[[Dramatic programming|Drama]]"},"creator":{"wt":""},"writer":{"wt":"Ben Starr"},"based_on":{"wt":"''[[The Thin Man]]''
by [[Dashiell Hammett]]"},"director":{"wt":""},"developer":{"wt":""},"presenter":{"wt":""},"starring":{"wt":"[[Peter Lawford]]
[[Phyllis Kirk]]"},"theme_music_composer":{"wt":"[[Johnny Green]] (Season 1)
[[Pete Rugolo]] (Season 2)"},"company":{"wt":"Clarington Productions
[[MGM Television]]"},"country":{"wt":"United States"},"language":{"wt":"English"},"num_seasons":{"wt":"2"},"num_episodes":{"wt":"72"},"list_episodes":{"wt":""},"runtime":{"wt":"1/2 hour (25:33 minutes)"},"channel":{"wt":"[[NBC]]"},"first_aired":{"wt":"{{start date|1957|9|20}}"},"last_aired":{"wt":"{{end date|1959|8|28}}"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBg">
The Thin Man | |
---|---|
![]() Phyllis Kirk, Peter Lawford, and Asta the dog, 1957. | |
Genre | Comedy Drama |
Based on | The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett |
Written by | Ben Starr |
Starring | Peter Lawford Phyllis Kirk |
Theme music composer | Johnny Green (Season 1) Pete Rugolo (Season 2) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 72 |
Production | |
Running time | 1/2 hour (25:33 minutes) |
Production companies | Clarington Productions MGM Television |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 20, 1957 – August 28, 1959 |
The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man (1933) by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and broadcast by NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.[ citation needed ] It was the first TV series produced by MGM. [1]
The series starred Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as Nick and Nora Charles. The dog, Asta, was played by three identical wire-hair terriers. [1] Jack Albertson, Patricia Donahue, and Nita Talbot had recurring roles during the show's second season. Albertson played Lieutenant Harry Evans of the New York Police Department. Donahue played Hazel, Nick and Nora's neighbor. Talbot played Beatrice Dane, alias Blondie Collins, a criminal who dragged Nick and Nora into her schemes. Both Hazel and Beatrice made attempts to seduce Nick. Nora's jealousy fueled her sarcasm on these occasions.
A newspaper columnist wrote that Nora Charles's role was different from that of other female leads in detective programs on television. Kirk commented:
We were the first of the sophisticated detective dramas, and from the scripts it was simple to see that the part of Nora Charles was that of a leading lady who made more than token appearances. Since then some of the new shows just use girls as part of the scenery. [2]
Among the series guest stars was Billy Gray, who appeared at the same time he was cast as James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., in Father Knows Best . Ann McCrea was cast as Billie in the 1958 episode, "The Lost Last Chapter". Of note is the "guest star" in the episode "Robot Client": the original Robby the Robot from the 1956 film Forbidden Planet . This episode is available as an extra on the Forbidden Planet DVD.
Ben Starr was the program's writer, while Sam Marx was the executive producer. [1] Episodes were shot back to back across the two seasons. [3] In May 1959, Kirk revealed that she and Lawford were contractually attached to the series until August. [4]
Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Dollar Doodle" | Unknown | Unknown | September 20, 1957 |
2 | 2 | "Duke of Sing Sing" | Unknown | Unknown | September 27, 1957 |
3 | 3 | "The Angel Biz" | Unknown | Unknown | October 4, 1957 |
4 | 4 | "Come Back Darling Asta" | John Meredyth Lucas | Story by : Herman Groves Teleplay by : Dean Riesner & Martin Ragaway | October 11, 1957 |
5 | 5 | "Paris Pendant" | Unknown | Unknown | October 18, 1957 |
6 | 6 | "That's the Spirit" | Unknown | Unknown | October 25, 1957 |
7 | 7 | "Acrostic Murder" | Unknown | Unknown | November 1, 1957 |
8 | 8 | "Dead Duck" | Unknown | Unknown | November 8, 1957 |
9 | 9 | "Fatal Cliche" | Unknown | Unknown | November 15, 1957 |
10 | 10 | "Ring Around Rosie" | Unknown | Unknown | November 22, 1957 |
11 | 11 | "Angels in Paradise" | Unknown | Unknown | November 29, 1957 |
12 | 12 | "The Fashion Showdown" | Unknown | Unknown | December 6, 1957 |
13 | 13 | "Dead Giveaway" | Unknown | Unknown | December 13, 1957 |
14 | 14 | "Unwelcome Alibi" | Unknown | Unknown | December 27, 1957 |
15 | 15 | "Asta Day" | Unknown | Unknown | January 3, 1958 |
16 | 16 | "The Scene Stealer" | Unknown | Unknown | January 10, 1958 |
17 | 17 | "Damone Dilemma" | Unknown | Unknown | January 17, 1958 |
18 | 18 | "Unlucky Lucky Number" | Unknown | Unknown | January 24, 1958 |
19 | 19 | "Man on the Bridge" | Unknown | Unknown | January 31, 1958 |
20 | 20 | "Pre-Incan Caper" | Unknown | Unknown | February 7, 1958 |
21 | 21 | "Murder Is Where You Find It" | Unknown | Unknown | February 14, 1958 |
22 | 22 | "Ship Shakedown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 21, 1958 |
23 | 23 | "Robot Client" | Oscar Rudolph | Devery Freeman | February 28, 1958 |
24 | 24 | "The Mystery of the Missing Murders" | Unknown | Unknown | March 7, 1958 |
25 | 25 | "Double Jeopardy" | Unknown | Unknown | March 14, 1958 |
26 | 26 | "Bookworms" | Unknown | Unknown | March 21, 1958 |
27 | 27 | "Jittery Juror" | Bretaigne Windust | Phil Davis & Charles Hoffman | March 28, 1958 |
28 | 28 | "The Departed Doctor" | Unknown | Unknown | April 4, 1958 |
29 | 29 | "The Tennis Champ" | Unknown | Unknown | April 11, 1958 |
30 | 30 | "The Delinquent" | Unknown | Unknown | April 18, 1958 |
31 | 31 | "The Painted Witnesses" | Unknown | Unknown | May 2, 1958 |
32 | 32 | "The Saucer People" | Unknown | Unknown | May 9, 1958 |
33 | 33 | "The Carstadt Man" | Unknown | Unknown | May 16, 1958 |
34 | 34 | "The Art of Murder" | Unknown | Unknown | May 23, 1958 |
35 | 35 | "Kappa Kappa Kaper" | Unknown | Unknown | May 30, 1958 |
36 | 36 | "The Valley Forger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 6, 1958 |
37 | 37 | "The Screaming Doll" | Unknown | Unknown | June 13, 1958 |
Nº | Ep | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
38 | 1 | "Scene of the Crime" | October 24, 1958 |
39 | 2 | "Housewarming" | October 31, 1958 |
40 | 3 | "Pack My Gat, Beulah" | November 7, 1958 |
41 | 4 | "Lost Last Chapter" | November 14, 1958 |
42 | 5 | "I Loathe You, Darling" | November 21, 1958 |
43 | 6 | "Human Bomb" | November 28, 1958 |
44 | 7 | "Plague of Pigeons" | December 5, 1958 |
45 | 8 | "Design for Murder" | December 12, 1958 |
46 | 9 | "Murder in Mink" | December 19, 1958 |
47 | 10 | "Lady on the Lam" | December 26, 1958 |
48 | 11 | "Beauty and the Bath" | January 2, 1959 |
49 | 12 | "The Case of the Baggy Pants" | January 9, 1959 |
50 | 13 | "Maine Thing" | January 23, 1959 |
51 | 14 | "Outrageous" | January 30, 1959 |
52 | 15 | "The Big Holdout" | February 6, 1959 |
53 | 16 | "Perfect Servant" | February 13, 1959 |
54 | 17 | "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Morgue" | February 20, 1959 |
55 | 18 | "Black Wind and Lightning" | February 27, 1959 |
56 | 19 | "Holiday for Hazel" | March 6, 1959 |
57 | 20 | "Lady Frankenstein" | March 13, 1959 |
58 | 21 | "Mayhem to Music" | March 20, 1959 |
59 | 22 | "La Sabre Invecta Est?" | March 27, 1959 |
60 | 23 | "Gory Road" | April 3, 1959 |
61 | 24 | "Anonymity Anyone?" | April 10, 1959 |
62 | 25 | "That's Gratitude" | April 17, 1959 |
63 | 26 | "The Cat Kicker" | April 24, 1959 |
64 | 27 | "Bronze Bonze" | May 1, 1959 |
65 | 28 | "Requiem for a Recluse" | May 8, 1959 |
66 | 29 | "Nora Goes Over the Wall" | May 15, 1959 |
67 | 30 | "Hamilton Hollered Help" | May 22, 1959 |
68 | 31 | "Dear Dead Days" | May 29, 1959 |
69 | 32 | "Cold Cargo" | June 12, 1959 |
70 | 33 | "Bat McKidderick Esq." | June 12, 1959 |
71 | 34 | "Cherchez La Sexpot" | June 19, 1959 |
72 | 35 | "Paradise Discovered" | June 26, 1959 |
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story by Allen Adler and Irving Block. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen. Shot in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope, it is considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s, a precursor of contemporary science fiction cinema. The characters and isolated setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the plot contains certain happenings analogous to the play, leading many to consider it a loose adaptation.
The Thin Man is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a leisure-class couple who enjoy copious drinking and flirtatious banter. Nick is a retired private detective who left his very successful career when he married Nora, a wealthy heiress accustomed to high society. Their wire-haired fox terrier Asta was played by canine actor Skippy. In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Robby the Robot is a fictional character and science fiction icon who first appeared in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. He made a number of subsequent appearances in science fiction films and television programs, which has given him the distinction as "the hardest working robot in Hollywood".
Another Thin Man is a 1939 American detective film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the third of six in the Thin Man series. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and is based on Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op story "The Farewell Murder". The Charles' son Nicky Jr. is introduced for the first time. The cast includes their terrier Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Tom Neal, Phyllis Gordon and Marjorie Main. Shemp Howard appears in an uncredited role as Wacky.
Shadow of the Thin Man is a 1941 American murder mystery comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. It was produced and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as the fourth in the series of six The Thin Man films. In this film their son Nick Jr. is old enough to figure in the comic subplot. Other cast members include Donna Reed and Barry Nelson. This was one of three films in which Stella Adler appeared.
Song of the Thin Man is a 1947 American murder mystery-comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell. The sixth and final film in MGM's Thin Man series, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Nick Jr. is played by Dean Stockwell. Phillip Reed, Keenan Wynn, Gloria Grahame, and Jayne Meadows are featured in this story set in the world of nightclub musicians.
The Thin Man Goes Home is a 1944 American comedy mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper ex-private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora. The supporting cast includes Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven and Helen Vinson. This entry in The Thin Man series was the first not directed by W.S. Van Dyke, who had died in 1943.
Nick and Nora Charles are fictional characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Thin Man. The characters were later adapted for film in a series of films between 1934 and 1947; for radio from 1941 to 1950; for television from 1957 through 1959; as a Broadway musical in 1991; and as a stage play in 2009.
Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford was an English-American actor.
Phyllis Kirk was an American actress.
Stafford Alois Repp was an American actor best known for his role as Police Chief Miles Clancy O'Hara on ABC's Batman television series.
Hazel Court was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) for Hammer Film Productions, and three of Roger Corman's adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for American International Pictures: The Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963) and The Masque of the Red Death (1964).
Anne Francis was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956) and the television action-drama series Honey West (1965–1966). Forbidden Planet marked a first in in-color, big-budget, science-fiction-themed motion pictures. Nine years later, Francis challenged female stereotypes in Honey West, in which she played a perky blonde private investigator who was as quick with body slams as with witty one-liners. She earned a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nomination for her performance.
The Thin Man (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of Redbook. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main characters Nick and Nora Charles, and Hammett was hired to provide scripts for the first two.
The Thin Man is a media franchise featuring detective characters Nick and Nora Charles based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The franchise includes six theatrical films, one radio series, and one television series. Additionally, it has been reimagined for the stage through a musical and various plays.
The Adventures of the Thin Man radio series, initially starring Les Damon, was broadcast on all four major radio networks during the years 1941 to 1950. Claudia Morgan had the female lead role of Nora Charles throughout the program's entire nine-year run. The radio series was modeled after the film series which was based on the 1934 Dashiell Hammett novel.
Robert Kinoshita was an American artist, art director, set and production designer who worked in the American film and television industries from the 1950s through the early 1980s.
Catherine McLeod was an American actress who made over 60 television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. She memorably portrayed the one woman whom James Garner's character Bret Maverick wanted to marry on the 1957 ABC/Warner Brothers television series Maverick, in the episode "Rage for Vengeance."
Nita Talbot is an American actress. She received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the 1967–68 season of Hogan's Heroes.
Jean Donahue was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career.