Dashiell Hammett was a crime writer who elevated the genre to true literature, and The Thin Man was Hammett’s last—and most successful—novel. Following the enormous success of “The Thin Man” movie in 1934, Hammett was commissioned to write stories for additional films. He wrote two full-length novellas for the films that became “After the Thin Man” and “Another Thin Man.” Hammett brought back his classic characters, retired private investigator Nick Charles and his former debutante wife Nora, in these two fully satisfying “Thin Man” stories, written with classic, barbed Hammett dialogue. Neither of these stories has been previously published (except for a partial in a small magazine 25 years ago). Now together in Return of the Thin Man, these hugely entertaining novellas are destined to remain essential listening for Hammett’s millions of fans and a new generation of mystery lovers the world over. The recording features Peter Ganim as Nick, Nicola Barber as Nora, and Scott Brick as the narrator. Additional character voices are provided by Emily Bauer, Dan Bittner, Cynthia Darlow, Richard Ferrone, Eliza Foss, Emma Galvin, Johnny Heller, Pete Larkin, Bill Lobley, Carol Monda, Rich Orlow, Paula Parker, Vinnie Penna, with Zane Birdwell, Nathan Rosborough, Iris McElroy, Barbara Vlahides, Fametta Sawyer, Tim Bader, Tyrrell Harrell, Kevin Fecu, and Alan Winter.
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"The Thin Man film was based on Dashiell Hammett's novel of the same title, but the five sequels were not based on any of Hammett's fiction. In fact, the last three were not based on any input at all from Hammett; only the first two sequels were based on Hammett's plotting and dialogue, which came from screen treatments written by Hammett when he was under contract (and closely supervised by MGM), and those scenarios are what appear in this book. I say this because a common complaint, which usually translates into a low evaluation, is that these are not "lost stories" by Hammett, such as we have been presented in other books where, for example, his earliest stories have been finally collected. These are scenarios and should be evaluated as such, much as one would evaluate a collection of Shakespeare's plays or Ellison's screenplay for "I, Robot;" as fiction, they are lacking, but as what they are, they shine. The interest in a book like this is that it presents the two sequel films as they might have been, without "polishing" by the screenwriters, changes by the director and the studio, or protests from the Censor's Office (always a concern in any 1930s production), and so represent a purer vision of Hammett's conception, even though, by that time, his interest in the characters of Nick & Nora Charles was waning quickly. Still, even with all the outside factors, it is amazing just how much of Hammett's dialogue made it into the films virtually untouched, a tribute to his clear, spare, crisp style of writing. Unlike other fiction writers, Hammett knew how to write dialogue for films, which is why in a film like Houston's version of The Maltese Falcon the dialogue is almost identical to that in the book (almost 50 years ago, I watched that film, book in hand, and was amazed by the fidelity). This book is not for the mystery fan looking for a great story, but it is great for a film buff, a Hollywood historian, a Hammett completist, or someone interested in seeing how film stories are created."
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Ralph (4 out of 5 stars)