Experiments are reported to characterize the viscous drag on Ni wires of diameter of 350 nm and lengths of 5 mu m < L < 30 mu m confined to the air interface of glycerol/water mixtures upon which very thin (30-150 nm thick) silicone oil films are deposited. The sensitivity of the observed drag to the film viscosity demonstrates the utility of the wires as highly sensitive probes of interfacial shear rheology. The dependence of the drag on wire length is analyzed in terms of recent theoretical predictions for the hydrodynamic drag on an anisotropic particle confined to an interfacial film. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.