The Thin Man

Dashiell Hammett's novels and characters are so influential that he is often thought of as the originator of the hardboiled detective genre (though that honor goes to Carroll John Daly, who began writing in the 1920s). Hammett’s most famous detective, Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon, inspired many later writers, including Raymond Chandler, who noted that Hammett’s characters committed murders for murderous reasons. This was a deliberate break with what has become known as the “golden age” mysteries of writers such as Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. In contrast to genteel detectives like Sayers’ Lord Peter Whimsey and Christie’s Hercule Poirot, hardboiled protagonists like Sam Spade are as rough and sometimes as morally compromised as the criminals they pursue. Hardboiled stories deal with problems rooted in the corruption of society. Prohibition produced corruption in all tiers of the social structure as well as throughout the justice system. It was thus a prime era for stories of systemic corruption to flourish, and indeed, Hammett’s novels are all set during this time.

The Thin Man is unusual in that it is both a hardboiled mystery and a comedy. The detective, Nick Charles, has elements of Sam Spade’s grit but sharpens his wit with humor rather than anger, angst, and aggression. A femme fatale also appears in The Thin Man, but she is unsuccessful to the point of being ridiculous. Mimi Jorgensen’s transparent lying annoys rather than seduces Nick. Her immature daughter, Dorothy, while playing a damsel in distress, likewise isn’t able to breach Nick and Nora’s trusting marriage.

As the United States plunged into the Great Depression, a standard hardboiled story wasn’t the escapist work audiences craved. Hammett’s protagonists are wealthy and live a life of parties, hotel suites, and room service after shopping all day in New York City. Hammett uses this attractive lifestyle to draw in his audience but keeps the seedy element of his other works to please the genre’s fans and create contrast with Nora’s wealth. The Thin Man uses the genre’s harsher side to make the glamorous and solid relationship of Nick and Nora shine even brighter, setting the novel apart in both the genre and Hammett’s work.