I wasn't sure what I was getting when I got this book as an Early Reviewer from LibraryThing. I assumed it would be a reading of a screenplay of the movie Return of the Thin Man, so I was surprised that there was no movie by that name.
It turns out that this book is so much more than just one screenplay. In fact, it had no screenplays at all, but rather two novellas written by Hammett that were used by the screenwriters Albert Hackett and Francis Goodrich used to write the screenplays for After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man, the second and third movies in the Thin Man series. In addition to the novellas, which were read by a cast in this audiobook, there were several articles that described Hammett's life during the writing of the novellas and the struggles he had with alcohol and the production company. One of the articles included excerpts of Hammett's letters to his close friend Lillian Hellman.
The first movie in the series, The Thin Man, was adapted from the Hammett novel when MGM bought the movie rights. MGM wanted W. S. Van Dyke to direct a sequel and hired Hammett to write the story. He struggled with his alcoholism but finished After the Thin Man before his contract ran out. The third movie, Another Thin Man, was adapted from the Hammett story "The Farewell Murder."
In After the Thin Man, we follow Nick and Nora Charles back to San Francisco immediately after they solve the murder in the original movie. A dinner at Nora's family's house exposes a scandal between Nora's cousin and her husband, the latter of which has disappeared. An old friend of Nora's, played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie version, shows up to console her. The Charleses happen to pick the right nightclub to spend the evening in and find the wayward husband, meet is girlfriend, a singer at the club, her boss, and the other owner of the club, and later, the girlfriend's her brother. As with all of Hammett's detective stories, there is a large cast of characters weaving a complex story, something the Hacketts struggled to translate to the screen.
I watched the movie version after completing this audiobook, and Hackett and Goodrich kept much of Nick and Nora's witty repartee, but at the end there was a twist. In the movie we discover that the couple are expecting a baby, which the writing team hoped would mean the end of the characters since the idea of a married couple that drank and played as much as Mr. and Mrs. Charles did would not be allowed to also have a family. While the first move of the series was in pre-Hays code era, the subsequent movies were subject to the code, and one of the articles in this book discusses the elements of Hammett's Another Thin Man that made it past the restrictions and which did not.
In Another Thin Man, the Charleses return to New York and then on to Long Island to visit the business partner of Nora's late father, Colonel, who is also the manager of their money. MacFay and his household have been terrorized by a man who used to work for him but took the rap for some dodgy dealings in the company and spent time in prison for it. The Colonel wants Nick to protect him, but the Colonel is killed despite Nick Charles's presence in the estate. But who committed the murder: the accountant? the engineer? the housekeeper or butler? the adopted daughter? the ex-con? or maybe Nick or Nora did it?
Again, I watched the movie afterward. Baby Nicky, had been born between the two movies, and he was along for the ride, as well as a couple of different nannies (could on of them be the killer?) He wasn't as much of a character in the movie as in the novella, but his first birthday is a big part of the story.
While the Thin Man movies are not as much a part of the culture now, and I daresay my college students wouldn't understand references to the Charleses, I should have known more about them than I did. The names Nick, Nora, and Asta show up frequently in the New York Times crossword puzzle, and I have seen references to them in books I've read, but I didn't know more than that.
I'm glad that I have read this book, placing these two novellas by Hammett in context with the other Hammett stories I've read and providing context for them in Hammett's life and the application of the Hays code to motion pictures. Nick Charles is a much different detective than the hard-boiled Sam Spade, and I enjoy both. I now, more than ever, want to read the rest of Hammett's novels.


( )

The stories are treatments written by Hammett for the movie sequels for "The Thin Man". Since these were written to set up for the movies it includes descriptions of things to be shown. The most interesting parts were the introductory and concluding essays about what was going on with Hammett and his relationship with the studio. ( )

More fun reading Hammett ( )

1. - The script of After The Thin Man.
The Nick and Nora Charles arrive in San Francisco, to a surprise party at their home. A few minutes later as the door bell rings a man collapses, saying Mees Selma Young, and dies. The man is Pedro Dominges, ex-gardener of Nora Charles' father.
But the Charles pair are invited to her family home, run by her Aunt Katherine Forrest, a formidable character. To be informed that the husband of cousin Selma Landis, nee Forrest, has disappeared. Although the whole family disapprove of Nick's former profession Aunt Katherine wishes him to look for Robert Landis.
With the help of Lt Abrams, Nick investigates.
2 - Another Thin Man - The Charles are invited by Colonel Burr MacFay, a business partner of Nora's father. He believes that an old business associate is trying to kill him and wants Nick to stop him.
Enjoyable historical mystery stories, a re-read. ( )

This was a collection of screenplays written by Dashiell Hammett for the sequels to the Thin Man movies. Also included were essays on the life of Dashiell Hammett while the screen plays were written. It was obvious from the screenplays that Hammett was done with his characters Nick and Nora. It was interesting to compare the screenplays to the movies that were actually released, but that was about it. ( )