Author Dashiell Hammett held many jobs during his life, including one as a railroad laborer, but the one that undoubtedly satisfied his quest for adventure more than any other was his position as a Pinkerton detective agent. Using knowledge obtained from that career experience, Hammett published his first mystery novel, Red Harvest, in 1929. By 1934, he had completed four more novels: The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key and lastly and perhaps most memorably, The Thin Man. Hammett's final novel centers on the life of Nick and Nora Charles, a pair of stylish, wealthy partygoers with a yen for sleuthing and the couple's delightful dog, Asta. Nick and Nora's relationship was rumored to be based on the real thirty-year relationship between Hammett and playwright Lillian Hellman.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer snapped up the film rights for "The Thin Man," then delivered the screenplay into the capable hands of...