The Thin Man - (1934, USA)
Spokane International Film Festival (Day 5) - The turnout for this event continues to amaze me, but not in terms of the number of people (which I have already rambled on about endlessly), but in terms of the relative age that I have seen at these films. The most common attendee is middle-aged, wealthly looking, and *very* white... Shame on the college crowd!!! You know, the same people that will constantly bitch about how there is no culture in Spokane...

Tonight's short was a serious disappointment. Its title was "The Stickup" but after what it did to the theatre, it should have been renamed "The Stinkup"! It tried to 'cleverly' tell the tale of a older couple who was 'spicing up' their sex life by pretending to be kidnapper and victim. Every joke in this feels forced and ultimately fails. It's sad when a film is only a few minutes long and you still want those moments of your life back...

Luckily, this pile was not indicative of what was to come...

One part film noir, one part screwball comedy, and one part Sherlock Holmes, (plus about six parts booze), The Thin Man is a classic in every sense of the word.

It is a story of a murder (or two) and a reluctant detective who (along with his wife and his terrier) drinks his way to solving the case. It starts of rather slow, but once we meet our interpid hero the laughs *never* stop.

The script is clever, the characters are delightful, the actors' comedic timing is magnificant (especially stars William Powell and Myrna Loy)... Hell! Even the dog is great!

I found it particularily interesting how much sexual inuendo is used between Powell and Loy. They may sleep in seperate beds, but they say some pretty suggestive stuff for 1934!

What a great film. I can't believe that I wasn't familiar with it until now! It has immediately vaulted onto my list of alltime favorites.

Historical note - 'The Thin Man' was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay) but ultimately did not collect any Oscars. They all went to a little film called 'It Happened One Night'...

Rating: HR
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- posted by Stephen @ 8:11 PM