With its literary pedigree courtesy of Dashiell Hammett, and the enormous chemistry between its two stars, The Thin Man was a natural success. The exceptionally witty script by Hackett & Goodrich still has an enviable clever remark every minute, and 'mister speedy' director Van Dyke arranged the elements for perfect entertainment. Slickness and sophistication run through the whole enterprise. Nick & Nora's natural, unforced dialogue became the envy of the upscale set, and their lifestyle the dream of the dispossessed. One can imagine Mia Farrow watching this film in The Purple Rose of Cairo and being carried away by it. The Charles's come off as great people to know, and they live in a swanky Manhattan hotel. Nora has a killer outfit just to slouch on the sofa, and they blithely order sandwiches and booze from a room service that's an unending tap. It's the perfect fantasy: rich swells who are swell folks.

The film's sophistication is evident when it divides its time equally between light character fun, and the mystery. Nick playfully shoots Christmas ornaments with his brand new popgun, and then goes out to dig a corpse out of some freshly-laid concrete, naturally without getting his fingers dirty. The Charles's relationship was made for the films: they banter, flirt, insult and if necessary slap each other around, but there's never any doubt of their total devotion to one another. They're just too faux-hardboiled to harp on the subject all the time.

Powell was never more handsome or charming, and Myrna Loy is a sight to die for, a unique beauty with a pinched nose and catlike face, and an utterly disarming manner. This very relaxed, 'behavior'- based comedy is perhaps their best. Doggie star Asta was the rage as well, even though he's just asked to be a straight-dog to Powell's quips. Not their equal in star caliber but just as beloved was Maureen O'Sullivan, who of course played Tarzan's Jane. Her sweet socialite is a bit of a stretch, when disappointment has her suddenly and unconvincingly declare,"I'm never going to get married or have children. From now on I'm just going for the ride."

The other cultural interest is with Maureen O'Sullivan's bookworm-mama's boy brother Gilbert, who walks around talking Freudian nonsense and staring at people like they're insect specimens. Hollywood's big love affair with psychoanalysis was still years away, and this nerdish leech is played for laughs - to say morbid and awkward dialogue, and be detested by the other characters.

The usual white-telephone trappings of MGM parlor pictures have to share space with dank night exteriors, which certainly aren't noir, but are creepy nonetheless. The story is of confected so that everybody from tough cops to underworld thugs are intimidated and cowed by William Powell's good looks and smart mouth. He gets his way and commands authority in every situation by sheer charm and slick screenwriting. Historians all mention the speed with which the film was made, but the haste doesn't show, except maybe in the big ending dinner scene, where there are a few too many cutaways to single actors that just barely match the scene in tone or pitch.

Warner's DVD of The Thin Man looks just fine. There are faint scratches here and there, but the show is intact, nicely framed, and free of flickering or bad contrast. Hollywood film stocks from this era didn't have the best contrast range (but they did have that 'silver screen' nitrate glow) and the DVD accurately replicates the look. The sound has obviously been cleaned up from very good elements, as there's little hiss and no telltale signs of EQ or compression.

The only extras are some filmographies, and a whole string of Thin Man sequel trailers. They didn't rush these out, as 6 titles stretch from 1934 to 1947 with the leads aging gracefully while the material got thinner each time. The parade of MGM hopefuls who show up as bits and red herrings is very interesting: James Stewart, Sheldon Leonard, Gloria Grahame (is that her original nose?), Barry Nelson, and others.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Thin Man rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Very good
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: Trailers
Packaging: Snapper case
Reviewed: October 14, 2002