The Thin Man (1934)

  You know how sometimes you're just having a rotten day and the only thing that makes it better is curling up to watch one of your favorite movies?  Happened to me yesterday.  This isn't one of those blogs where I whine and moan about my personal problems...much...so I'm not going on a diatribe about why I was unhappy.  I just was.

So New Boyfriend made me dinner (he cooks!) and then we settled in to watch one of my all-time favorite films. 

I love everything about this movie.  I love the costumes, the sets, the lighting, the play between the two leads, the story, the dialogue, everything.

Nick Charles (William Powell) gave up being a private detective when he married Nora (Myrna Loy), an extremely wealthy heiress.  On holiday in New York, however, the daughter of a family friend (Maureen O'Sullivan) informs him that her father, Clyde Wynant, has gone missing and no one can find him.  Try as he might to stay out of it, Nick is constantly drawn in to the investigation, especially after Wynant's long-time girlfriend, Julia, gets shot.

The story itself is limited by the technology of the time and some of the facial shots were never meant to be seen in hi-def, but the interaction between Nick and Nora carry the film over all the flaws.  This movie spawned four sequels over the 30s and 40s, most of which are still eminently watchable, just because of Nick and Nora.