The Thin Man

The Thin Man (1934) is a detective comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Retired sleuth Nick Charles has hung up his magnifying glass, married heiress Nora, and would rather mix a martini than chase a clue. For a while, anyway.

Just before Christmas an eccentric inventor vanishes, and soon his secretary turns up dead. The missing man's daughter pleads with Nick to step in, and he reluctantly agrees — more because Nora adores a good mystery than from any sense of duty. William Powell and Myrna Loy play a married couple who solve a murder between cocktails while needling each other the whole way. Their wirehaired terrier Asta keeps tripping up the proceedings.

Director W. S. Van Dyke shot the film in roughly two weeks from Dashiell Hammett's novel, and the spark between Powell and Loy proved so popular that the studio spun out five sequels. It picked up four Academy Award nominations. Light, quick-witted golden-age Hollywood for anyone who prizes sharp banter over the puzzle itself. Stream The Thin Man (1934) online on iFILM.