The Thin Man (film) he almost takes the life of someone who knows too much. Cast notes: The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, released in January 1934. Hammett's novel drew on his experiences as a union-busting Pinkerton detective in Butte, Montana. Hammett based Nick and Nora's banter upon his rocky on-again, off-again relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman. MGM paid Hammett $21,000 for the screen rights to the novel. The screenplay was written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, who had been married for three years. Director W.S. Van Dyke encouraged them to use Hammett's writing as
The Thin Man (film) to explain to Vance that his latest case revolves around a "tall, thin man" (referring to Clyde Wynant), just before clips of the film are shown. "The Thin Man" was dramatized as a radio play on an hour-long broadcast of "Lux Radio Theater" on June 8, 1936. William Powell, Myrna Loy, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, William Henry, and Thomas Jackson reprised their film roles, and W. S. Van Dyke was host. The Thin Man (film) The Thin Man is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and based on the novel of the same name