Completed within 1934 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film was directed by W.S. Van Dyke from a script by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich; the screenplay was based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, supposedly based on his relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman. Besides appearing in the film were Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Cesar Romero, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber and Natalie Moorhead.

A "Thin Man" of a title was actually a execution victim, however the title was thought by virtually everya single to refer to Nick Charles, & it was utilized in the titles of the sequels, although there is no one ever known as him that. (This is similar to the situation by having Frankenstein, where a title of the doctor world health organization created the "monster" was applied to his animal in the film sequels to the novel.)

This pic was followed by 5 sir thomas more in the series: A 1934 film has been selected for preservation in the United States' National Film Registry. There were as well the radio series starring (at first) Les Damon and Claudia Morgan & a half-30 minutes hebdomadally TV series by MGM and shown in NBC for three seasons from either 1957-1960. A TV series starred Peter Lawford (who became the hot item so, because his married woman's brother John F. Kennedy was the successful candidate in the presidential election of 1960) and Phyllis Kirk as Nick and Nora Charles. Jack Albertson had a revenant role too. Within 1975, Craig Stevens and Jo Ann Pflug starred in the film Nick and Nora in TV.