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Extras
Disc 1 – The Thin Man
Trailer Gallery – Theatrical trailers for The Thin Man (3:16), After the Thin Man (2:53), Another Thin Man (2:34), Shadow of the Thin Man (2:58), The Thin Man Goes Home (2:09) and Song of the Thin Man (3:06).

Cast & Crew bios – Nothing more than text filmographies of William Powell, Myrna Loy, author Dashiell Hammett, screenwriters Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich and director W.S. Van Dyke. There isn’t anything here that the IMDB can’t provide you in more detail.

Disc 2 – After the Thin Man
How to Be a Detective (8:46) – A Robert Benchley comical short where he tells you what “stuff” you need to be a detective. Time hasn’t been kind. I really can’t say this is very funny, and most of the jokes (i.e. all of them) fall completely flat. Perhaps this was shown before the feature theatrically. There is no explanation for its inclusion.

The Early Bird and the Worm (9:12) – This is a short musical animation piece that also seems to have no association with the feature. It is one of many “cute fuzzy animal” cartoons of the time, and not very memorable.

6/16/1940 Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast – An interesting radio presentation of the film’s story. The sound quality is fantastic considering the age and that it was made for radio. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Leo Is “On the Air” radio promo – A promotional piece saying how great MGM (Leo the Lion…get it) is for having popular songs in movies, and a brief note on how film actually sells pop music. Clips of several songs from films of 1936 included here no doubt for featuring “Smoke Dreams” from the soundtrack to After the Thin Man.

Theatrical trailer (2:52) – The same trailer as seen on the The Thin Man DVD.

Disc 3 – Another Thin Man
Love on Tap (10:44) – A little bit of plot, and a lotta bit of dancing girls. This short is fun, if only for the absurdity of the structure. A couple keeps trying to get married but they keep getting diverted for one reason or another – mostly because we need to see well-choreographed dance sequences. Worth rewatching, and it looks pretty good too.

The Bookworm (8:22) – Another old MGM cartoon that looks even better looking than the previous one. Three witches send a raven to get a worm for their potion. He goes out to get a Bookworm, which is of course, a real worm. He chases the worm through various books whose heroes and villains try to rescue or hinder him. Even if it has a standard “sour grapes” ending this short is very cute, and well animated.

Theatrical Trailer (2:34) – The same trailer as seen on the The Thin Man DVD.

Disc 4 – Shadow of the Thin Man
The Tell-Tale Heart (19:41) – This is really an exceptionally well-done adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s story about a murderer’s guilty conscience. Fantastic acting from all of the players and great cinematography considering it’s a second-billed production. This is one of the best bonus films in the collection and well worth your time. Of course, for any fan of Poe, this production is a must.

The Goose Goes South (6:13) – An enjoyable and charming animated piece about a goose that goes hitchhiking through the South. No one is willing to give him a ride, although he keeps meeting up with a fast-talking convertible driver giving him nonsense reasons for not offering the lift. There are a few funny gags, but nothing to keep you coming back.

Theatrical Trailer (2:58) – The same trailer as seen on the The Thin Man DVD. It should also be noted that it contains some footage not used in the feature film. This trailer is worth special attention for that alone.

Disc 5 – The Thin Man Goes Home
Why Daddy? (9:22) – This is a better comedic short starring Robert Benchley. In this one he goes on a game show against a child in a battle of wits. The questions he is given become increasingly ludicrous, as the child’s questions remain trivial. This short is nothing fantastic, but it is an improvement over How to Be a Detective.

Screwball Squirrel (7:23) – A Tex Avery classic! Starting out by almost immediately breaking the 4th wall, we are told how this won’t be your average “fuzzy animal” cartoon. In it, Screwball Squirrel terrorizes a bird dog for no real reason save for his (and our) enjoyment. This is a great primer for anyone who is unfamiliar with Tex.

Theatrical Trailer (2:10) – The same trailer as seen on the The Thin Man DVD.

Disc 6 – Song of the Thin Man
A Really Important Person (10:48) – This is a morality lesson disguised as a children’s short. It’s about a boy looking for inspiring and “important” person to write an essay about. It ends up being about his policeman father who teaches him the value of honesty and owning up to your actions. Zzzzzz.

Slap Happy Lion (7:24) – Another fantastic Tex Avery cartoon in the “cat and mouse” variety. This time, a mouse stalks a lion, and steadily drives him insane to the point where he is driven to vices of drink and smoke. This is a very funny piece and another prime example of Tex’s gift to animation history.

Theatrical Trailer (3:05) – The same trailer as seen on the The Thin Man DVD.

Disc 7 – Alias Nick and Nora (Bonus Disc)
William Powell: A True Gentleman (31:17) – This documentary seems to have been made exclusively for this DVD release. While this doesn’t focus exclusively on his role in The Thin Man series of films, it does act as a well done career retrospective. Contributing on this overview are film historians Rudy Behlmer and Emily Carman, Powell archivist Christian Anderson, and critic Leonard Maltin. This is a solid discussion by all with lots of background information of our star from his upbringing through his death in 1984. Visually it remains involving due to a plethora of clips from his catalogue.

Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy – So Nice to Come Home To (46:07) – Hosted by Kathleen Turner and made for TV, this documentary is more than a little bloated with nostalgia. Nevertheless, it serves its purpose much as Powell’s doc did. The story of her life is well presented from birth to her last film, the made for television Summer Solstice. There is no shortage of footage of Loy from her long catalogue, with special attention made for her role in The Thin Man series, as well as important films like The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Great Ziegfeld. We learn interesting facts, including that Loy was gangster John Dillinger’s favorite actress, and it was Manhattan Melodrama that he watched just before being shot outside the Biograph theatre. This documentary would succeed more if it had some other participants besides Kathleen Turner. As it stands it is informative, but one-sided.

11/21/1958 The Thin Man: “Darling, I Loathe You” (TV Episode) (25:43) – I haven’t seen any other episodes of the 1957-1959 television series of The Thin Man, so I have no comparison to go on. However, based upon this episode I certainly wouldn’t mind checking it out. With Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk taking over the Nick and Nora roles, I expected to be put off. However this episode, which at less than 30 minutes tells a nice little mystery involving beatniks and a record producer, retains at least some of the charm of the film series. This Nick and Nora have good chemistry and the characters are surprisingly fleshed out for a short run time. If this is ever released in season-set form, I would be inclined to check it out. Why this episode was selected over any other is a question that goes unanswered.

6/8/1936 Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast (59:59) – This is a broadcast recording, complete with bumpers and station identification, of the first Thin Man adventure. It also stars Powell and Loy, but the audio quality is somewhat poorer than the After the Thin Man performance found on Disc 2.

Fin
The Thin Man series has its highs and lows. However, I can’t think of any other series that lasted six films and was consistently entertaining throughout. Even what I feel are weaker entries, Another Thin Man and Song of the Thin Man, are still very watchable and great family entertainment. All of the films were restored to a satisfying degree, with a mostly clear video and nearly perfect audio.

The extra features are a different beast though. For a series named “The Thin Man” the extras are full of unneeded fat. What is included is welcome, but a bit surprising. Perhaps the eight short films were attached to the original theatrical presentations? There is no explanation anywhere so their inclusion baffles me. The bonus discs two main documentaries range from very good (Powell) to very average (Loy). While it is interesting to have an episode of the TV series, I would rather have had some new features or documentaries that related directly to the series, or the source material. Something related to the marketing of these films during the Depression and WWII would have been interesting as well.

Based solely on the great film and it’s sequels I can’t help but look beyond the odd extras and recommend it to anyone who might have a passing interest in the classiest detective of all time. Fans of the series and fans of classic Hollywood shouldn’t have any problem picking this box set up at its reasonable price. Most will be happy just finally being able to own the complete saga on DVD; and there is nothing wrong with that.

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