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) is guilty. The detective uncovers clues and eventually solves the mystery of the disappearance. The murderer is revealed in a classic dinner party scene that features all of the suspects. A skeletonized body, found during the investigation, had been assumed to be that of a "fat man" because it was wearing oversized clothing. The clothes are revealed to be planted, and the identity of the body is determined by an old war wound in one leg. It turns out that the body belongs to a "thin man": the missing Wynant. The real killer is uncovered at the dinner party before