The fictional teen detective Nancy Drew entered the literary world in 1930, the stories penned by a variety of authors under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and continuing in print, movies, and television to this day. In 1938 the Drew stories first came to the big screen when Warner Bros. produced "Nancy Drew, Detective" with Bonita Granville, the actress going on to do three more Nancy Drew films for Warners, released in 1939. To coincide with WB's latest theatrical adaptation of the comedy-mystery stories, 2007's "Nancy Drew," the studio has issued this two-disc set of all four early Drew movies. The films are brief, lightweight, and generally charming, especially, I would imagine, for younger viewers and teenage girls.
Nancy Drew, Detective
The first in the series is "Nancy Drew, Detective," from 1938. As with the other three movies, William Clemens directed and Bonita Granville stars in the title role. Ms. Granville was in her mid teens when she did the picture, and since her character has a driver's license, I'd say she is supposed to be sixteen or seventeen. In any case, she makes a fine leading lady, cute, enthusiastic, impulsive, vivacious, full of spirit, and seldom without her hat and gloves.
In this episode, which lasts about sixty-eight minutes, Nancy is attending the Brinwood School for Young Ladies in River Heights, presumably a small Midwestern town. Her father, Carson Drew (John Litel), is a lawyer, so I suppose he's got enough money to afford his daughter a private education. Anyway, a rich old lady (Helena Phillips Evans) announces that she's bequeathing the institution a healthy endowment, but the next day she disappears without a word about the money she promised. Nancy determines to find the lady, whom Nancy's "woman's intuition" tells her somebody has kidnapped, and clear up the mystery.
Along the way, she gets help from the next-door neighbor boy, Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas); runs into a slew of shady characters, not the least shady being a no-goodnik named Callon (James Stephenson); and proves an annoyance to the police, represented by the person of the constantly befuddled Captain Tweedy (Frank Orth).
Although Nancy's father does his best to keep his daughter out of trouble, he is, alas for him and hurray for us, unsuccessful. Nancy is a most willful girl, and we benefit from it. Her adventures are absurd, of course, the villains cardboard cutouts and the action hokey and contrived, yet it is entirely humorous stuff and good family fun. These were, after all, adventures for youngsters, and as such, they are engaging reminders of simpler times. 6/10
Nancy Drew--Reporter
The second episode in the series is "Nancy Drew--Reporter," from 1939. In this one, John Litel returns as Nancy's exasperated father and Frank Thomas, Jr. (now dropping the "-ie" and adding a "Jr.") as Nancy's good friend and assistant, Ted Nickerson. I could say Ted was Nancy's boyfriend, but since neither of them makes the slightest flirtatious move on the other, "friend" seems more appropriate. Like the first movie, "Reporter" lasts about sixty-eight minutes.
Nancy and several other students in town accept the opportunity to work with the town's newspaper for a few days, and as a promotional gimmick the newspaper will award $50 to the student who writes the best story. Oddly, the small town where Nancy lived in the first installment has grown into a big city in this episode. I dunno....
Nancy quickly insinuates her way into a lead story about the suspected poisoning of an old lady. (It appears that solving mysteries surrounding little old ladies is one of Nancy's specialties.) Nancy determines that fingerprints on a missing tin can of poison may be a key to solving the crime, so off she and Ted go trying to track it down.
The action in "Reporter" moves along at a good clip, although there are some silly digressions with the neighborhood children and even a musical number that appear thrown in specifically to appease a young audience. I most enjoyed the location shooting, presumably in Southern California, streets with hardly any cars in sight, and a cost of $13.50 to fix a dented fender! How times change. 5/10
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
The third installment is "Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter," from 1939. True to form, John Litel is back as the father and Frankie Thomas (dropping the "Frank, Jr." business) as Nancy's friend and fellow youthful companion, Ted Nickerson.
This time out, Nancy's father gets a request from an old friend, Matt Brandon (Aldrich Bowker), to defend him against a murder charge. Seems Brandon quarreled with the victim before his death, making him the prime suspect. Mr. Drew accepts the case, which takes place in the small country town of Silver Lake, giving the series a change of scenery. Naturally, Nancy goes along and becomes involved in the mystery. And just as naturally, Ted is coincidentally living with his folks up at Silver Lake, so he is conveniently around to help Nancy solve the crime.
There is not a lot happening in this one. It moves along more like a situation comedy of the 1950s than a mystery of the 1930s. The father has a flirtation with a neighbor lady, Edna Gregory (Charlotte Wynters), that initially annoys Nancy; and there is a slow-talking, slow-moving black stereotype named Apollo (Willie Best, who did many such roles) that audiences today would not tolerate. Not up to the rest of the series. 4/10
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
The last of the Bonita Granville "Nancy Drews" is "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," from 1939. It returns to the realm of mystery, with, of course, the usual doses of comedy thrown in for good measure. Not only are John Litel and Frankie Thomas back, so is Frank Orth as Captain Tweedy.
Although "Hidden Staircase" is the briefest of the episodes at sixty minutes, it is one of the best. The setting is back to the relatively small town of River Heights, and the action centers around a ruthless entrepreneur who is trying to get his hands on a piece of property for a race track. Here we find that Nancy has talked a pair of old ladies (they're everywhere!), the Turnbull sisters, into donating their huge estate to Dr. Spires (a character from the first film) for a children's hospital. However, as a stipulation of the sisters' inheritance of the estate, they had to spend the past twenty years in the house, and the twenty years won't be up for two more weeks. You can guess where this is going next. The villains want to keep the Turnbulls from taking final ownership of the estate so that they can buy it, and among the first things they do is murder the Turnbull's chauffeur.
The movie's title rather gives away much of the mystery, but it isn't really the mystery that one expects from these movies; it's the interplay among the characters. It's summertime, and Ted has a summer job delivering ice to people's homes for the ice boxes of the day. This gives him access to a truck and to most of the townsfolk. So Nancy and Ted gad about the village talking to people and picking up clues to who killed the Turnbull servant.
"Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" is concise, to the point, fast paced, and amusing. It's hardly the kind of film a person might want to run out and buy on its own, but in a collection with the other "Drew" features, it makes a strong conclusion to this highly watchable kids' series. 6/10
Nancy Drew, Detective
The first in the series is "Nancy Drew, Detective," from 1938. As with the other three movies, William Clemens directed and Bonita Granville stars in the title role. Ms. Granville was in her mid teens when she did the picture, and since her character has a driver's license, I'd say she is supposed to be sixteen or seventeen. In any case, she makes a fine leading lady, cute, enthusiastic, impulsive, vivacious, full of spirit, and seldom without her hat and gloves.
In this episode, which lasts about sixty-eight minutes, Nancy is attending the Brinwood School for Young Ladies in River Heights, presumably a small Midwestern town. Her father, Carson Drew (John Litel), is a lawyer, so I suppose he's got enough money to afford his daughter a private education. Anyway, a rich old lady (Helena Phillips Evans) announces that she's bequeathing the institution a healthy endowment, but the next day she disappears without a word about the money she promised. Nancy determines to find the lady, whom Nancy's "woman's intuition" tells her somebody has kidnapped, and clear up the mystery.
Along the way, she gets help from the next-door neighbor boy, Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas); runs into a slew of shady characters, not the least shady being a no-goodnik named Callon (James Stephenson); and proves an annoyance to the police, represented by the person of the constantly befuddled Captain Tweedy (Frank Orth).
Although Nancy's father does his best to keep his daughter out of trouble, he is, alas for him and hurray for us, unsuccessful. Nancy is a most willful girl, and we benefit from it. Her adventures are absurd, of course, the villains cardboard cutouts and the action hokey and contrived, yet it is entirely humorous stuff and good family fun. These were, after all, adventures for youngsters, and as such, they are engaging reminders of simpler times. 6/10
Nancy Drew--Reporter
The second episode in the series is "Nancy Drew--Reporter," from 1939. In this one, John Litel returns as Nancy's exasperated father and Frank Thomas, Jr. (now dropping the "-ie" and adding a "Jr.") as Nancy's good friend and assistant, Ted Nickerson. I could say Ted was Nancy's boyfriend, but since neither of them makes the slightest flirtatious move on the other, "friend" seems more appropriate. Like the first movie, "Reporter" lasts about sixty-eight minutes.
Nancy and several other students in town accept the opportunity to work with the town's newspaper for a few days, and as a promotional gimmick the newspaper will award $50 to the student who writes the best story. Oddly, the small town where Nancy lived in the first installment has grown into a big city in this episode. I dunno....
Nancy quickly insinuates her way into a lead story about the suspected poisoning of an old lady. (It appears that solving mysteries surrounding little old ladies is one of Nancy's specialties.) Nancy determines that fingerprints on a missing tin can of poison may be a key to solving the crime, so off she and Ted go trying to track it down.
The action in "Reporter" moves along at a good clip, although there are some silly digressions with the neighborhood children and even a musical number that appear thrown in specifically to appease a young audience. I most enjoyed the location shooting, presumably in Southern California, streets with hardly any cars in sight, and a cost of $13.50 to fix a dented fender! How times change. 5/10
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
The third installment is "Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter," from 1939. True to form, John Litel is back as the father and Frankie Thomas (dropping the "Frank, Jr." business) as Nancy's friend and fellow youthful companion, Ted Nickerson.
This time out, Nancy's father gets a request from an old friend, Matt Brandon (Aldrich Bowker), to defend him against a murder charge. Seems Brandon quarreled with the victim before his death, making him the prime suspect. Mr. Drew accepts the case, which takes place in the small country town of Silver Lake, giving the series a change of scenery. Naturally, Nancy goes along and becomes involved in the mystery. And just as naturally, Ted is coincidentally living with his folks up at Silver Lake, so he is conveniently around to help Nancy solve the crime.
There is not a lot happening in this one. It moves along more like a situation comedy of the 1950s than a mystery of the 1930s. The father has a flirtation with a neighbor lady, Edna Gregory (Charlotte Wynters), that initially annoys Nancy; and there is a slow-talking, slow-moving black stereotype named Apollo (Willie Best, who did many such roles) that audiences today would not tolerate. Not up to the rest of the series. 4/10
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
The last of the Bonita Granville "Nancy Drews" is "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," from 1939. It returns to the realm of mystery, with, of course, the usual doses of comedy thrown in for good measure. Not only are John Litel and Frankie Thomas back, so is Frank Orth as Captain Tweedy.
Although "Hidden Staircase" is the briefest of the episodes at sixty minutes, it is one of the best. The setting is back to the relatively small town of River Heights, and the action centers around a ruthless entrepreneur who is trying to get his hands on a piece of property for a race track. Here we find that Nancy has talked a pair of old ladies (they're everywhere!), the Turnbull sisters, into donating their huge estate to Dr. Spires (a character from the first film) for a children's hospital. However, as a stipulation of the sisters' inheritance of the estate, they had to spend the past twenty years in the house, and the twenty years won't be up for two more weeks. You can guess where this is going next. The villains want to keep the Turnbulls from taking final ownership of the estate so that they can buy it, and among the first things they do is murder the Turnbull's chauffeur.
The movie's title rather gives away much of the mystery, but it isn't really the mystery that one expects from these movies; it's the interplay among the characters. It's summertime, and Ted has a summer job delivering ice to people's homes for the ice boxes of the day. This gives him access to a truck and to most of the townsfolk. So Nancy and Ted gad about the village talking to people and picking up clues to who killed the Turnbull servant.
"Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" is concise, to the point, fast paced, and amusing. It's hardly the kind of film a person might want to run out and buy on its own, but in a collection with the other "Drew" features, it makes a strong conclusion to this highly watchable kids' series. 6/10
The fictional teen detective Nancy Drew entered the literary world in 1930, the stories penned by a variety of authors under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and continuing in print, movies, and television to this day. In 1938 the Drew stories first came to the big screen when Warner Bros. produced "Nancy Drew, Detective" with Bonita Granville, the actress going on to do three more Nancy Drew films for Warners, released in 1939. To coincide with WB's latest theatrical adaptation of the comedy-mystery stories, 2007's "Nancy Drew," the studio has issued this two-disc set of all four early Drew movies. The films are brief, lightweight, and generally charming, especially, I would imagine, for younger viewers and teenage girls.
Nancy Drew, Detective
The first in the series is "Nancy Drew, Detective," from 1938. As with the other three movies, William Clemens directed and Bonita Granville stars in the title role. Ms. Granville was in her mid teens when she did the picture, and since her character has a driver's license, I'd say she is supposed to be sixteen or seventeen. In any case, she makes a fine leading lady, cute, enthusiastic, impulsive, vivacious, full of spirit, and seldom without her hat and gloves.
In this episode, which lasts about sixty-eight minutes, Nancy is attending the Brinwood School for Young Ladies in River Heights, presumably a small Midwestern town. Her father, Carson Drew (John Litel), is a lawyer, so I suppose he's got enough money to afford his daughter a private education. Anyway, a rich old lady (Helena Phillips Evans) announces that she's bequeathing the institution a healthy endowment, but the next day she disappears without a word about the money she promised. Nancy determines to find the lady, whom Nancy's "woman's intuition" tells her somebody has kidnapped, and clear up the mystery.
Along the way, she gets help from the next-door neighbor boy, Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas); runs into a slew of shady characters, not the least shady being a no-goodnik named Callon (James Stephenson); and proves an annoyance to the police, represented by the person of the constantly befuddled Captain Tweedy (Frank Orth).
Although Nancy's father does his best to keep his daughter out of trouble, he is, alas for him and hurray for us, unsuccessful. Nancy is a most willful girl, and we benefit from it. Her adventures are absurd, of course, the villains cardboard cutouts and the action hokey and contrived, yet it is entirely humorous stuff and good family fun. These were, after all, adventures for youngsters, and as such, they are engaging reminders of simpler times. 6/10
Nancy Drew--Reporter
The second episode in the series is "Nancy Drew--Reporter," from 1939. In this one, John Litel returns as Nancy's exasperated father and Frank Thomas, Jr. (now dropping the "-ie" and adding a "Jr.") as Nancy's good friend and assistant, Ted Nickerson. I could say Ted was Nancy's boyfriend, but since neither of them makes the slightest flirtatious move on the other, "friend" seems more appropriate. Like the first movie, "Reporter" lasts about sixty-eight minutes.
Nancy and several other students in town accept the opportunity to work with the town's newspaper for a few days, and as a promotional gimmick the newspaper will award $50 to the student who writes the best story. Oddly, the small town where Nancy lived in the first installment has grown into a big city in this episode. I dunno....
Nancy quickly insinuates her way into a lead story about the suspected poisoning of an old lady. (It appears that solving mysteries surrounding little old ladies is one of Nancy's specialties.) Nancy determines that fingerprints on a missing tin can of poison may be a key to solving the crime, so off she and Ted go trying to track it down.
The action in "Reporter" moves along at a good clip, although there are some silly digressions with the neighborhood children and even a musical number that appear thrown in specifically to appease a young audience. I most enjoyed the location shooting, presumably in Southern California, streets with hardly any cars in sight, and a cost of $13.50 to fix a dented fender! How times change. 5/10
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
The third installment is "Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter," from 1939. True to form, John Litel is back as the father and Frankie Thomas (dropping the "Frank, Jr." business) as Nancy's friend and fellow youthful companion, Ted Nickerson.
This time out, Nancy's father gets a request from an old friend, Matt Brandon (Aldrich Bowker), to defend him against a murder charge. Seems Brandon quarreled with the victim before his death, making him the prime suspect. Mr. Drew accepts the case, which takes place in the small country town of Silver Lake, giving the series a change of scenery. Naturally, Nancy goes along and becomes involved in the mystery. And just as naturally, Ted is coincidentally living with his folks up at Silver Lake, so he is conveniently around to help Nancy solve the crime.
There is not a lot happening in this one. It moves along more like a situation comedy of the 1950s than a mystery of the 1930s. The father has a flirtation with a neighbor lady, Edna Gregory (Charlotte Wynters), that initially annoys Nancy; and there is a slow-talking, slow-moving black stereotype named Apollo (Willie Best, who did many such roles) that audiences today would not tolerate. Not up to the rest of the series. 4/10
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
The last of the Bonita Granville "Nancy Drews" is "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," from 1939. It returns to the realm of mystery, with, of course, the usual doses of comedy thrown in for good measure. Not only are John Litel and Frankie Thomas back, so is Frank Orth as Captain Tweedy.
Although "Hidden Staircase" is the briefest of the episodes at sixty minutes, it is one of the best. The setting is back to the relatively small town of River Heights, and the action centers around a ruthless entrepreneur who is trying to get his hands on a piece of property for a race track. Here we find that Nancy has talked a pair of old ladies (they're everywhere!), the Turnbull sisters, into donating their huge estate to Dr. Spires (a character from the first film) for a children's hospital. However, as a stipulation of the sisters' inheritance of the estate, they had to spend the past twenty years in the house, and the twenty years won't be up for two more weeks. You can guess where this is going next. The villains want to keep the Turnbulls from taking final ownership of the estate so that they can buy it, and among the first things they do is murder the Turnbull's chauffeur.
The movie's title rather gives away much of the mystery, but it isn't really the mystery that one expects from these movies; it's the interplay among the characters. It's summertime, and Ted has a summer job delivering ice to people's homes for the ice boxes of the day. This gives him access to a truck and to most of the townsfolk. So Nancy and Ted gad about the village talking to people and picking up clues to who killed the Turnbull servant.
"Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" is concise, to the point, fast paced, and amusing. It's hardly the kind of film a person might want to run out and buy on its own, but in a collection with the other "Drew" features, it makes a strong conclusion to this highly watchable kids' series. 6/10
Nancy Drew, Detective
The first in the series is "Nancy Drew, Detective," from 1938. As with the other three movies, William Clemens directed and Bonita Granville stars in the title role. Ms. Granville was in her mid teens when she did the picture, and since her character has a driver's license, I'd say she is supposed to be sixteen or seventeen. In any case, she makes a fine leading lady, cute, enthusiastic, impulsive, vivacious, full of spirit, and seldom without her hat and gloves.
In this episode, which lasts about sixty-eight minutes, Nancy is attending the Brinwood School for Young Ladies in River Heights, presumably a small Midwestern town. Her father, Carson Drew (John Litel), is a lawyer, so I suppose he's got enough money to afford his daughter a private education. Anyway, a rich old lady (Helena Phillips Evans) announces that she's bequeathing the institution a healthy endowment, but the next day she disappears without a word about the money she promised. Nancy determines to find the lady, whom Nancy's "woman's intuition" tells her somebody has kidnapped, and clear up the mystery.
Along the way, she gets help from the next-door neighbor boy, Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas); runs into a slew of shady characters, not the least shady being a no-goodnik named Callon (James Stephenson); and proves an annoyance to the police, represented by the person of the constantly befuddled Captain Tweedy (Frank Orth).
Although Nancy's father does his best to keep his daughter out of trouble, he is, alas for him and hurray for us, unsuccessful. Nancy is a most willful girl, and we benefit from it. Her adventures are absurd, of course, the villains cardboard cutouts and the action hokey and contrived, yet it is entirely humorous stuff and good family fun. These were, after all, adventures for youngsters, and as such, they are engaging reminders of simpler times. 6/10
Nancy Drew--Reporter
The second episode in the series is "Nancy Drew--Reporter," from 1939. In this one, John Litel returns as Nancy's exasperated father and Frank Thomas, Jr. (now dropping the "-ie" and adding a "Jr.") as Nancy's good friend and assistant, Ted Nickerson. I could say Ted was Nancy's boyfriend, but since neither of them makes the slightest flirtatious move on the other, "friend" seems more appropriate. Like the first movie, "Reporter" lasts about sixty-eight minutes.
Nancy and several other students in town accept the opportunity to work with the town's newspaper for a few days, and as a promotional gimmick the newspaper will award $50 to the student who writes the best story. Oddly, the small town where Nancy lived in the first installment has grown into a big city in this episode. I dunno....
Nancy quickly insinuates her way into a lead story about the suspected poisoning of an old lady. (It appears that solving mysteries surrounding little old ladies is one of Nancy's specialties.) Nancy determines that fingerprints on a missing tin can of poison may be a key to solving the crime, so off she and Ted go trying to track it down.
The action in "Reporter" moves along at a good clip, although there are some silly digressions with the neighborhood children and even a musical number that appear thrown in specifically to appease a young audience. I most enjoyed the location shooting, presumably in Southern California, streets with hardly any cars in sight, and a cost of $13.50 to fix a dented fender! How times change. 5/10
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
The third installment is "Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter," from 1939. True to form, John Litel is back as the father and Frankie Thomas (dropping the "Frank, Jr." business) as Nancy's friend and fellow youthful companion, Ted Nickerson.
This time out, Nancy's father gets a request from an old friend, Matt Brandon (Aldrich Bowker), to defend him against a murder charge. Seems Brandon quarreled with the victim before his death, making him the prime suspect. Mr. Drew accepts the case, which takes place in the small country town of Silver Lake, giving the series a change of scenery. Naturally, Nancy goes along and becomes involved in the mystery. And just as naturally, Ted is coincidentally living with his folks up at Silver Lake, so he is conveniently around to help Nancy solve the crime.
There is not a lot happening in this one. It moves along more like a situation comedy of the 1950s than a mystery of the 1930s. The father has a flirtation with a neighbor lady, Edna Gregory (Charlotte Wynters), that initially annoys Nancy; and there is a slow-talking, slow-moving black stereotype named Apollo (Willie Best, who did many such roles) that audiences today would not tolerate. Not up to the rest of the series. 4/10
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
The last of the Bonita Granville "Nancy Drews" is "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," from 1939. It returns to the realm of mystery, with, of course, the usual doses of comedy thrown in for good measure. Not only are John Litel and Frankie Thomas back, so is Frank Orth as Captain Tweedy.
Although "Hidden Staircase" is the briefest of the episodes at sixty minutes, it is one of the best. The setting is back to the relatively small town of River Heights, and the action centers around a ruthless entrepreneur who is trying to get his hands on a piece of property for a race track. Here we find that Nancy has talked a pair of old ladies (they're everywhere!), the Turnbull sisters, into donating their huge estate to Dr. Spires (a character from the first film) for a children's hospital. However, as a stipulation of the sisters' inheritance of the estate, they had to spend the past twenty years in the house, and the twenty years won't be up for two more weeks. You can guess where this is going next. The villains want to keep the Turnbulls from taking final ownership of the estate so that they can buy it, and among the first things they do is murder the Turnbull's chauffeur.
The movie's title rather gives away much of the mystery, but it isn't really the mystery that one expects from these movies; it's the interplay among the characters. It's summertime, and Ted has a summer job delivering ice to people's homes for the ice boxes of the day. This gives him access to a truck and to most of the townsfolk. So Nancy and Ted gad about the village talking to people and picking up clues to who killed the Turnbull servant.
"Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" is concise, to the point, fast paced, and amusing. It's hardly the kind of film a person might want to run out and buy on its own, but in a collection with the other "Drew" features, it makes a strong conclusion to this highly watchable kids' series. 6/10
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