- The Thin Man movies on DVD: Warner Home Video’s newly released box set comprises MGM’s six Thin Man features starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, and featuring Asta as their investigative terrier.
The Thin Man movies on DVD: ‘The Complete Collection’ box set includes all 6 William Powell–Myrna Loy features
Starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, cinema’s most urbane sleuths (one a former professional, the other a wealthy amateur), The Thin Man and its five sequels – released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1934 and 1947 – have finally been awarded their own de luxe DVD box set, Warner Home Video’s “The Complete Thin Man Collection.” (See further below more detailed info on MGM’s Thin Man movies and Warner’s box set extras.)
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and very – but very – loosely adapted by married couple Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from Dashiell Hammett’s far more hard-boiled novel (first published in condensed form in the December 1933 issue of Redbook), The Thin Man came out in 1934, when it became a sleeper commercial and critical hit, ultimately getting shortlisted for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (William Powell), and Best Writing, Adaptation.[1]
In the movie, Nick and Nora – aided and abetted by their borderline alcoholic pooch, Asta (Skippy in real life) – solve the disappearance of the title character (played by Edward Ellis) while doing some light verbal sparring and getting a wee bit tipsy (without breaking the law, as Prohibition had ended the year before).
And since William Powell was both thin and a man, the box-office-friendly title was used to, however implicitly, refer to Nick Charles in the ensuing sequels.
“The Complete Thin Man Collection” was released on Aug. 2.
MGM’s Thin Man movies
Below is the list of MGM’s six Thin Man movies starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Asta. (The actual Asta/Skippy is featured in the first four movies; his successor, also billed as Asta, is seen in the last two.)
W.S. Van Dyke directed the first four movies; Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett co-wrote the first three.
Also of note, the supporting cast in the Thin Man movies is peppered with some first-rate talent (e.g., Edward Brophy, Louise Beavers, Nat Pendleton), in addition to names on their way up (Maureen O’Sullivan, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Gloria DeHaven, Gloria Grahame, etc.) or, as in the case of former Fox leading woman Elissa Landi, on their way out.
Here they are:
- The Thin Man (1934)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Maureen O’Sullivan. - After The Thin Man (1936)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Elissa Landi, James Stewart. - Another Thin Man (1939)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger. - Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed.* - Richard Thorpe’s The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Lucile Watson, Anne Revere. - Edward Buzzell’s Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell.
* Ava Gardner can be spotted in a literal walk-on.
‘The Complete Thin Man Collection’ bonus features
Besides the Thin Man movies, Warner’s “The Complete Thin Man Collection” includes the following extras:
- The documentary William Powell: A True Gentleman (2005), with narration by Michael York.
- Richard Schickel’s documentary Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To (1990), hosted by Kathleen Turner. The documentary was released the year it was announced that Loy would receive an Honorary Oscar.
- The episode “Darling, I Loathe You” from the television series The Thin Man (1957–1959), starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk.
- A radio show featuring William Powell and Myrna Loy.
- The Robert Benchley comedy shorts How to Be a Detective (1936) and Why Daddy? (1944).
- Several other shorts and cartoons.
“The Thin Man DVD Collection: 6 Powell–Loy Movies” notes
Myrna Loy’s Oscar snub
[1] The fact that Myrna Loy – who has what amounts to a subordinate role in the Thin Man movies* – was bypassed in the Academy Awards’ Best Actress category is supposed to have been a minor scandal at the time.
A far bigger scandal that year was Bette Davis being bypassed for her work in Of Human Bondage.
* Nora Charles is a relatively minor character in Dashiell Hammett’s novel.
Warner Bros. website.
“The Complete Thin Man Collection” box set cover image: Warner Home Video.
“The Thin Man DVD Collection: 6 Powell–Loy Movies” last modified in October 2025.