‘I’d have to have a drink before I could do any talking.’ They drink heavily, mirroring the Hellman and Hammett relationship in that aspect. Nick and Nora are best together, and as the investigation in the story moves forward, they seem a bit unmoored when they are apart. They are usually divorced or single, and if they are married, they certainly aren’t happily married. Hardboiled mystery writers seem to focus on characters as singular individuals. There really aren’t a lot of happy married couples in noir literature. The fights that Nick and Nora get into are playful, funny, and foreplay that provides Nick with an opportunity to grab Nora and plant a kiss on her that will shake her fillings. Hellman and Hammett fought like Siamese Fighting Fish. From what I’ve read, he definitely must have focused on the sunnier side of the relationship because one of the most enjoyable things about this dynamic couple is their friendly, jocular interactions, highlighted with the rich overtones of how much they admire and like one another. There are usually some light hearted moments with Asta in every movie where they are chasing him around the room trying to retrieve a vital clue from between his jaws or other scenes where he is just doing something terminally adorable that brings a bit more lightheartedness to the script.ĭashiell Hammett based the Charles’s off his own tempestuous on-again and off-again relationship with Lillian Hellman. Asta doesn’t provide the comic relief in the book that he does in the movie, but he is a presence for most of the book. For those who know us and how much we love The Thin Man movies, they always assume that it is also a nod to Asta.and they would be right. I have a six month old Scottish Terrier, whose name is Astra after the state motto of Kansas, ad astra per aspera. ”That afternoon I took Asta for a walk, explained to two people that she was a Schnauzer and not a cross between a Scottie and an Irish terrier….” The dog, Skippy, who was cast in the movie was a Wire Fox Terrier. We must not forget the Charles’s dog Asta. The scintillating, amusing conversations are punctuated by Loy’s uptilted nose and impish smile and Powell’s infectious grin as he takes pleasure in toying with his wife’s state of mind. The book is famous for the witty exchanges between Nora and Nick, but the book is somewhat overshadowed by the wonderful repartee between Powell and Loy over the course of the six movies. Those actors are forever Nick and Nora for me. When I decided to reread this classic that spawned six great movies, Nick Charles was of course William Powell, and Nora Charles was of course Myrna Loy. It is almost impossible for me to separate the book from the movies. "She just wanted to show me some French etchings.” "And how about the red-head you wandered off with at Quinns' last night?"
"Only you, darling - lanky brunettes with wicked jaws."
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