Return of the Thin Man

I am a big enough fan of Dashiell Hammett to have a replica of the Maltese falcon on my bookcase, drink my coffee from a Spade and Archer Detective Agency coffee cup, and even go visit his grave at one point (I am not that crazy; it is close by), yet was nonetheless hesitant to read THE RETURN OF THE THIN MAN. Hard experience has taught me that posthumously published books often were not published during an author’s lifetime for a reason. Also, screenplays usually are not as fun to read as a story or a novel.My concerns were unfounded. First, the two pieces in this book (well, the two big ones, and the only two that really matter) are not screenplays at all but rather longer stories that formed the bases for the second and third Thin Man movies, After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man. Second, they were both wonderful.Both stories are textbook Hammett, with interesting characters, double crosses, fingers pointing at everyone as potentially guilty and, that most important ingredient, Hammett’s witty dialogue. It is telling that the Thin Man film series started to go downhill after Hammett was through with it. The movie studio could not find anyone to write like him.I could go a bit into the actual plots but, seriously, who cares? Do you like crime noir writing? Do you like Hammett’s writing? If yes, then you will like this book. Having seen the first two movies in the series (and therefore, one film based on the first story in this book), I can say that this is the usual case of the book being better.

Noir detective fiction reigned supreme in America in the 1920s and 1930s, and remained popular through most of the 1950s. And the author who was the acknowledged master of this genre was Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961).The former Pinkerton detective turned to writing detective stories when he was afflicted with tuberculosis, a disease that would plague him most of his adult life. He wrote stories for “the pulps” – popular detective magazines and a series of novels that set the standard for noir fiction, and in fact likely still set the standard.He published “Red Harvest” in 1929, followed by “The Dain Curse” that same year. Then came :The Maltese Falcon” in 1930, “The Glass Key” in 1931, and “The Thin Man” in 1934. The novels are written tightly and concisely, and are full of action, unexpected turns, and a fair amount of violence. (One of Hammett’s fellow noir writers, Philip Marlowe, gave this writing advice to authors facing writing blocks: “When in doubt, have to men come in the door with guns.”) A group of his stories was published as “The Continental Op.”Hammett’s influence on writers – and on the movies – extended far beyond noir fiction. He’s considered so influential, in fact, that Library of America has published a volume of his novels and a volume of his short stories.My first awareness of Dashiell Hammett was watching The Thing Man movies of the 1930s and early 1940s on television. Starring William Powell as detective Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as his wife Nora, the movies were widely popular when they were first released. If you’re familiar with the movies at all, it’s almost impossible to see anyone but William Powell when you read the Hammett novel.I discovered Hammeett as a writer in the 1970s, during a resurgence of the novels of the glory days of noir fiction. I also discovered the Dashiell Hammett who was in love with playwright Lillian Hellman and the Hammett who went to prison rather than divulge names to a congressional committee during the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s.In the last few years, additional writings have turned up in archives and various closets, including two “movie books” written for the scripts of “After the Thin Man” and “Another Thin Man,” both commissioned by MGM Studios. Movie books were essentially novellas written to help the scriptwriters develop and finalize a script. Both of these movie books, and related materials, never previously made public, were published in 2012 as “Return of the Thin Man.”The stories are less novellas than they are movie and Dashiell Hammett artifacts. They even contain periodic filming instructions and parenthetical statements instructing the scriptwriters how to develop particular scenes. Accompanying the stories are headnotes and afterwords by the editors, Richard Layman and Julie M. Rivett.The stories reflect the public tastes in movies in the time period they were released. They often seem formulaic, with “thugs and dames” getting themselves mixed up with the wealthy (and, in one of the stories, even with Nora’s very proper family). The genius of the stories lies not so much in the stories themselves as it does in how Hammett developed the interaction between and relationship of Nick and Nora Charles, which steal the story and also stole the movies. The dialogue involving their back-and-forth is still fascinating today, underscoring how much Hammett could communicate by what wasn’t said as much as by what was.For fans of noir fiction, it’s a must-read. For those interested in how a master writer developed dialogue, it’s also a must-read. For those of us fascinated with the genre and the period, not to mention what Hammett achieved, it’s a significant contribution to understanding.

Return of the Thin Man was a nice read. The further adventures of Nick, Nora and their dog Asta, the book consists of two novellas that Hammett wrote specifically to be adapted into the screenplays for the first two Thin Man sequels, "After the Thin Man" and "Another Thin Man". These novellas seem more like first drafts of the screenplays as they're written in present tense and there's not a ton of description. However the dialogue is razor sharp and the balance of mystery and comedy that Hammett exploited in the first Thin Man novel is successfully maintained. The comedy comes from both the ultra-cool, witty characters of Nick and Nora Charles as well as situations stemming from Nick's lowbrow detective past coming into conflict with Nora's stuffy old money friends and relatives. Hammett also has a lot of fun with Asta, the dog who chews on both scenery and clues.I recommend this book if you liked the Thin Man novels or movies.Shorty after I finished reading this, Turner Classic Movies had a Dashiell Hammett night and showed "After the Thin Man". It was fascinating to see that this novella mostly survived the transition of being adapted into a screenplay and then filmed. Some minor plot points were changed but most of the situations and dialogue that Hammett wrote faithfully made it to the screen.At this point in his career Dashiell Hammett's best work was fading fast in his rear view mirror but even mediocre Hammett is better than a lot of the choices in the bookstore today. This isn't nearly as good as The Maltese Falcon or Red Harvest or the original Thin Man novel but it is an excellent way to spend a couple hours.

Please be aware that this is not a Hammett novel in the true sense and although the description calls it a 'treatment' that doesn't really explain things adequately. What we have here is something akin to a draft screenplay and includes the occasional instruction to (or from?) a hypothetical director which, when you first see it, creates some confusion as it appears to be part of the main narrative. These instructions are not even in italics to allow them to be distinguished from the story. As for the plot and characters, these do not live up to Hammett' s usual high standards. Nick Charles in particular seems a little restrained and lacks the wit we expect from him and the plot meanders rather aimlessly from one murder to the next taking in a variety of pretty uninteresting and often irritating characters. I suppose the publication of this 'find' is great for completists but the best thing about the whole exercise is the sleeve, which is excellent and is a masterpiece of eye-catching marketing. All very like a brilliant 70's album cover where the music is a bit disappointing.

This book is a mess and I gave up on it very early on. It's like the first draft of a screenplay and needs some serious editing to knock it into shape. Hammett would be really annoyed if he knew this was seeing the light of day. Another case of a publisher cashing in on something that doesn't need to be published. Stick with Hammett's five great novels instead, and if you've already read them then read them again.

Two Thin Man stories and an outline/treatment. These works were written by Hammett for the production of the Thin Man film series so they don't quite read as smoothly as novels should (novellas - 100pages a piece). For example, scenes are sometimes set like a screen play. However, they do have the customary wit and verve of the author and if you are a Hammett fan there is much to enjoy - you can see the development of the Nick Charles character that appeared on the big screen. More for completists and fans than new comers to Noir fiction. An amazing find however and I am grateful the book was published

In parts its very silly and not in a good way. I don't know if Hammett need rd the money but it feels as if he did. Sorry I really want ed to like this but I was bored .Sorry

I love Dashiell Gannett stories. Short stories. Novels. Letters even. However this is a film script. True, it has the window dressing of a story, but it lacks depths of Hammetts prose. Plus the first five per cent of the book is pointless summary of the history of the Thin Man films. I lasted about twenty per cent into the book then decided to review. Nice enough if you're a fan and never seen the film, but if you want prose, go to a bookshop.