Immaculate in dress and acting style, he perfected his manabouttown image in the thin man movies and evolved into a character actor most at home playing perfectly groomed lawyers and businessmen, with several sleek detectives thrown in for good measure. The complete films of william powell by lawrence j. So nice to come home to are documentaries with interesting stories. Part of the alias nick and nora documentary disk in the complete thin man series. Alias nick and nora 19912005 journeys in classic film. Nick and nora two documentary profiles william powell.
Behlmer, carole lombard, myrna loy, leonard maltin. Production had to be stopped for several weeks on the film after powells girlfriend, jean harlow, died in june 1937. The 1930s and 40s were a golden age of movie mysteries, from bulldog drummond. Sometime after the initial release, the title fashions of 1934 was changed to fashions, replacing the original title with an insert card stating william powell in fashions. A true gentleman which came in the box set of the complete thin man collection i am more than ever convinced that this is a man whose wit, charm and style we should seek to. Mar 01, 2020 william powell, versatile american motion picture and stage actor who played villains in hollywood silent films and intelligent, debonair leading men in the sound era. After graduating from the american academy of dramatic arts. I never enjoyed my work more than when i worked with william powell. None of this is atrocious and will stop true nick and nora fans from enjoying the film in this dvd package but it is certainly not reaching their. He is best remembered as nick charles in the thin man series of films. William powell was on the new york stage by 1912, but it would be ten years before his film career would begin. Of much less interest are two soso documentaries, the 30minute plus william powell. Two documentaries saluting william powell, originally a silent film star and loveable villain, and myrna loys passage to the reigning queen of hollywood.
We get interviews with film historians rudy behlmer, leonard maltin, emily carman and powell archivist christian anderson who discuss what made the actor so. After dropping out of the university of kansas, he decided to attend the academy of dramatic arts in new york city. The anarchist cookbook was written by william powell as a teenager and first published in 1971 at the apex of the counterculture era to protest against united states involvement in the vietnam war. William powell and myrna loy were one of the smartest and sexiest onscreen couples of the 30s and 40s as nick and nora charles, martinisipping socialites who solved crimes in their spare time in the thin man and its sequels, and this special dvd box set collects all six movies in the. Powell gained inspiration for his text from his experiences with vietnam veterans during his time living in manhattan. The very picture of cinematic suavity, william powell 18921984 was arguably the screens most polished light comedian. Though both nail the basic appeal of these fine actors, neither goes into any real depth, relying on film clips and expert observations in the former, and the huskyvoiced, femme fatale.
The first is entitled, william powell a true gentleman. A major star at metrogoldwynmayer, he was paired with myrna loy in 14 films, including the thin man series based on the nick and nora charles characters created by dashiell hammett. William powell and myrna loy classic film stars by dina di. The film stars william powell, bette davis, hugh herbert and frank mchugh, and has songs by sammy fain music and irving kahal lyrics. The thin man collection in august news the digital fix. In 1924 he went to paramount pictures, where he was employed for the next seven years. A true gentleman video 2005 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. William powell as nick charles in the opening scene of dashiell hammetts the thin man. Premiering at the 2016 venice film festival, the film consists of a week of rare sitdown interviews shot at powells home in massat, france, last summer, and examines the controversial author. Fan comments for william powell turner classic movies. Myrna loy so nice to come home to and william powell. A true gentleman 2005 0802 2005 us documentary 31m user score.
April 11, 2005 burbank, ca have a wonderful crime with nick and nora charles william powell and myrna loy, the worlds most popular, glamorous and sophisticated detectives, when warner home video whv introduces the complete thin man collection on august 2 star myrna loys 100th birthday. William powell biography, movie highlights and photos. I assumed the final disc, alias nick and nora, was a documentary discussing the legacy of their work in the thin man series as a whole. The picture delights in its boozy drunkenness, and william powell gives a. The complete series of screwball romantic comedy mysteries, starring william powell and myrna loy as the worlds most debonair detective team debuts on star myrna loys 100th birthday. This is definitely an incomplete biography, but what is written here was very enjoyable. William powell celebrity profile check out the latest william powell photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. William powell was born in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, on july 29, 1892. A true gentleman 2005 video 31 min short, biography. Like a sublime dry martini, myrna loy and william powell had an intuitive, flawless rhythm throughout their legendary screen teaming in 14 films together. Extensive tribute to the great classic film star movie stills archives, biography, filmography, posters, video and sound clips and a whole lot more. A number of heavy hitters appear including rudy behlmer, leonard maltin as well as several film critics and historians. Powells most famous role was that of nick charles in six thin man films, beginning with the.
Jul 04, 2014 our final tribute to nick and nora charles is a pair of documentaries included with the complete thin man box set. In five novels published over five years as well as a string of stories, he transformed the mystery genre into literature and left us with the figure of the hardboiled detective, from the continental op to sam spade. Myrna loy whether its because of the thin man films, my man godfrey, or life with father, nearly everyone has affection for william powell. Review by stuart galbraith iv posted august 5, 2005 email the author. William powell, a true gentleman, who shared his charm and debonair style with his audience then and still after more than 30 years after his death, is still making woman go weak in the knees, for that same charm and debonair style of his. Od njih je najpoznatija uloga detektkiva nicka charlesa u sest filmova u seriji the thin man. He was a brilliant actor, a delightful companion, a great friend, and above all, a true gentleman. We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Biography for william powell turner classic movies. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that youve provided to them or that theyve collected from your use of their services. However, powells 30minute feature relies too much on film. However, powells 30minute feature relies too much on film clips. Oct 25, 2019 dashiell hammett changed the face of crime fiction. This set includes all six of the thin man films, plus a plethora of special features and a bonus disc with documentaries about myrna loy and william powell.
A true gentleman 2005 out of 4 michael york narrates this 31minute documentary covering the life and career of william powell. The wonderfully, comic and fun loving william powell and myrna loy. For the best experience please update your browser. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. Find films and movies featuring william powell on allmovie. Originally planning to become a lawyer, william powell chose instead to pursue a career as an actor, dropping out of the university of kansas to attend the american academy of dramatic arts, where his classmates included edward g. I liked that the author found articles from magazines and newspapers that powell had set down for, to help promote his movies or him talking about an actress he worked with in a movie. The dialogue for all six films is in english, with optional subtitles in english, french, and spanish.