The Complete THIN MAN Series on DVD
by Andre Soares
The most urbane and sophisticated pair of movie sleuths (one a former professional, the other a nosy amateur) have finally been awarded their own de luxe DVD box set, Warner Home Video’s The Complete Thin Man Collection.
The set includes all six films MGM produced between 1934 and 1947, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a witty and wealthy married couple who somehow or other continually found themselves immersed in a maze of mysterious murders and sparkling champagne glasses.
Powell and Loy were so successful in their initial foray as Nick and Nora — in the low-budget 1934 comedy-thriller The Thin Man, from Dashiell Hammett’s novel — that MGM decided to pair them up in 10 more films in the next 13 years.
In five of those Powell-Loy vehicles, the stars were cast as Nick and Nora, pursuing murderers and assorted crooks together, getting more than a little tipsy together, making quick-witted love together, and petting their bright, bratty, and borderline alcoholic mutt — Asta — together. (The screenplays of the first three installments of the series were credited to the witty husband-and-wife team Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.)
The Complete Thin Man Collection set includes:
The Thin Man (1934) directed by W. S. Van Dyke, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Maureen O’Sullivan, Nat Pendleton
After The Thin Man (1936) directed by W. S. Van Dyke, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Elissa Landi, James Stewart, Joseph Calleia
Another Thin Man (1939) directed by W. S. Van Dyke, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) directed by W. S. Van Dyke, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Alan Baxter, Stella Adler
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) directed by Richard Thorpe, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven, Anne Revere, Helen Vinson
Song of the Thin Man (1947) directed by Edward Buzzell, with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell, Philip Reed, Patricia Morison, Gloria Grahame, Jayne Meadows, Leon Ames
Region 1 DVD (Canada / U.S. / U.S. territories) release date: August 2, 2005
- Picture: Full frame, 1.33:1
- Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Closed-captioned
- “Alias Nick & Nora” bonus documentary disc includes William Powell: A True Gentleman and Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
- Robert Benchley comedy shorts: How to Be a Detective and Why Daddy?
- Classic cartoons: The Early Bird and the Worm, The Bookworm, Screwball Squirrel, The Goose Goes South, Slap Happy Lion
- Radio show with William Powell and Myrna Loy
- “Leo Is on the Air” radio promo
- Musical short: Love on Tap
- Vintage short: The Tell-Tale Heart
- “Passing Parade” short: A Really Important Person
- “Darling, I Loathe You: The Thin Man” TV series episode starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk
- Trailer gallery
- Number of discs: 7
List price: US$59.92. (At Amazon: US$41.94.) Prices subject to change.
A Warner Home Video release.
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What a delightful couple. So many wonderful hours I’ve spent watching William Powell and Myrna Loy playfully sparring with one another. Why can’t they make movies like that anymore?