Customer Reviews

The Thin Man Films Murder over Cocktails

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The meaty information and "behind the scenes" anecdotes in this delightful volume, make "Murder Over Coctails" a must for every classic film aficionado. As many times as I have seen all The Thin Man films, I absolutely relished reading each synopsis (peppered with some of Nick and Nora's best dialogue). The challenge came when I had to quiz myself as to who-done-it, as author Tranberg is NOT forthcoming with that tantalizing tidbit. Tranberg does an excellent job paying homage to William "A Touch of Class" Powell, and Myrna "A Woman of Convictions" Loy. I sensed who they were as individuals, behind all that marvelous talent. Tranberg provides box-office and critical response for each of the 6 Thin Man films, making the book a handy reference as well as an excellent read. One of the book's highlights are the mini-biographies of the supporting cast for each film, as well as the producers, directors, and scenarists. Tranberg has done his homework on these people, and despite a few typos (ie., "Freund" becomes "Freud" at one point), he does a grand job of showing their major contributions to the film industry, their connections to one another, and offers a intimate glimpse into their personal lives. Nice selection of photos, too!

BearManor Media presents "THE THIN MAN: MURDER OVER COCKTAILS" (Paperback), by Charles Tranberg (Author) --- A Must have and recommend "The Thin Man: Murder Over Cocktails" - for die-hard fans of The Thin Man and its sequels --- Like myself and other fans of Nick and Nora Charles who will likely find additional information that is new to them --- Please take note the amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes concerning the making of one of the most satisfying series in film history --- Author Tranberg gave us some of the most memorable moments from it's two stars that will remain with us forever.

INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword -------------- 1
Chapter One: William Powell: A Touch of Class ---- 6
Chapter Two: Myrna Loy: A Woman of Convictions --- 26
Chapter Three: The Thin Man -------- 49
Chapter Four: After The Thin Man ------- 103
Chapter Five: Another Thin Man ------- 149
Chapter Six: Shadow of the Thin Man ---- 187
Chapter Seven: The Thin Man Goes Home --- 214
Chapter Eight: Song of The Thin Man ------ 250
Bibliography ------ 281
Support Actor Photo Gallery ------ 288

BIOS:
1. William Powell
Date of Birth: 29 July 1892 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 5 March 1984 - Palm Springs, California

2. Myrna Loy (aka: Myrna Adele Williams)
Date of Birth: 2 August 1905 - Radersburg, Montana
Date of Death: 14 December 1993 - New York City, New York

There can be no doubt, despite their twin beds, that these two connected in more than one way --- Nora, the rich heiress, with the adventurousness streak and Nick, the ex-detective, who was now content to sit back and enjoy her money, could go back and forth with barbs which kept them both on their toes, plus enjoyment for all of us their fans --- In closing one of my favorite lines in The Thin Man series which always had affection and a large dose of humor.

Here is one of those lines from the films:

Nora Charles: "You know, that sounds like an interesting case. Why don't you take it?"

Nick Charles: "I haven't the time. I'm much too busy seeing that you don't lose any of the money I married you for".

This is just a small segment and proof that there was an untouchable chemistry between these two polished actors who liked and respected each other as a person -- this I believe is the true success of the series known as "The Thin Man" -- The book is packed with many of those barbs, along with rare photos from films and their private lives -- just a great read!

Total Page: 312 Pages ~ BearManor Media #ISBN-10: 1593934009 ~ (12/14/2008)

Charles Tranberg, author of the highly-praised "I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead", has turned his attention to the Thin Man film series and offers a sterling effort with "The Thin Man: Murder Over Cocktails." It's a well-written and researched work and considering the paucity of material and interviewees available, it's a valiant effort, too. In writing a book about Nick and Nora's screen adventures, Tranberg has to compete with the sad reality that the internet has made books like this largely superfluous. However, I'm glad that there's even a Thin Man book available in this day and age. "Murder Over Cocktails" is informative, but isn't always focused on the film series itself. That's because there just isn't all that much Thin Man information around.

The set up in "Murder Over Cocktails" is simple: Tranberg lays out a brief plot synopsis, adds some memorable quotes from the film, includes a precious handful of anecdotes about the behind-the-scenes goings on, many of which have appeared in Jon Tuska's "The Detective In Hollywood" and Myrna Loy's autobiography, "Being and Becoming." The rest of the chapter is a rundown of blurbs from various press sources of the day, which extolled each movie's virtues, as well as the supporting players' career highlights. In fact, so much space is dedicated to actor biographies that I found occasionally myself impatiently flipping ahead in the dim hope that I'd find something else--anything--on the movies themselves. The index wasn't any help--there isn't one! Curse you, Bear Manor Press! However, these actor and technician profiles may prove to be the best thing about Murder Over Cocktails. And while it is nice to be able to get the full sweep of a performer's career at one's fingertips, I'd prefer that there was more about the films, even if it were just photos, extended dialogue, or publicity materials. It's also unfortunate that Tranberg didn't dedicate some time on the actual era in which these films were made, instead of merely listing the personnel's film credits. Was Nick Charles the ideal American male? Was Nora the feminine ideal? What about those other Sleuthing Couples? The book includes a decent selection of photos, some of which I hadn't seen before, and instead of an index, the back of the book has a supporting actor portrait gallery, which varies in quality; some actors' photos are from much later in their career; Sam Levene's (Lt. Abrams in the second and fourth films) picture looks like it was taken in 1971 rather than 1941.

Despite my own (mild) disappointment with Murder Over Cocktails, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book to someone just getting interested in The Thin Man movies, as it would serve as a good primer in learning about the actors and behind-the-scenes technicians involved. And there's something to be said about any book getting published about the Thin Man films. This volume is dubbed "#1 in the Film Series Series. Redundant title aside, I hope there are more volumes in this new series, as it would be great to have future volumes cover the Andy Hardy, Blondie, Bowery Boys, and Charlie Chan films. For the longtime fan there's nothing here we haven't already read before, but I guess I'll have to accept the fact that there's a finite amount of Thin Man information out there!

I finally got around to watching all of the Thin Man movies and I have to say they are probably one of the most charming couples I have ever seen in a movie. I feel so lucky to have this Murder Over Cocktails book as a resource to use to look up the films, actors, and have some of the witty dialogue and behind-the-scenes anecdotes in one place. I'm also enjoying the Bowery Boys movies on Saturday mornings on TCM, so it was fun to see some of the same character actors in these movies. Tranberg's book made watching the movies all that more enjoyable. It's a perfect companion piece. And I have to say that the DVD set of the movies is so well priced on here, it would be a shame not to order both to get the whole experience if you are just getting acquainted with Nick, Nora, & Asta.

The Thin Man: Murder Over Cocktails by Charles Tranberg is for all fans of the six Thin Man movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy. It's got buckets of information about each movie with plot summaries (that don't reveal the murderer), production details and biographies of the guest stars. Of course, there are extensive dedetails about Powell & Loy as well as the writers and directors involved with any of the movies.
If you love these movies (and why don't you?), buy this book!

This book details the participants in this series; the actors, directors, and cinematographers who made the Thin Man movies. If you love the series, you will want to read this book.