In the wave of mysteries and police dramas that were popular in the 1930s and 40s, there were only a few that stood out, and fewer still that have maintained their popularity to this day. The enormous and unexpected popularity of the whodunit film The Thin Man led to a series of films that remained popular from its debut in the Depression era, straight on through past the end of the Second World War. Fans of this classic mystery and comedy series have been clamoring for years to own the complete saga. Warner Brothers has now answered those calls by released a box set containing all six of the feature releases along with a bonus disc of extras, all in an attractive box set.

The Films
The Thin Man (1934)
Enter our hero, recently retired private eye Nick Charles (William Powell) on the eve of his marriage with Nora (Myrna Loy). While traveling to New York an inventor named Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis, the titular thin man) goes missing, and subsequently becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his mistress, Julia Wolf (Natalie Moorhead). His daughter approaches Nick to investigate the murder. Nick (and his dog Asta) does so at the encouragement of Nora for no real reason other then to satisfy her curiosity about his old profession. This plot, which is as paper-thin as that used in the source novel, is not the attraction of the film. Rather, it plays second-fiddle to the banter between Nick and Nora, which is unlike anything audiences of the time had heard before. Nick is a man of great celebrity to many a low-life he has caught, as well as a respected member of the community. Nora comes from wealth and stature; she is a product of class, but not at all concerned with it. Together, the odd couple plays many coy games with each other, showing their wit, love, and penchant for alcohol. It is hard to dispute the charm of dialog like this:

Reporter: Say listen, is he working on a case?
Nora: Yes, he is.
Reporter: What case?
Nora: A case of scotch. Pitch in and help him.

For a film now over 70 years old, it is amazingly well ahead of its time. If the phrase “witty repartee” was not in the vernacular at the time, it must have been soon after. The script is incredibly modern, with a joke-a-minute performance that even the Zuckers never achieved. Nick and Nora have chemistry that few screen couples since can claim. As Powell himself said about their relationship, “We weren’t acting; we were just two people in perfect harmony.” They portray a couple so perfectly, in even the most subtle ways, that it is amazing to realize that they weren’t an off-screen couple as well. Sadly The Thin Man was snubbed at Oscar time, having received nominations but no awards in the Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing categories. Still, it was a surprise hit when released, more than making its budget back. Since it was also completed in a mere 12 days, it was considered profitable enough for a sequel, giving fans exactly what they wanted.

After the Thin Man (1936) - Disregarding the fact entirely that the titular character was not our protagonist, the sequel kept the name for (one can only assume) recognition purposes, and began billing Nick and Nora as “Mr. and Mrs. Thin Man.” Just as the title says, this first sequel immediately follows the events of the first film as the Charles’ arrive back in San Francisco from their Christmas trip. It is now New Years’ Eve and Nora’s cousin Selma (Elissa Landi) asks for Nick’s help in finding her husband, Robert (Alan Marshal), who has recently disappeared. She has a feeling he has been seeing someone on the side, and is suspicious of blackmail. Also in the background is David Graham (James Stewart), who may or may not be involved with Robert’s disappearance.

Every bit as entertaining as the first film, After the Thin Man follows the same formula that made the first time out a roaring success. The fantastic supporting cast, particularly James Stewart (before his more well-known performances) makes the first sequel stand out over the others. Particularly in the finale, Stewart really gets to show off his acting chops. It becomes apparent he will be a big star in the future. The film is worth watching for his scenes alone. The best scene of the film though is also a nearly five-minute silent sequence as Nick conducts an investigation on two apartments; the scene builds a great deal of tension. Nothing is verbally explained, so you get a chance to do your investigative work alongside Nick. This first sequel also establishes what will eventually become part of the formula. Like the first film, as well as the sequels to follow, we will get to see or hear from at least one of the ex-cons that Nick helped put away. There will almost always be a misunderstanding between Nick and the police, involving him being forced to work outside-the-law. Finally, all of the sequels will end with the requisite gathering of suspects into a room, showing off all deductions until a forced confession is made. What will make the following films unique is that the characters actually refer to these formulaic events in the script because they realize it themselves. This makes what essentially becomes the same pill much easier to swallow.

Another Thin Man (1939) - Following up on the big reveal at the end of After, it is now a year later and Nick Charles, Jr. has been born. Nick and Nora visit Coloniel MacFay’s (C. Aubrey Smith) estate when he is being threatened by a mysterious man wanting revenge for unknown reasons.

There is nothing particularly memorable about this film. Most of the decent conventions were played out better in the first two films. The plot itself is fairly convoluted, with enough red herrings to make the viewer wish he had a degree in Aqua culturing to keep track. With the addition of the son, the entertaining lifestyle of the duo is tamed as they are forced to become responsible parents. While the first two films maintained a good balance of gumshoe and comedy, this picture stresses the mystery to such a degree that the film becomes unbalanced and not really representative of what the series is about. If it were not part of the series, it would be completely forgotten. Taking its place as third in the series, it is by far the most unmemorable. There is one marvelous, and seemingly tacked on, dance sequence. It doesn’t star our leads at all but a African-American man and what appears to be a Latin woman, seemingly uncredited. It’s a sad thing when uncredited characters provide the highlights, but in this movie, such is the case.

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) - A jockey is murdered and despite being requested, Nick refuses to get involved. When a reporter is found dead soon after, Nick has second thoughts and begins to investigate the case.

A slight improvement over Another. The previously unbalanced scale is tipped the opposite direction, only a little bit too far. Possibly after seeing the disastrous results of Another, Nick, Jr., while older, plays a much less significant role in the film. Now of speaking age, he adds a few charming moments, whereas before he was simply a plot device. In one scene he prevents his father from drinking alcohol by encouraging him to drink milk. Even more fun is a scene with father and son on a carousel ride where Nick, Sr. is prodded by his son and other children for being scared to ride on the dragon. During this scene Nick becomes quite disoriented, even without alcohol, and Nora passes clues to him each time the carousel completes a revolution. Another humorous scene comes from a pushy waiter practically forcing each member of a dining party to order the sea bass. While this works over the previous effort, it emphasizes comedy well over the mystery, so the plot becomes almost lost. But at least the Thin Man charm is back, which was almost completely gone last time around.

The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) - Nick goes back home to visit his family and causes a stir in the community. People start to assume he is there on business, investigating the skeletons in their closets. Nora buys a painting of a windmill from the local art dealer that someone else really wanted, and unbeknownst to her, the painter was murdered soon after. Nick and Nora investigate and soon are faced with threats against Nick’s family.

If there was any more slapstick in this chapter, I would expect a French waiter to run across the screen screaming “Sacré bleu!” Nick and Nora remain sober the entire film, and thankfully leave the child back in San Francisco “attending Kindergarten.” This helps the film considerably because Loy and Powell are allowed to be more romantic, kidding with each other away from the constraints of raising the child. This returns the charm of the first two films. There is a nice array of supporting characters, including a crazy woman who lives in a dilapidated shack. Additionally, it is more than a half-hour before the first murder, which gives more time for character development for the non leads, specifically Nick’s parents. The whole film is quite silly, which is not surprising considering when it was released. “Going Home” takes on a whole new meaning when placed with in the context of 1945, and the lightheartedness of the film, which featuring a sub-plot concerning the thievery of aerial defense blueprints, captures some of the themes of what audiences wanted and needed in end/post-war America. The direction suffers the most though, as Richard Thorpe seemingly didn’t like moving the camera around much.

Song of the Thin Man (1947) - On board the sea vessel S.S. Fortune, a murder occurs and Nick and Nora’s friends are the prime suspects. Nick turns them in even though he believes in their innocence just to make sure they are not targeted as he investigates. As they look into the murder, they find a clarinet player that is convinced of his own guilt and in a mental state.

The luster of the series is now long gone, and while not as bad as Another, this film still suffers quite a bit. Oh, it is lively enough for sure, with strong scenes where Loy takes on investigative duties by herself and when the couple attempt to become hip to the burgeoning jazz lifestyle. Still, as a whole, even at roughly 90 minutes the film feels overlong and stretched. Visually, it is slightly more impressive than its predecessor, with director Edward Buzzell actually moving the camera around quite a bit. However, aside from the jazz music and an awesome atmospheric (and funny) scene with Nick acting like an Irish police officer on a foggy ship, there simply isn’t much going for this chapter. This film would only be recommended for completists interested in seeing the entire series.

Presentation
The first film was released on DVD in 2002. This disc is exactly the same, simply repackaged in a keepcase to match the others in the set. As a result, it looks sadly worse by comparison with the sequels, even though it is a serviceable enough transfer. There are lots of scratches late in the film that I found distracting, but it is much better than television broadcasts of the past. The five sequels all look fantastic, although I found a few speckles in the many outside scenes of The Thin Man Goes Home.

The mono audio comes across very clear on all of the films and features. I had no problems distinguishing what anyone was saying. The Thin Man series isn’t going to blow you away sonically, as you might expect. But it will present you with a decent and understandable soundtrack even when music takes the main stage. That is all anyone can ask. Much kudos to Warner for the soundtracks. Also included is a French mono dub, but only for the first three films. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish for all six features and, surprisingly enough, Portuguese for The Thin Man only. Sadly, none of the extra features have any subtitles.

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