In Search of The Thin Man: Dashiell Hammett, William Powell and the Classic Film Series

by Philip Zwerling

Overview

The man who created the boldest hard boiled fiction, Dashiell Hammett, wrote The Thin Man in 1933 and launched the fun-loving, booze-swilling, mystery-solving couple Nick and Nora Charles into American culture. MGM sold millions of movie tickets by casting William Powell and Myrna Loy as this classiest of romantic couples. Over 14 years and six films, these stars navigated grave periods of history: the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. The novel and films live on as gems of a unique gritty sophistication.

This complete history of The Thin Man series covers the brightest stars, tastiest scandals, headlines and conflicts behind these classic films. With a cast of hundreds, we see Hammett, his lover Lillian Hellman, and their friend Dorothy Parker fight alcoholism, sexual convention and Senator Joe McCarthy in culture wars of eerie contemporaneity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476686578
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	02/29/2024
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.47(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Philip Zwerling, now retired to the Mendocino Coast of California, previously taught creative writing at Ursinus College and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the author of seven books on film, theater and history.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. Nick Charles and The Thin Man
2. Dashiell Hammett, Acts I and II
3. The Thin Man Movie
4. William Powell
5. Myrna Loy
6. The Rest of the Cast and Crew
7. The Thin Man and Race
8. After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man
9. Hammett, Act III
10. Three More Thin Man Sequels
11. Hammett, Act IV
Epilogue: Who Was the Thin Man?
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Very interesting...fun and fascinating... In Search of The Thin Man is one book that should be in your library either if you are a student of fiction, film, a would be writer or a lover of detectives and mystery stories. Philip has brought together a wealth of information in an entertaining way so thank you. This is one Thin Man fan who just learned some new things.”—Reviews on the Edge

From the Publisher