The Complete Thin Man Collection, starting with The Thin Man in 1934, is now available on Blu-ray through the Warner Archive Collection.

The six-disc collection has been meticulously remastered and restored for Blu-ray from 4K scans of the best surviving elements. This is probably as close as we’ll ever get to a 4K UHD release. Much like other Warner Archive releases, the collection also contains vintage short subjects and animated cartoons to recreate the 1930s-40s theatrical experience. This is certainly not the case for every film in the collection, surprisingly. In some instances, the only features are the Lux Theater Radio Broadcasts or the season two premiere from the later TV series. If you watch the shorts first, you can watch them in the same way that audiences did upon the original release. The Complete Thin Man Collection is essential for cinephiles and after buying the set, you’ll never have to worry about waiting for the next TCM marathon.

The first film, based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel, would spawn five sequels. W.S. “Woody” Van Dyke directed four of the six films in the franchise. The final two films were released after Van Dyke’s death from cancer in 1943. Husband-and-wife writing team Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich also earned two Oscar nominations for their work on two of three films. These nominations are well-deserved especially for their dialogue. But in terms of dialogue and such, Van Dyke allowed William Powell and Myrna Loy to improvise in scenes. Interestingly enough, the eponymous thin man is not Nick Charles. No, the honor belongs to Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis). This certainly did not stop people from thinking that William Powell’s character was the titular thin man. In any event, the sequels would feature Thin Man somewhere in the title.

The Thin Man, a pre-Code mystery comedy, is about retired private detective Nick Charles (William Powell) and his wife, Nora (Myrna Loy), a wealthy heiress. They just happen to be vacationing in New York City when Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O’Sullivan) tasks Nick in finding her father, Clyde. It looks like it should be a simple missing person’s case, right? Not so fast. It very quickly turns into a murder case during the hour and a half film. Like the Agatha Christie mysteries, all the potential suspects are also at the dinner table when Nick theorizes who did it. Not surprisingly, one of the guests to panic and it’s safe to say that they’re the real killer.

It feels so rare that a comedy gets a Best Picture nomination. This is not something that happens much these days and when it does, it’s usually a small indie comedy that borders on being a drama. Obviously, it didn’t win–romantic comedy It Happened One Night took the big prize–but the film also earned nominations for Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Adapted Screenplay.

W.S. “Woody” Van Dyke had promised the studio that he could shoot the film in three weeks. But if you’re familiar with One Take Woody, it would not surprise you that he finished in 12 days. The climactic dinner table scene required multiple takes. In other circumstances, Van Dyke would give an actor direction and then start rolling camera without actors knowing. It’s a different way of making room for improv than nowadays but if it works, it works! Outside of low-budget indies, completing a film in less than two weeks is just unheard of! I mean, I’m writing down the words and I still cannot believe it! That’s not to say anything about production time during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Some filmmakers took their time while others could probably wrap in about a month or so. But 12 days!

There’s a freshness that comes from allowing Powell and Loy to play loose, sometimes giving direction just before rolling cameras. Other times, it could be an instance of incorporating their banter and off-set chemistry into the film. If they did not like working together, there probably would not have been five more films afterwards. Meanwhile, there are things that they can get away with in the film only because of releasing before the enforcement of the Production Code. Of course, nobody can ever get enough of wire-haired fox terrier Asta (Skippy). Skippy is a famous dog on the screen, starring in both Bringing Up Baby and The Awful Truth. Given that the film is also after Prohibition’s repeal, they take advantage of the situation with lots of drinking.

The Thin Man still holds up over 90 years later.

Bonus Features

• The Thin Man TV Series: “Scene of the Crime” (10/24/1958)
• Lux Radio Theater Radio Broadcast (6/8/1936)
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: W.S. Van Dyke
SCREENWRITERS: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with Maureen O’Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell

After the Thin Man

Bonus Features

• How to Be a Detective with Robert Benchley
• Classic Cartoon: The Early Bird and the Worm
• Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (6/17/1940) with Powell & Loy
• Leo is On the Air Radio Promo
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: W.S. Van Dyke
SCREENWRITERS: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with James Stewart, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshall, Teddy Hart

Another Thin Man

Bonus Features

• Musical Short: Love on Tap
• Classic Cartoon: The Bookworm
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: W.S. Van Dyke
SCREENWRITERS: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Tom Neal

Shadow of the Thin Man

Bonus Features

• Vintage Short: The Tell-Tale Heart
• Cartoon: The Goose Goes South
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: W.S. Van Dyke
SCREENWRITERS: Irving Brecher and Harry Kurnitz
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Alan Baxter, Henry O’Neill, Dickie Hall

The Thin Man Goes Home

Bonus Features

• Robert Benchley Comedy Short: Why Daddy?
• Classic Cartoon: Screwball Squirrel
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Richard Thorpe
SCREENWRITERS: Robert Riskin and Dwight Taylor
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven, Anne Revere, Helen Vinson, Harry Davenport, Leon Ames, Donald Meek, Edward Brophy

Song of the Thin Man

Bonus Features

• Passing Parade Short: A Really Important Person
• Classic Cartoon: Slap Happy Lion
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Edward Buzzell
SCREENWRITERS: Steve Fisher and Nat Perrin
ADDITIONAL DIALOGUE: James O’Hanlon and Harry Crane
CAST: William Powell, Myrna Loy, with Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell, Philip Reed, Gloria Grahame, Patricia Morison

The Complete Thin Man Collection is now available on Blu-ray. The Thin Man – Grade: 5/5

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