Film

Dashiell Hammett’s last novel spawned the ne plus ultra of sophisticated screen couples in William Powell (of whom Roger Ebert said is “to dialogue as Fred Astaire is to dance”) and Myrna Loy, who play Nick and Nora Charles, a boozy ex-detective and his quick-witted socialite wife. The screwball mystery plot finds the pair (with canine companion Asta in tow) investigating the disappearance of an inventor, but “what enchants, really, is the relationship between Nick and Nora as they live an eternal cocktail hour in a marvelous blend of marital familiarity and constant courtship, pixilated fantasy and childlike wonder.” (Time Out London).