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
I read this one recently and enjoyed it despite the thinness(pun intended) of the stories.
Hammett was a terrific writer, Randy. He’s worth reading, but this package didn’t work for me.
Too bad they didn’t title it more appropriately to its contents. It might make a writer more sympathetic.
Plenty of people who buy this book are going to feel like they’ve been cheated, Patti.
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.
Laymon’s Introduction is well worth reading, Jeff. But this book is over-priced for what it delivers.
I got lucky on this one, George. The price was right. A free ARC.
Free is always a great price, Randy!
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.
You’re right, Walker. Hammett must have been pleased by the deal, but “in perpetuity” contracts always favor the movie studio over time.
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.
RETURN OF THE THIN MAN isn’t for the casual reader, Rick. Most people don’t want to read screenplays.
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.