RETURN OF THE THIN MAN: Two never-before-published novellas featuring Nick & Nora Charles By Dashiell Hammett, Richard Layman (Editor), Julie M. Rivett (Editor)

Before you go out and spend your hard-earned money on Return of the Thin Man, I thought I’d fill you in on what you’re going to be buying. The best part of Return of the Thin Man is Richard Layman’s detailed history of Dashiell Hammett in Hollywood with emphasis on the Thin Man series. Hammett sold MGM all the rights (in perpetuity!) to The Thin Man series (including the characters of Nick and Nora Charles…and Asta! In return, MGM paid Hammett $40,000. Not a Good Deal. After you read the lengthy Introduction, you’ll encounter a couple of film treatments (to call them scripts would be an exaggeration). And, after that, there’s an 8-page treatment for something called “Sequel to the Thin Man” which was never produced. So Return of the Thin Man is a hodgepodge that only a completist could love. GRADE: C

13 thoughts on “RETURN OF THE THIN MAN: Two never-before-published novellas featuring Nick & Nora Charles By Dashiell Hammett, Richard Layman (Editor), Julie M. Rivett (Editor)

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    I saw this in the library the other day and assumed it was just old stories. I might check it out for the Layman stuff.

    Reply
  2. Walker Martin

    By today’s standards $40,000 for the Thin Man rights does not seem like a good deal. But in the 1930’s that $40,000 tranlates into well over a half million dollars of today’s money.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      You’re right, Walker. Hammett must have been pleased by the deal, but “in perpetuity” contracts always favor the movie studio over time.

      Reply
  3. Richard R.

    I had heard of this, but hadn’t looked at it yet. After your review, I’ll stick with the original novels and stories. I just read the original serialized version of Maltese Falcon and it was great.

    Reply
  4. Carl V.

    I saw this the other day and was really tempted to pick it up until I read the back and realized that it wasn’t for me. I like the films very much, but certainly don’t need to read the screenplays. I’ve never really been big on doing that.

    Reply

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