"The Thin Man" (1934) on my local PBS station

Let's make some martinis in honor. Remember to shake in foxtrot rhythm.

Brilliant dialogue.

Couldn't Nick have just pushed Nora off the bed rather than punching her and knocking her out?

Never got their popularity. They always seemed so smug and self-satisfied.

"I read you were shot in the tabloids"

"They came nowhere near my tabloids"

"You may serve the nuts now. I mean, you may serve the guests the nuts."

"I don't like crooks. And if I did like 'em, I wouldn't like crooks that are stool pigeons. And if I did like crooks that are stool pigeons, I still wouldn't like you."

Watch for the sight gag in the kitchen. Nick opens the refrigerator, and instead of the little ice cube/freezer section on top they reversed it so 90% of the interior is ice cube trays and 10% is for food.

It only lasts a couple seconds and they never mention it or draw attention to it in any way, but it's those little details that make the series great.

[italic]The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.[/italic]

Nora: How many drinks have you had?

Nick: This will make six Martinis.

Nora: [to the waiter] All right. Will you bring me five more Martinis, Leo? Line them right up here.

I own the box set, and while the last two don't even approach the others in terms of brilliance, they are 100% more amusing than anything produced in this day and age. Why was Myrna Loy never nominated for an Oscar? Her work in "The Thin Man" series was light weight, but she was in plenty of other worthy films. I understand that she was very liberal and more outspoken than a woman was supposed to be during that time period. Is that a possible reason for why the Academy continually slighted her?

I am shocked and grateful that Hollywood has not remade these with someone like Jolie and Pitt.

I still want to be Myrna Loy when I grow up. Whadda dame.

If you've never seen a young, sexy Myrna Loy in Thirteen Women you're missing a treat.

The movie should be a camp classic, but it's worth it just to see Myrna.

I LOVE the Thin Man movies.

r12, I'm sure they will.

I love these films. But they are definitely a product of their time, a remake would fail miserably. I'm looking at you Brad and Angelina.

Why do a remake when the supporting characters can't have Marcel waves and spout dialogue like, "Say, what's the big idea??"

OP here. I've only ever seen the first film. How are the rest of the series? Somebody said the last two aren't great but what about the rest?

The 2nd movie is definitely worth seeing. Jimmy Stewart turns up in a supporting role. Nick and Nora return to San Francisco and we see her extended family, some of whom quite disapprove of Nick. There's plenty of good dialogue.

The 3rd movie returns to NYC, then to Long Island. The charm thins a bit here, but still good fun. I don't much care about the rest of the series.

It's not as entertaining as "American Idol." I'd like to see a remake with maybe Carrie Underwood and Adam Lambert set in a high school in Van Nuys.

I love Nick and Nora. I wished Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock would play Nick and Nora...they could play suave, debonair and drunk...they really could.

Did anyone see the Broadway musical version? Any good?

Only the thin man would be an anorexic girl, R21.

You mean Nicholas, R20

The Broadway musical "Nick&Nora" was inexplicably inept. The opening number was so awful, it was called "Is There Anything Better Than Dancing?" Such idiotic tripe explaining nothing about the pre-story, characters, and failing in any way to set up the story about to unfold. "Is There Anything Better Than Dancing?" Yes, "Anything Other Than This Number", my friend remarked!

Joanna Gleason acted shrill and terrified every second she was onstage, fully aware of the shittiness of the show. Barry Bostwick tried really hard, while Josie DeGuzman (fired), Faith Prince, and Christine Baranski all just mugged and stole focus attempting to distract you from the three hour running time! Oy vey, Arthur Laurents didn't have anyone to blame but himself this time.

Oy, don't forget Debbie Monk was also in that musical, maybe she even played ****SPOILER*** the murderer? Can't remember for sure, it's all a blur now.

I also love the films and recommend the boxed set which has for extras wonderful documentaries on Loy and Powell...his was esp. interesting to me because I never really knew much about him....and an episode of the late 50s TV series with Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as Nick and Nora.

I loved the TV show as a kid (before I'd ever seen any of the films) but this episode, at least, is pretty atrocious, though pretty amusing in its ineptitude.

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"Did anyone see the Broadway musical version? Any good?"

Loved the movies, hated that piece of crap musical. You know you're in for a crap musical when the curtain ascends, the furniture magically glides on to the stage, the audience applauds the furniture and then never applauds another thing the entire night.

First off, they pitted Nick & Nora against each other which was a bad choice.

In one part of the musical, they imagined different scenarios for the murder which was punctuated by Faith Prince laughing hysterically several times.

The music was crap, not a decent song in the lot and there was zero witty repartee.

The gossip is that two queens were sitting around saying "Wouldn't Nick & Nora make a great musical" They somehow convinced Arthur Laurents to put up his money and the rest is Broadway history.

Thanks for the tip, R14! I found "Thirteen Women" on YouTube and just finished watching it. It's a shame they cut so much out of the film; it had the makings of something very interesting. The last scene between Loy and Dunne, where they discuss prejudice and Loy's mixed heritage, was wonderful. Dunne was top billed for this film, but Myrna put her completely in the shade. What a stunner that lady was!

I always found it odd that LB Mayer never really starred Myrna in any of her own vehicles like Crawford, Shearer, Harlow, Garbo, Garson, Hepburn and so many of the other MGM ladies.

Myrna was always billed #2 next to one their leading men. And for such a beautiful and brilliant talent, she really made very few classic and memorable films besides the Thin Man series and a couple of others.

[quote]a remake would fail miserably

And yet that never seems to stop Hollywood. Some day a Nick and Nora film will get remade and it will all just be a huge waste of time and money.

Ahem.

[quote]I always found it odd that LB Mayer never really starred Myrna in any of her own vehicle

That's another angle to wonder about, in addition to why she was never nominated for an Oscar. I know she didn't work from 41-45 because she wanted to devote all her time to the war effort, but before that, it seems like Metro never put in the time to make her a stand-alone talent. It's very strange, because she was so popular. She was "The Queen" and Gable was "The King."

I don't know as much about Loy as I'd like to. Has anyone read her autobiography? Is it worth checking out?

Slightly off topic, but there's a part in "Conversations with Joan Crawford," where Joan discusses how intrusive MGM was in terms of their stars personal lives. She talks, without naming names, about one actress who was in love with a black man, and how the studio put a stop to it, then married her off to someone else. For some reason, I always thought that actress might have been Loy. Again, I have nothing to back up that claim, just my own strange, personal feeling about the matter.

R23- I have a bootleg video of the musical. Very complicated plot -- did not make much sense. Barry Bostwick didn't have that much to do. Joanna Gleason was fine but that whole subplot about Nick and Nora separating and Nora falling for the Chris Sarandon character was unnecessary. The best thing about the bootleg, whoever created it included the local New York TV critic reviews from opening night. A real doozie. Good cast lost in a show that just didn't make sense after the numerous rewrites, changes.

There was a thread on Loy a few years ago here at DL. Iirc, she was very liberal for her time, and quite outspoken about racism. I love all of the films in the series, even though the last couple do not quite meet the bar. However, compared to the shit that passes for films today, even those last couple of films look like Bergmann or Fellini.

I have always had the hunch that Loy was too ahead of her time for Hollywood--today, she would be right at home with Brad and Anji, even though her talent would supercede them. In the 30's and 40's? Different time.

I love the relationship between Nick and Nora. Especially the scene when Maureen O'Sullivan is crying in Nick's arms and Nora enters the room and rather than act jealous, Nora just makes a face back at Nick.

Loy's persona was a little too level-headed and cool for starring roles in the 30s and 40. She's best when she has someone to play off, e.g., Cary Grant in "The Batchelor and the Bobby-Soxer."

I love her as much as the next gay but really, which film performance could have earned her an Oscar nomination, seriously?

Maybe The Best Years of Our Lives for Supporting but even that great film doesn't give her a big knockout scene (except just maybe for the wordless welcoming back of husband Freddie March).

Her welcome home scene makes me cry every time.

If you love Myrna & Bill, check out LIBELED LADY with Powell, Loy, Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow. It's a riot.

When I heard about the Smith movie with Brad and Angelina...for some reason I thought it would be like Nick and Nora...I was disappointed to find out it was somekind of shoot 'em up action bullshit.

Pfft. Loy was pretty but she couldn't tap dance on film like I could.

r40, It's funny you should mention "The Best Years of Our Lives." I just watched it and I am baffled that Frederic March won anything for that movie, while Dana Andrews was completely ignored.

Myrna's autobiography is called , Being and Becoming" , and it is a wonderful read about the golden age of Hollywood.She said that the more domestic and dim witted they made Nora, the worse the movies became.The non Thin Man movies she made with Powell are wonderful especially, Libeled Lady and I Love You Again.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is one of my all time favorite films. Even though it’s true that Myrna Loy doesn't have a lot of screen time, she still got top billing due to her still significant star power at the time. Plus, Myrna just has a presence in that film that can't be ignored and is part of one of the still referenced famous movie scenes of all time, when she quietly welcomes her returning soldier husband home. There was something very cool about her character Milly Stephenson that, as played by Myrna, caught your attention every time she was on the screen. That's a testament to Myrna Loy.

I adore the Thin Man movies. The first two in particular are so entertaining. It is such a pleasure to watch two fine actors having great fun on screen. Witty dialogue, great supporting cast and of course, a wonderful sidekick in Asta. They don't make em like that anymore!

William Powell had a mature urbane sexuality and wit that was perhaps not so uncommon for the 1930s but is completely missing in male stars today.

For some reason, I've been on a Thin Man / Myrna Loy kick for the past couple of says and have watched "The Thin Man," "After The Thin Man," "Another Thin Man" and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" with Myrna Low and Cary Grant (Cary has a shirtless scene!)

OP S'wonderful, but the best male/female crime-solving couple remains Ralph and Sue Dibny.

Bottoms up, David Niven and Maggie Smith, in "Murder By Death"

If you check out William Powell in "How To Marry A Millionaire" with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn and Betty, you can see how little he changed from his "Thin Man" days. Thin Man films were in the mid 30's and HTMAM was in 53.

He had only one child, a son with his first wife. The son eventually killed himself after a bout of bad health back in 68.

Asta was a real bitch.;

Mystery writer George Baxt wrote a fun story, "The William Powell and Myrna Loy Murder Case" that takes place during the filming of "Double Wedding" in early 1937. Other Baxt titles-"The Bette Davis Murder Case", "The Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Murder Case" (my fave), "The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Murder Case" among others.

Also fun are Stuart Kaminsky's mysteries featuring Toby Peters, private eye to the stars set in 40s Hollywood. Toby's clients include Errol Flynn, Judy, the Marx Brothers, Bette, Joan, Mae West, Peter Lorre, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, John Wayne and on and on.

They could have nominated both of them for the first Thin Man and Loy certainly should have earned one for "Best Years of our Lives."

Paraphrasing Dashiell Hammett, R4?

William Powell...was there ever an actor as suave and elegant as he was? I don't think so.

He was Jean Harlow's true love. They'd been together for three years, but he was in no hurry to marry her. He'd already been married to a blonde movie goddess (Carole Lombard) and it didn't work out, so he wasn't eager to marry another one. There was also the problem of Harlow's awful, domineering mother and sleazebag stepfather. When Harlow died, he was devastated. Some people are miffed that he didn't marry poor doomed Harlow, but his reluctance was certainly understandable.

R8, I don't know how many times I've watched this and missed the sight gag. Thanks! I'll look for it next time.

No, they won't, R16. Pitt and Jolie wouldn't do it. Then the producer would get someone like Megan Fox and Ryan Phillipe. Then the financing would fall through, thank goodness.

I liked the 3rd entry, in some ways, better than the second. Stella Adler is great as the dame who attempts to pass as high society.

Crap, the Stella Adler was the 4th entry in the series. That's the one I liked.

Libeled Lady is one of the best films ever. Top notch actors and a great plot. Everything today is so shallow and rarely holds up.

That's why I had wished Mr. and Mrs. Smith would be more like The Thin Man series. I hadn't read anything about it, when I saw it.

How many films in the series before MGM caved in and referred to Nick Charles as The Thin Man?

Did Myrna Loy ever get top billing in a film?

I enjoy the entire series. While the last two are not as strong as the first 4, due to change of writers and director WS Van Dyke no longer at the helm (he was the one who knew Powell and Loy were an ideal team) all 6 movies are enjoyable light entertainments. Thin Man series box set is well worth adding to your collection if you're a classic film fan.

On TCM tonight. Why isn't this film more of a DL fave? Two witty and suave alcoholics who throw gay parties and have a lot money. It should be right up DL's alley.

r64: Yes. THE RAINS CAME on loan to Fox (1939). Tyrone Power is second-billed, which never happened afterwards. Won the special effects Oscar over THE WIZARD OF OZ and deserved it.

Here comes that man again...

I just watched this movie for the first time. That's one good thing about this quarantine, love searching for new things to watch.

Loved it! It was nice to see how well this movie from the 30s holds up, I found it quite snappy and entertaining.

R66, because we on DL live it.

I read the novel, and thought the movie was much better. Loy and Powell were almost as great as Colbert and Gable in "It Happened One Night".