The Thin Man - Not Exactly A Christmas Movie

Every December I post about one Christmas movie that I try to see each year.  Last year it was The Man Who Came To Dinner.  The year before that it was Christmas in Connecticut.

Ok, so The Thin Man is not exactly a Christmas movie, but it does have a funny Christmas morning scene in it. I have been thinking about it ever since I had a conversation with one of my friends (Lori you know what I'm talking about).  I found out she had never seen this movie.  And that is very sad and has to be remedied right away.  And that goes for everybody who hasn't seen it.

This is a comedy-mystery film made in 1934 based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.  I just love this era in films with it's sophisticated comedies, beautiful black and white photography, and gorgeous costumes.  This film stars Myrna Loy and William Powell as Nick and Nora Charles and Skippy as their dog Asta.  

The book description sums it all up. - Nick and Nora Charles are Hammett's most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis.

Nick is a retired detective and his wife Nora comes from a very wealthy family.  The movie starts as the couple has just traveled by train from the West Coast I believe back to New York, where Nick used to work.  His old associates beg him to come back and help out with one more murder case.  The "thin man" is missing and Nick, Nora, and Asta will work together to solve this mystery!

This Christmas morning scene involves a mink coat, a BB gun, a tree decorated with tinsel and balloons, and lots of cocktails!

All photos from thethinman1934.com

Every time I watch this movie it makes me laugh.  Along with the other great comedies of that time like His Girl Friday and It Happened One Night, the dialogue is witty and fast.  Sometimes you have to watch these films a couple of times to catch up with all the mayhem and hear all the jokes.

Amazingly this film was shot in twelve days.  And it was released only four months after The Thin Man book by Dashiell Hammet was released.  It was so popular that five sequels came after it:

After The Thin Man (1936)

Another Thin Man (1939)

Shadow Of The Thin Man (1941)

The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)

Song Of The Thin Man (1947)

So put The Thin Man and the sequels on your Christmas list!