldn't cheat on her. So instead of acting hurt or making a scene, she sticks out her tongue. They really did drink a lot, didn't they? Anyone who drank so much today would be considered an alcoholic, but in this movie it was a sign of sophistication (and a source of humor). I wonder whether it had anything to do with the fact that prohibition had ended less than a year earlier. I'm looking forward to Arsenic and Old Lace. Thanks!

the second thin man was mr. JAMES STEWART first acting role. the thin man series has 6movies ,not as good as the first one,but the chemistry of the charles is still incredible and worth viewing specialy the second movie.

These Thin Man movies are so popular that Turner Classic Movies Channel every New Year's Day runs a marathon of all the movies in the series that day. Also the first sequel has Jimmy Stewart in a major supporting role. Powell and Loy were such a great team they did I think 14 movies together not just the Thin Man movies. Looking forward to the Cary Grant Movies ! There are so many on screen and behind the screen stories just about Arsenic and Old Lace. Can't wait !

We love the entire series and watch the marathon's TCM shows every year. The chemistry between Loy (Nora) and Powell (Nick) is magic and doesn't age and oh so much fun to watch even today. I'd love to hang out with them.

William Powell had a very distinctive voice in 30’s comedy - 60’s comic Don Adams used to do an imitation of Powell in his nightclub act, and that became the famous brassy, nasally trademark voice Adams would go on to use in “Get Smart” and “Inspector Gadget”.

Nick and Nora are such icons in the classic film fan community it’s unreal, *everybody* loves ‘em so it’s like clockwork to see yet another person beguiled by them. I can’t even front because I do too. Solving murders as a happily married couple with dog is just the ideal life as far as I’m concerned. I mentioned before I just barely prefer the first sequel to this and it’s for a lot of reasons really, which I guess are best stored away for now. But the cool thing to note about both is the holiday maximization potential: Thin Man could be construed as a light Christmas flick and After the Thin Man as a rare New Year’s one. Sequels that take place immediately afterwards are always fun so it’s no wonder I love it so much.

I'm so impressed that you recognized Porter Hall in other movies, you are becoming the true cinemaphile. Now that I think about it, I am hoping "His GIrl Friday" is part of your Cary Grant series, because: 1. Porter Hall is in it 2. It probably has the fastest dialogue in movie history 3. The lead actress, Rosalind Russell, was very proud of playing independent strong woman and act as a role model for other women. 4. Even today it is still considered the best movie newspaper movie in history.

"He didn't get anywhere near my tabloids" gets me every time.

Excited for Arsenic and Old Lace. Love Cary Grant and Josephine Hull. Glad you enjoyed Nick, Nora and Asta.

Glad to see you covering this fun movie!It's cool seeing someone reacting to the older classics,not the same 10 movies from the 80s!Subscribed! And the man who played Chris,Cesar Romero,became known as the "latin lover" throughout his career,and had a career revival in the 60s by playing "The Joker" on the Batman TV series.

10:05 - "These pre-Code films..." Agreed! Always found it fascinating to observe the change in cultural expression in that brief window between 1929 and 1933-34, from the advent of "talkies", up through Prohibition ('33) and then Hays Code ('34)

I've seen this several times and I think you explained what happened better than I could've. A lot of noir have stories that that have some big plot holes - and they are sometimes more about the ride and the style. I just love all the scenes with Powell and Loy because they're so fun and of course their marriage is so enviable.

The overlooked co-star of the film is Asta the dog, real name Skippy. He appeared in over 20 films including ones starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. The actors were not allowed to interact with Skippy between takes because his trainer felt it would break his concentration. He was replaced for the last 2 Thin Man films due to his age. I think he steals every scene he is in!!! 🐕

I LOVE “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Thank you for bringing such wonderful attention to these older classics.

I love screwball comedies and the fact that Nick & Nora are already married in the Thin Man movies gives them a different kind of spice. It makes me sad that I'll probably never manage to see all of Myrna Loy's many movies. Maureen O'Sullivan was a firecracker too. She was adorable in "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934). Surprised there's been no mention of Myrna Loy's wardrobe.

I love how you get excited when you see actors you recognize, because I get the same way with these old films.

The exchange at 21:47 is one of my favourites in cinematic history. In a lot of films, the plot would be completely derailed by the misunderstanding, and no one would communicate! A bunch of cheap drama to pad out a thin story! Here? They pull faces at eachother, and you know EXACTLY what each of them is saying, while still being respectful of the grieving girl! Pure genius! ETA a great quote not in this cut. Nora: They wrote that you got shot twice in the Tabloids. Nick: Nonsense! He got nowhere NEAR my tabloids!

William Powell and Myrna Loy also appeared in Libeled Lady with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow. I haven't seen the film in years but it was very enjoyable at the time. He also starred in Mister Roberts with James Cagney, Henry Fonda and Jack Lemmon.

Thank you for covering The Thin Man, one of my favorites! 30 years ago I had heard about it and rented the film - I liked it so much I rented all the others and called in sick the next day! I am also glad to hear you are covering Arsenic and Old Lace! I seem to remember a story that Cary Grant had wanted to reshoot some scenes because he felt he played a little too "over-the-top" but could not do it due to time constraints. I thought it was great as it was.

From the 1930s...you have Harlow, Lombard, Rogers, Crawford, Lamarr, Leigh, de Havilland, and many others...but you can keep them all...Myrna Loy was the most beautiful and glamorous of them all...well, with Lombard a very close second.

William Powell & Myrna Loy were the most successful team out there- they made a total of 14 films together. They were good friends off screen, so their chemistry on screen was helped by being friends. As far as The Thin Man series went, Nick & Nora had this banter always going on where Nora wants him to do some work. Their character arc is that Nick married Nora who was quite wealthy. Nick thought he hit "easy street" even though it was a marriage of love. So, he doesn't come off as a Gold Digger, the plots loosely have a not involved plot, its really about their playful relationship. As far as all the drinking, FDR had reversed prohibition after being elected ( repealed the Volstead Act), so the bars were crowded, so people were drinking legitimately now. The public really saw them as a couple, so when Powell, Loy, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy made Libeled Lady, even though Harlow & Powell were a couple off screen, the directors wouldn't cast her and Powell as the love match in the film, since the public wouldn't accept it.

Missed my favorite line: "Waiter, would you serve the nuts? I mean, would you serve the guests the nuts?"

"What's that man doing in my drawers?" and "waiter will you serve the nuts" funny stuff

You aren't the only person to think the 'Thin Man' was William Powell. The entire series naming pattern was based on that mistake and a need to connect to the first movie.

The dialogue in this film is brilliant! My favorite of all the Thin Man movies. You by far do the best job of movie reviews on KZfaq. And I love that you do the classic movies. I am 56 and I enjoy films from the 30's-60's.👍😄

Another classic checked off your list! I told you that you would love their chemistry!! I do enjoy your observations of the movies and your growing understanding that these films are the building blocks of everything after. Carry On!!

Wynant is the thin man in the first Thin Man film in which Wynant dies, but the name 'thin man' is used to name the sequels which i suspect was an identification marketing ploy for the sequels. All the Thin Man films have complicated plots with everyone as a suspect and a gathering for a reveal at the end but they are still very entertaining.

Don’t forget the performance of Skippy as Asta.

Another great film Dashiel Hammett wrote is "The Maltese Falcon". It also has quick and witty dialogue. It also stars my favorite actor of the 1930's-40's era, Humphrey Bogart.

When you get a dog remember: companion. Also get a rescue dog that nobody wants. You'll be glad you did.

Love the Thin Man series. Mia you look beautiful! Writing this early on, but when Asta is stopping at every pole, tree, hydrant in the street scene(I think it's this movie), is hysterical.

In the sequence that (in this Review edit) begins at 28:43 there is a GREAT gag that keeps happening outside of the frame. It is best seen when you watch the entire scene in the movie itself: as Myrna Loy and William Powell walk on the sidewalk and the camera follows them, you will see that Myrna Loy is holding the dog's leash. As the leash 'moves' around from side to side under her grasp, you will notice - if you pay attention - that the leash gravitates towards every tree that they pass by on the sidewalk. The dog, presumably, is "stopping" to pee in every single one of them! It even causes the humans to stop and wait for the dog to finish, repeatedly, over and over. They do not even allude to it. The humans just continue talking. This is GREAT Direction!! It's HILARIOUS!! Audiences in 1934 would start laughing in the theaters and the laughter would get larger and larger as spectators realized what was going on!!! But the dog's behavior is neither mentioned nor talked about. But everyone knows what dogs "do."

If you wanna see more William Powell movies, I would recommend "Libeled Lady" (which, also, stars Myrna Loy and Powell's real-life girlfriend, Jean Harlow) and "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid", which is a little lesser-known but, I just find it delightful! Also, so funny you assumed that William Powell and Myrna Loy had worked together a lot before this movie when, in reality, they really hadn't. They had only worked on one movie immediately before this one called "Manhattan Melodrama" and they didn't even play a romantic couple in that movie. "The Thin Man" was only their 2nd film together and their first time playing a couple. Their natural chemistry and rapport was just so good, it just makes you think that they've known each other forever.

Interesting fact if you don’t know, but Maureen O’Sullivan was the mother of Mia Farrow, who was once married to Frank Sinatra before becoming the partner of Woody Allen.

Dashiell Hammett wrote the Maltese Falcon as well.

You have great taste So refreshing to find a youtuber who realizes there were movies before Star Wars

Maureen O'Sullivan was Mia Farrow's mother. I could really see the resemblance because of the age she was when she made this movie.

Tiffany - It's very possible that THE THIN MAN is the very first movie to depict a person with super powers (a super hero?) in film history. Think about it: three times during the film, in moments of crisis, Nick Charles displays the power of super-speed, coupled with extreme accuracy of movement. He disarms Dorothy, when she brandishes her gun at him, then does it again when the thug is about to shoot him during the midnight visit, and then finally, to disarm McCaulley. (In the 2nd example - the midnight attack - the creators clearly increased the camera rate to speed up the action; they may or may not have done it again, when Nick punches out McCaulley.) In each case, Nick reacts and moves SO FAST that you barely even see anything. We have the luxury of backing up and being able to play the scene again and again, so that you know exactly where to look. I also recall reading somewhere, that when the Marvel creators wanted to model the relationship between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in the IRON MAN and AVENGERS films, they went back and studied the dialogue between Nick and Nora in the Thin Man films. I can certainly believe it! ...you may or may not also be aware that Maureen O'sullivan is the mother of Mia Farrow.

Re: shooting The Thin Man in two weeks. The director of the film, W.S. Van Dyke, was known as "One Take" Woody because he worked so fast.

Trend setter. There are an astounding number of great movies from this era, keep reacting to them, others will catch on. Highly recommend, “The Quiet Man”, “Casablanca,” “Mr Roberts,” is especially wonderful.

Your hair looks so pretty. The Thin man series was so good! Boy they could drink! 😂 The studio system would use the character actor again,and again, that is why they will show up again and again! They were under contract. No the thin man is Nick.

21:47 I saw this movie years ago and this is the moment I remember most vividly, I love Nick and Nora and this moment shows why perfectly.

My request - one of my favorite black and white comedies for the script - is Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). It is so well written around humor that was a tiny bit dark, even for modern times, and Betty Hutton's and Eddie Bracken's chemistry is adorable.

If you like "The Thin Man" you may like another movie based on Dashiell Hammett work, "The Maltese Falcon".

I really like the attitude that Nick Charles has towards crime and criminals. He's on good terms, even with people he's had arrested- his response upon getting shot and being asked if he wants to press charges is "I dunno, maybe it was an accident"- it's such a touch of humanity that even contemporary procedurals don't even think to gift their protagonists.

Okay, great video as usual. Now, yes, the actor playing Chris Jorgenson is very tall...and dark...and Latin. because... It's Cesar Romero in one of his first roles. BTW, if you like Porter Hall, he was one of Preston Sturges's stock company of actors. Films of Sturges in which he is in are The Great McGinty, Sullivan's Travels, Hail the Conquering Hero (my favorite) and The Palm Beach Story (that one you'll love).

I love Powell and Loy together in films, The thing I really like is they stayed lifelong friends, I've seen interviews with Loy who talked about going and seeing powell who was in ill health and wasnt really socializing with people, she insisted on coming over and they talked , he didnt want to bother people with his issues, she said we are friends of course i want to see you. i think it is heartwarming they were so close in a platonic way.Powell had a history of this, he and Lombard after having been married before were friends and when she was with Gable and he with Harlow ,used to vacation together up till Lombard's untimely death.

I love how the clues are keeping you guessing, Mia. That's not only a sign of good writing, but that the movie has gotten you invested in the story and the characters. A fun thing to notice is, during the exposition scenes with Nick, Nora, and the detective, they have to keep stopping while they walk. That's because Asta needs to stop at every tree and fire hydrant on the way, though the dog is never shown during the sequence. It's just left to our intelligence to understand. You're noticing a film noir feel to the story, which is because it was originally written that way in the Hammett short story. Many of Hammett's works were adapted into film noir, including the brilliant Maltese Falcon. I managed to find a volume of Hammett's works in a single bound hardcover and I take it out to re-read it once in a while. Myrna Loy and William Powell worked so well together that they were cast in a large number of films together, not just the six Thin Man movies. All of those are well worth checking out - I Love You Again, Manhattan Melodrama, The Great Ziegfeld and several others. I first became aware of this movie as an early teen in the mid-1970s when one of our local radio stations used to air old radio plays on Saturday nights. Besides stories from The Shadow, Superman, Abbott and Costello, they played a one hour version of The Thin Man adapted for radio and starring Loy and Powell. It would have been used as promotion for the movie at the time of release. It was so good, I was hooked and had to see the movie itself, which I did just a year or two later. I wasn't disappointed and this young man fell in love with Myrna Loy as well as the wonderful relationship the Charles' shared.

Thank you so much for reacting to The Thin Man. You may be the first channel to react to this 1934 classic. I hope in the future you will react to The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Another of my favorites!

William Powell's last fim was "Mister Roberts" -- also great for Henry Fonda and James Cagney.

people who didn't pay attention all thought that the thin man was nick, so all the other books and movies referred to nick that way. i'm in my 60's, and this has been on my willing to rewatch list since i discovered it more than 30 years ago.

Great reaction, Mia! Love the visuals you added to your introduction. Like you, I LOVE the chemistry between Nick and Nora. And I really enjoy how plucky Nora is - she’s no whiny rich girl! Can’t wait for Cary Grant! He’s one of my all time favorite male leads. I think you’re going to fall in love with him! 😍

About the drinking....prohibition had recently been repealed. I guess they were enjoying their new found freedom. 😅

Love love love your reactions!!! Your spontaneous delight to the plot, balanced with the observations of the players performing is truly satisfying. I've always enjoyed The Thin Man', spontaneous dialog, loose, yet controlled, and intermixed with fine physical comedy. Thanks.

Thank you for watching this, a great film. Have always loved this film and these characters. Fell in love with Myrna Loy.

The tall guy named Chris was Cesar Romero, who became a successful supporting actor during the 1940s and is best known as the first actor to portray the Joker in the 1960s TV series, "Batman".

I find it interesting that the studio didn't have much confidence in the project, but $14,000 was A LOT of money in 1934, that sounds like a bidding war between studios. The fact that the movie came out the same year as the book was published makes it a hot property. The way the studio heads were, I wouldn't be surprised if they were less concerned about making it, but more concerned about keeping it away from rival studios.

This is my favorite film. I wish more people knew it.

according to James Cagney (actor, co founder & 1st vp of the screen actors guild) said that under the studio system that 12-15 hour 6 day a week shoots were not uncommon. Julies Epstien estimated that the studios in the peek of the studio system would put out about 45-50 movies a year. This assembly line aspect of filmmaking may explain why this movie and many others were made in 2 weeks

She considers it remarkable that Woodie Van Dyke filmed The Thin Man in only 2 weeks. Wait until she starts getting int the films of Roger Corman, some of whom's films were shot in as little as 3 days!

I wonder if this was the first film the word sex was used. Old films would often want to be the first to use a taboo word. Anatomy of a murder was the first to use the word panties, and it featured several times in the film.

My mother loved this series of movies. As a child I would watch them with her, but truly only appreciated the humor when I got older. Nick and Nora are fantastic together. Good to see a loving couple.

Roger Corman is probably an even faster director than WS Van Dyke. He once shot a film in 2 days because he still had Boris Karloff on contract for that time after finishing a previous film sooner than expected.

Remember that alcohol consumption had just been re-legalized in December 1933.

William Powell made many delightful movies, but my favorite will forever be My Man Godfrey. William Powell, Carol Lombard, and a host of crazy characters.

William Powell: one of the greatest film actors ever.

Powell and Loy made approximately a dozen films together

Fun fact. Maureen O'Sullivan was Mia Farrow's mother.

Loy and Powell did have chemistry from working together before. Very similar to Fisher & Ford in the subsequent two Star Wars movies in the trilogy. I think you'd really like reacting to "Life With Father" with William Powell in the title role. Loy's not his wife in this one, but Irene Dunne is and she gives a great performance.

Maureen O'Sullivan was also in the first Tarzan movie with Johnny Weismiller.

These two are probably my favorite couple in the movies, and certainly my favorite married characters. Powell and Loy are electric in basically everything with each other. Definitely check out the other Thin Man movies. Nick and Nora are always delightful, and the second one in particular is a bonafide classic -- it has Jimmy Stewart, the wit is off the charts, and also the mystery is probably even better than this one. It's also my favorite "New Year's" movie, with my favorite party scene in any movie.

Love the slapstick in this film. The second film is great as well.

Another great review. Thank you! I really enjoyed it.

Glad to rediscover you. You make great soundtracks

Supposedly, Dashiell Hammett based Nora Charles on the playwright Lillian Hellman. : )

Myrna Loy and William Powell did a couple other good films together outside of thin man series. Manhattan Melodrama and Libeled Lady

Great reaction Mia! I really respect your appreciation for film history. I can see you writing scholarly books about film history one day. You may know this but there is an obscure term for the high society films of the thirties called "the White Telephone" because of their conspicuous use in these movies. The Thin Man and Nick Charles are also mentioned briefly in the 1976 hit song Can You Feel It by Bill Amesbury.

Keep up the great reviews Mia!

Just found your channel while looking up Thin Man scenes to show friends. Instantly subscribing.

One of my favorite movies. Great job ✅

You review the best movies. I love old films. Love your info on these movies as well. Director etc. have seen these all so far but love watching others opinions on them

Hello Mia, I love your channel! I grew up on these movies. We used to have a show called Million Dollar Movies and I was addicted to it as a kid back in the 60’s. Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart are amazing. I loved watching you watch Rear Window. Ah hell, I’ve enjoyed watching you watch them all. The 30’s and 40’s are movie GOLD. I just couldn’t resist giving you a few names of movies that you absolutely must put on your list of classics. Bette Davis in Now Voyager….OMG. The Women, another must. John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara in The Quiet Man. I heard you mention loving Romeo and Juliet - if so, you must see the 1969 Franco Zeffirelli version. Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire. The More the Merrier with Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. Bette Davis in The Great Lie, The Little Foxes. The Farmers Daughter it’s Loretta Young, Bachelor Mother with Ginger Rogers. There’s so many more, but these will not disappoint.

Speaking of movies shot quickly, Saw was filmed in 5 days. One of Roger Corman's movies he only had the actors for 3 days so he did two days of rehearsals and one day to film the whole thing.

36:30 Just to point out, the random guy Dorothy shows up with at the revealing dinner party, we saw him earlier at the Christmas party. It's the drunk guy that was commenting on what a nice little brunette Dorothy was. So he might've been stalking her and hooked up with her drinking in a club. And the guy playing Chris is a young Cesar Romero, known as the Joker in the camp Batman TV series from the sixties.

The Thin Man is one of my favorite films all time

Two films that parody the 30s and 40s detective films are Murder By Death & The Cheap Detective, both very good comedies starring Peter Falk as a Bogart type character.

i don't have a clue how i missed your reaction to this! i love all your reaction videos, and i absolutely adore all the thin man (especially 1st 3) movies and can't imagine any other nick and nora than powell and loy. they're fantastically funny. so glad i noticed it just now. (i've been both watching some of your recent reactions in the last couple of weeks and rewatching some of your older ones that i remembered enjoying so much.)

Perhaps somebody mentioned this, but another film starring these two as a couple - not Nick and Nora - was "I Love You Again" from 1940 by the same director as here. Very good and funny film with character actor Frank McHugh in his typical sidekick role.

I love this movie so much!!! Nick and Nora are marriage goals XD

I have now watched 2 of your reactions. Am happy to see you are watching some classics. Am really enjoying them. If you haven't already, I would recommend some Humphrey Bogart - Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, Casablanca. Also the Saint in London (1939).

Dashiell Hammett wrote this character Thin Man and he also wrote The Maltese Falcon novels.

You had me at "pre-code" - you have a new sub 🙂

The tall man getting fought over by the two women is Caesar Romero who went on to decades of film work and ranged from the Cisco Kid up to and including the Joker on television.

Love your channel and your reactions. It’s like I’m watching TCM😊. The Thin Man series is a favorite of mine. Glad to see others appreciate it! Suggestion - watch Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney during the July 4th week. Definitely fits a July 4th theme! (So many films, so little time.)

You should see William and Myrna in the movie I Love You Again. It's a great movie. I highly recommend it. Not sure if you've seen the move One Way Passage with William. It is one of my favorites -- especially around this time of year.

Myrna was at her best with Cary Grant and Shirley Temple in THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBYSOXER

15 years ago I had my door open for ventilation in this old (1930) apartment building. I heard whispering in the hallway. It was 3 in the morning. A young L.A.P.D. officer and his female partner were about 10 feet away. I popped my head out the doorway - "what's going on?" I asked. The dude swung his cocked weapon right at my head. "Get the fuck back in there!" he almost screamed. He was a bit touchy and nervous. When I can type I will tell you about the crack dealers that used to live here. Hollywood! Guns! Death!

I love these movies 🎩 🍸

And cesar romero too!!!!... I love this movie... But is not in my collection... Yet 😩