While others reserved holiday couch time for marathon screenings of “Lost,” “Mad Men” and vintage “Peyton Place,” I revisited two of my old faves - Nick and Nora Charles, that urbane fun-loving much-tippling couple in the Thin Man series from the late 1930s and 1940s, played by Myrna Loy and William Powell.

Nick was an ex-detective, called out of retirement to solve capers, usually outsmarting the cops. Nora, who had a lot of money and a quick wit, usually outsmarted him. The Thin Man’s creator Dashiell Hammett, modeled Nora Charles on his girlfriend Lillian Hellman. Nick described her as “a lanky brunette with a wicked jaw.”

Thin Man movies are great on a winter day when you’re stuck inside with a head cold and don’t want to face the real world. When you’d rather fantasize about sliding into something long and slithery and going off to a night club to dance a few turns before someone gets socked in the nose and the lights go out and all hell breaks loose.

Nick and Nora made a swell couple, “swell” being a favorite word in Thin Man movies. They were romantic even though you never saw them in the same bed or even in a long smooch which likely had to do with the movie code of the times. But even with their clothes on, there was no doubting they had heat.

Thin Man movies are my occasional indulgence, like hanging out with old fun friends who live in another world.

And there was murder without bloodshed. Someone would pop off an old lover or business partner and Nick Charles would climb out of his satin dressing gown to put on a suit and hit the street, usually with Nora and their clever dog Asta right behind him. Then Nick and Nora would throw a swell dinner party and Nick would announce who the murderer was. And everyone would have another drink and then along would come another Thin Man movie. The Thin Man Goes Home, Song of the Thin Man and the like.

Thin Man movies are my occasional indulgence, like hanging out with old fun friends who live in another world. Nick and Nora are so glib, so sophisticated, so entitled. But not snobs. They spend as much time with ex-cons as with members of the social register. Drinking is their sport. In one scene Nora meets Nick for a martini, asks how many he’s already downed, he says six and she says, “Well then, waiter, bring me five more.”

Everybody drank in those movies. Everybody smoked. Nobody went to the gym. Women wore fur. Men wore tuxedoes and flicked lighters. Nick and Nora wore hats. The dog got into the fanciest saloons.

The Thin Man movies were a big hit during the Depression and war years. You imagine Americans sitting in a theater watching news reels of sad, awful times and turning to Nick and Nora for a night out on the town.

But that was 60 years ago, back when people talked on phones connected to a desk and a woman could be alluring without showing cleavage and a man could act like a grownup and still be cool. Yet, as pretty as Nick and Nora’s world looked there was always some bad business going on. You never knew which politician or fat cat was going to disappoint you and turn into a dirty rotten scoundrel.

Hmm… I guess even old movies aren’t a total escape.

(Speaking of movies check out Sophie Jensen’s blogspot http://page-screen.blogspot.com for her take on Movies for Grown-Ups).