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Movies that feel like The Thin Man (1934)

If you loved The Thin Man, the closest films we have are My Man Godfrey (1936), Zero Effect (1998) and Trouble in Paradise (1932). All three share The Thin Man's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke and adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Thin Man combines witty dialogue, sophisticated comedy, romance, and classic mystery. William Powell and Myrna Loy are perfectly matched as Nick and Nora Charles, whose playful banter and effortless chemistry made them one of Hollywood’s most beloved screen couples. This stylish 1934 mystery remains a landmark of classic American cinema.

🍅 98% Rotten Tomatoes7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. W.S. Van Dykewittyplayfultwistygrittyromantic

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If The Thin Man hit the spot, these will too

My Man Godfrey poster
My Man Godfrey
1936 · dir. Gregory La Cava
🍅 97%7.9comedy

Common ground in both: black and white and screwball comedy

The difference: Not nearly as twisty as The Thin Man

Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a "forgotten man" to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.

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Zero Effect poster
Zero Effect
1998 · dir. Jake Kasdan
🍅 66%6.9mystery · crime · comedy

Common ground: detective

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

Daryl Zero is a private investigator and—along with his assistant, Steve Arlo—he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Although Daryl's a master investigator, he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not working; he has no social skills, writes bad music and drives Steve crazy.

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Trouble in Paradise poster
Trouble in Paradise
1932 · dir. Ernst Lubitsch
🍅 90%7.9comedy · crime · romance

One thread runs through both: black and white

The difference: None of the twists The Thin Man is built on

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

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The Awful Truth poster
The Awful Truth
1937 · dir. Leo McCarey
🍅 94%7.6comedy · romance

Both are working the same pair: husband wife relationship, dog

The difference: Sits closer to romance than The Thin Man does

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

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Take the Money and Run poster
Take the Money and Run
1969 · dir. Woody Allen
🍅 91%7.2comedy · crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: wedding

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.

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Seven Brides for Seven Brothers poster
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1954 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 89%7.3comedy · drama · western

Both are built on the same subject: wedding

In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.

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And Then There Were None poster
And Then There Were None
1945 · dir. René Clair
🍅 100%7.3crime · drama · mystery

The same preoccupation in both: dinner

Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island and while they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests. Soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.

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The Lavender Hill Mob poster
The Lavender Hill Mob
1951 · dir. Charles Crichton
🍅 100%7.5comedy · crime

Both land wit and play at once

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.

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The Great Muppet Caper poster
The Great Muppet Caper
1981 · dir. Jim Henson
🍅 78%7.1comedy · crime · family

The same mix in both: twists, then grit

Kermit and Fozzie are newspaper reporters sent to London to interview Lady Holiday, a wealthy fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace is stolen. Kermit meets and falls in love with her secretary, Miss Piggy. The jewel thieves strike again, and this time frame Miss Piggy. It's up to Kermit and the rest of the Muppets to bring the real culprits to justice.

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Estômago: A Gastronomic Story poster
Estômago: A Gastronomic Story
2008 · dir. Marcos Jorge
7.8drama · comedy · mystery

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

In a dog-eat-dog world, Raimundo Nonato has found an alternative way to move ahead: he cooks. No matter what social strata this deceptively innocent young man inhabits, he hones his skills and sharpens his knives—and then he falls in love. Jorge's nimble comic fable provides a smartly constructed gastronomic allegory for ambition and survival.

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The Maltese Falcon poster
The Maltese Falcon
1941 · dir. John Huston
🍅 99%7.9mystery · crime · thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: private detective

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse poster
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1933 · dir. Fritz Lang
🍅 86%7.9crime · mystery · thriller

Mystery built on twists, twice over

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Thin Man’s defining feeling.