This film and It's A Wonderful Life are crazy that they were made in the 30s and 40s yet It doesn't feel like these movies couldn't have been made any other decade. Timelessness is so rare these last few decades.
There are still plenty of movies from the 1930s - 1940s that weren't the most memorable. Just browse the public domain section of any streaming channel, and you might find a lot of them. But mind, the lesser memorable ones may also be particularly boring, maybe with some layers of unpredictability added. I say that as a fan of movies from the era.
This movie is almost a "This is Spinal Tap" meta-level mockery of the genre of potboiler detective movies, made when the genre it parodies was itself fresh and new. You can imagine a 1935 movie house audience laughing their asses off at line after line. Even after almost 85 years, it's still hysterically funny and charming in every way. And Asta too!
If you like the dialogue here, may I be allowed to recommend another movie, also with great dialogue- 'HIS GIRL FRIDAY', with Carey Grant & Rosalind Russell, directed by Howard Hawks... the interplay between Grant & Russell is well-written, very crisp & snappy. I think you might enjoy it!
@@redcaddiedaddie Oh that's a great one! These classic films like The Thin Man, His Gal Friday, Casablanca, It's A Wonderful Life etc. there's just nothing like them being made anymore. True timeless gold.
Going by the movie trivia at IMDB, their little dog Asta (real name "Skippy") was the highest paid Dog in Hollywood at the time. He was earning $250 a week, but that's assuming 1934 dollars; really, he was earning over $5,600 a week in equivalent.
aha...now i understand that they attached "the thin man" to Nick Charles on purpose, not by mistake: The Thin Man referred to the murder victim in the book not to the detective. They decided to just carry on William Powell's detective franchise as "The Thin" Detective.
When did we lose the _Art of the Gentleman?_ I feel like we've lost so much in terms of manners and dignity in the past 100 years. I hope we can come to a time where we respect ourselves and each other more.
It probably started some time in the 1960s, at least in pop culture. Not to say the 1950s were absolutely the most perfect time ever, but what they got right was still nice.
If you watch the Thin Man movies again, you will see that America of the 30s and 40s was rife with people without manners and dignity but hearts of gold whereas the upper crust is all polish and gentility but seething with greed, lust, and murder just the same. Nick and Nora blithely navigate both worlds with a friendly but jaundiced eye towards everyone regardless of their 'class.' In Song of the Thin Man, they slip right in with the hep cats and would have probably done so with the hippies a generation later.
