# If you liked "The Thin Man" then you'd like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254 "2013-12-27T01:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/21 "2013-12-27T06:12:29Z")
_My Man Godfrey_ is my favorite film of all time. I love William Powell. I love the ending. It’s not a screwball comedy but the endearing Powell & Pressburger,\* I Know Where I’m Going\*,is also first rate. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/22 "2013-12-27T06:16:49Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The same author wrote _The Maltese Falcon_. The films aren’t as similar, but she might like it. No Nora, though. If she likes this, and she probably will if she has the good taste to like Nick & Nora, she might enjoy Casablanca and other Bogart movies, especially the ones with Bacall. African Queen holds up really well, too. And from there she might enjoy the Spencer/Hepburn movies. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/23 "2013-12-27T07:49:00Z")
Is _Hart to Hart_ on DVD? I see there are a bunch of snippets on youTube, see if your kid likes them. I’m watching the pilot episode now, which I’d never seen previously. The tone is quite a bit different from the rest of the series (or at least how I remember it), so don’t let it throw you. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/24 "2013-12-27T09:10:05Z")
_His Girl Friday_ is one of the funniest movies ever so I’ll second (or third or fourth) that one, and add that the original version (_The Front Page_) is pretty good too. More suggestions- _Nothing Sacred_ (an early Technicolor film) and _Ruggles Of Red Gap_. Both are very funny and available on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/25 "2013-12-27T15:15:18Z")
To condense everyone’s suggestions: find a list of great screwball comedies and have at it. And if she wants a modern film with the true screwball flavor (and hey, it’s seasonal!) there’s _ **The Hudsucker Proxy** _. You know, for kids! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/26 "2013-12-27T15:18:01Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > To condense everyone’s suggestions: find a list of great screwball comedies and have at it. And if she wants a modern film with the true screwball flavor (and hey, it’s seasonal!) there’s _ **The Hudsucker Proxy** _. You know, for kids! As soon as I saw “The Hudsucker Proxy” that line went through my head. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/27 "2013-12-27T15:25:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > My 12 year old daughter has been iontroduced to the Thin Man movies by a friend and loves them. Anyone with other suggestions of similar streamable movies of that era that she might also like? The Hildegard Withers movies featuring Edna May Oliver and James Gleason are funny in a lot of the same ways. Hmmph… not finding them listed on NetFlix though. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/28 "2013-12-27T15:25:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The movie His Girl Friday. The Philadelphia Story. Those were the same two I was going to recommend. Hopefully she doesn’t get distracted easily. You’ve really got to stay on top of the dialogue with those movies, but they are fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/29 "2013-12-27T19:25:47Z")
_The Miracle Of Morgans Creek_ one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/30 "2013-12-28T00:27:28Z")
All these are excellent movies, but I do think The Thin Man series is unique. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/31 "2013-12-28T00:41:53Z")
There’s the Blondie series of movies from the 1930s and 1940s, based on the comic strip and starring Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton. Those are pretty fun. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/32 "2013-12-28T01:06:52Z")
I need to say this very loudly - _THE THIN MAN_ IS NOT A SCREWBALL COMEDY. Screwball comedies are pretty much by definition films in which the leading man and woman are kept apart for farcical reasons only to fall into one another’s arms in the end. You can’t have a married couple be the lead. I love screwball comedies, but the this ain’t one of them. The Thin Man series are comedy mysteries, which is a different genre. Wikipedia has a handy list of some [comedy mysteries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_comedy%E2%80%93mystery_films). They keep being made, unlike screwball comedies, which died with WWII. I’m positive a 12-year-old wouldn’t be interested, but since others here might be, let me mention that the closest thing in print to The Thin Man was the [Mr. and Mrs. North](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._and_Mrs._North)series by Francis and Richard Lockridge (although they are completely sex free, though otherwise adult). A movie was made; all you need to know about is that they made Gracie Allen the lead. I suppose it qualifies as a comedy mystery, except for not being funny. (She never was away from George Burns.) But a 12-year-old might think so. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/33 "2013-12-28T01:12:25Z")
I didn’t see anyone claim it was a screwball. The movie has much in common with screwball comedies: Emphasis on wit and slapstick, lots of references to wealth and drinking, hyperbolic scenarios, etc. The plot isn’t the same, but the tone of The Thin Man is very similar to the tone of “The Awful Truth” and similar movies. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/34 "2013-12-28T01:40:52Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I didn’t see anyone claim it was a screwball. Then you didn’t read the thread very closely. > [@toast\_pakora](#): > > _It’s not a screwball comedy but the endearing Powell & Pressburger,_ I Know Where I’m Going\*,is also first rate. > [@LawMonkey](#): > > To condense everyone’s suggestions: find a list of great screwball comedies and have at it. And most of the suggestions are classic screwball movies. Of course, unless DSeid comes back and gives us some indication of _why_ his daughter liked the movies, maybe we should be listing movies starring cute dogs. Asta - real name Skippy - has his own [IMDb.com page](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1208817/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/35 "2013-12-28T01:46:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Then you didn’t read the thread very closely. Or maybe I read it with a different set of thoughts and attitudes than you did. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/36 "2013-12-28T01:58:42Z")
The Awful Truth, with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne - Irene thinks Cary is cheating on her and files for divorce. Then Irene and Cary go to great lengths to sabotage the relationships the other one has. Another Irene Dunn/Cary Grant movie - “My Favorite Wife”. Dunn is lost at sea and presumed dead. Seven years later, Cary is having her declared dead so he can remarry, when she shows up, having been stranded on a deserted island with Randolph Scott. Hijinks ensue. StG ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/37 "2013-12-28T03:16:31Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Or maybe I read it with a different set of thoughts and attitudes than you did. It doesn’t matter what your thoughts were. The words are there, in black and white electrons. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/38 "2013-12-28T03:26:14Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Another great Barbara Stanwyck comedy is _Ball of Fire_. Ah, Gary Cooper. Pretty adorable in this one (and Mr. Deeds). OP, a number of these movies are available through Netflix and/or Amazon, including “The Awful Truth” which I made my husband watch last weekend and he found it pretty entertaining (I’ve had that “Gone with the Wind” song in my head ever since). We watched “Bringing Up Baby” a few weeks ago, so we had them in the wrong order for the “Jerry the Nipper” gag. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/39 "2013-12-28T03:54:13Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And most of the suggestions are classic screwball movies. I think most of us know that _The Thin Man_ isn’t a screwball comedy. But we felt that somebody who enjoyed _The Thin Man_ would also enjoy some of the better screwball comedies. As jsgoddess noted, the plot outline might be different but the tone is similar. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254/40 "2013-12-28T07:04:58Z")
Thanks to all. I’ll check to see what is streamable for her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-the-thin-man-then-youd-like/677254.md?page=3)