These films suffer the dated effect that most films from the 1930s do. However, while acknowledging these flaws, these films hold up pretty well as enjoyable comedies.
Nick and Nora Charles are a pair of urbane socialites. Nick is a detective who swears he's retired in every film before being pulled into another murder case, and Nora is a fairly decent sleuth herself, as is their dog Asta. Nick and Nora carry the movies to perfection with a dynamic I've scarcely seen elsewhere—they're madly in love, and spend their romance maddening each other constantly. Nick and Nora both love to mess with each other by making embarrassing false comments about the other and daring each other into doing things. It's a super fun relationship to watch because it's not sappy and it's not concerning—Nora gives just as good as she gets and it's clear the two mess around because it's play for them both. There's always a mystery going on, but the films are much more compelling to watch for Nick and Nora's relationship and to see how they put each other in hot water. William Powell and Myrna Loy play the roles fantastically. I think the films past the third one suffer a decline as Nick and Nora become parents and are thus narratively sidetracked from the lifestyle that let their characters flourish in the earlier films.
The other fun thing about these films is all the fun weird 1930s character actors playing fun weird characters. Pretty much every bit part in the series is delightfully memorable for super weird reasons and it's a blast to see someone steal the show with an oddball role for a scene's worth each. To mention a few, there are multiple flavors of bizarre landlady, the most ghoulish bullying kids you'll ever see, the sweetest apartment janitor in the world, and a huge host of ex-cons who pal it up with Nick, the guy who put them away in the first place. It's campy and great.
The mysteries at hand in the films are pretty decent, though not the biggest draw. The weakness of mystery films is the lack of time to puzzle it out for yourself, but the films construct logical scenarios to reveal someone nobody would suspect as the killer.
The films can be pretty dated, and for pretty uncomfortable racist reasons, which are a painful but important reminder of what the time was like. Non-white characters are relegated to be menacing or buffoons in these films, and almost always in a servile role. I don't think it's impossible to enjoy the films' good points because of it, but it's certainly something serious to acknowledge. Bigotry sucks.
In the end, these are films made in the 1930s with some surprising high points I wouldn't expect from the period and some typical low points I wish weren't acceptable in the period. If you want to see one of the most enjoyable film couples and some wacky characters, check them out, but just be aware of the bigoted elements that also feature.
Decent mysteries, great leads, and fun comedy hurt by period bigotry.
These films suffer the dated effect that most films from the 1930s do. However, while acknowledging these flaws, these films hold up pretty well as enjoyable comedies.
Nick and Nora Charles are a pair of urbane socialites. Nick is a detective who swears he's retired in every film before being pulled into another murder case, and Nora is a fairly decent sleuth herself, as is their dog Asta. Nick and Nora carry the movies to perfection with a dynamic I've scarcely seen elsewhere—they're madly in love, and spend their romance maddening each other constantly. Nick and Nora both love to mess with each other by making embarrassing false comments about the other and daring each other into doing things. It's a super fun relationship to watch because it's not sappy and it's not concerning—Nora gives just as good as she gets and it's clear the two mess around because it's play for them both. There's always a mystery going on, but the films are much more compelling to watch for Nick and Nora's relationship and to see how they put each other in hot water. William Powell and Myrna Loy play the roles fantastically. I think the films past the third one suffer a decline as Nick and Nora become parents and are thus narratively sidetracked from the lifestyle that let their characters flourish in the earlier films.
The other fun thing about these films is all the fun weird 1930s character actors playing fun weird characters. Pretty much every bit part in the series is delightfully memorable for super weird reasons and it's a blast to see someone steal the show with an oddball role for a scene's worth each. To mention a few, there are multiple flavors of bizarre landlady, the most ghoulish bullying kids you'll ever see, the sweetest apartment janitor in the world, and a huge host of ex-cons who pal it up with Nick, the guy who put them away in the first place. It's campy and great.
The mysteries at hand in the films are pretty decent, though not the biggest draw. The weakness of mystery films is the lack of time to puzzle it out for yourself, but the films construct logical scenarios to reveal someone nobody would suspect as the killer.
The films can be pretty dated, and for pretty uncomfortable racist reasons, which are a painful but important reminder of what the time was like. Non-white characters are relegated to be menacing or buffoons in these films, and almost always in a servile role. I don't think it's impossible to enjoy the films' good points because of it, but it's certainly something serious to acknowledge. Bigotry sucks.
In the end, these are films made in the 1930s with some surprising high points I wouldn't expect from the period and some typical low points I wish weren't acceptable in the period. If you want to see one of the most enjoyable film couples and some wacky characters, check them out, but just be aware of the bigoted elements that also feature.