Nancy Drew: Detective

even thought this movie was made in 1938,the picture and sound quality are excellent.there are also subtitles,which was good.the movie itself is funny,fast paced,and well acted.Bonita Granville plays the title character,and brings some sassiness to the role.i also liked the supporting cast,particularly her Sidekick Ted.i thought he had some funny lines.the chief of police was also a funny character.i thought the writing was good and i liked the story.even though the movie is 66 minutes,it didn't feel rushed or incomplete.it was well paced.this is the first of four movies in which Bonita Granville portrays Nancy,and if this any indication,i can't wait to watch the other three.for me Nancy Drew--Detective is an 8/10

I have never read a Nancy Drew book, I was more into the Hardy Boy books and the only exposure to Nancy Drew was a television series in the 70's. After seeing this very old version of Nancy Drew starring Bonita Granville, a familiar name involving a dog named Lassie, I vote this film as the best and most interesting story for someone that is unbiased. Granville plays Drew with excitement and girlish energy. A mind that is continuing thinking of "possibilities" when an old lady disappears. John Litel plays Carson Drew which I believe showcases the talent of Litel with poise, wits and fatherly love. Lastly, Ted Nickerson, a boy that Nancy likes and uses is played by Frankie Thomas. This is a solid mystery team for the whole film.

This was the first of the 4 Warner Brothers attempts at filming a Nancy Drew mystery in the '30's, all of them pretty much revolved around this standard and all taking liberties with the characters and original stories, where used. The series of books began to be published in 1930 following on from the success of the Hardy Boys and ghosted mostly by Mildred Wirt under the name of Carolyn Keene, until 1953 when other ghosts completely took over. Therefore it's always amused me that the first book chosen to (liberally) adapt for the big screen, The Password To Larkspur Lane from 1933 was one written by a man, Walter Karig. There weren't as many astounding plot co-incidences in his 3 books as with Wirt's and it shows in the screenplay here.

Nancy ably played by Bonita Granville is intuitively sure a nice rich old lady has been kidnapped for her money, her Dad's not too sure, but her beau Ted grumblingly followed her lead. This involves letting a message-bearing homing pigeon free and improbably following it by car to the nest of gangsters improbably led by otherwise sophisticated James Stephenson. It doesn't matter but it grates a little bit with Ned the confident proto-man changed to Ted the juvenile radio ham, Nancy is played slightly more immature than the stories at the time leading to the cops continually calling her a little girl, Effie was supposed to be 17 not middle aged, and Carson Drew although well played by John Litel never lost his temper like he did in here! But overall it's an engrossing pleasant mystery - good photography got the atmosphere of River Heights just right too.

Not recommended for the serious! Obviously they couldn't be as good as the books but they were all good efforts and solid family entertainment and imho miles better than the 1970's TV series. I wish Warners had made 14 of them not 4!

Back in the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made a ton of mystery films. Big studios, small studios and mircoscopic studios...they all churned out these pictures by the dozens. And, the Holy Grail of all these studios was finding a series that took off and resulted in an extended series...such as The Lone Wolf, The Falcon or Charlie Chan. Well, in the case of Warner Brothers, they tried something a bit different--to create two series in which the protagonists were women! Torchy Blaine and Nancy Drew were given the Warner Brothers gloss and when seen today they seem better than the average mystery films. "Nancy Drew: Detective" was the first of four films starring Bonita Granville. And, they all are worth your time.

The story begins with a nice rich lady promising to give Nancy's school a large endowment. However, before she can arrange this, she disappears...and her financial manager keeps making excuses as to where she went. Nancy smells a rat and decides to investigate. And, with the help of Ted (in drag), they take a huge risk by sneaking into an old mansion out in the country.

This film features good writing, an unusual story and nice acting....and like all four films is worth your time. Fortunately, they're often shown on Turner Classic Movies and they are currently on YouTube as well.

Bonita Granville plays smart, courageous, spunky Nancy Drew in this programmer based on the novels by Caroline Keene. It's been a long time since I read any Nancy Drews, or since my mother read the books, but one remembers every detail. The roadster, her friend named George, her boyfriend named Ned, and the Drew housekeeper named Hannah. For reasons known only to the studio, Ned is now Ted (guess they didn't like the alliteration), there's no George (guess they didn't want a girl with a boy's name) and the housekeeper is named Effie (you tell me why). Nancy still has her roadster.

The Nancy Drew mysteries are wonderful reads, and this film was fun to watch, even with the little changes. Bonita Granville, who, as Bonita Granville Wrather became the producer of the "Lassie" TV series, certainly looks like Nancy (who in the books was always having "luncheon"). I had always envisioned while reading the books a more sophisticated, less madcap Nancy, but Granville's energetic (almost hyper) characterization fits a film portrayal well. Ned is a little bit of a goof, but a smart one. John Litel was right casting as Carson Drew, Nancy's father, a widower who didn't date.

The plot can be figured out in the first ten seconds, but these movies were for the teen-aged audience who knew the books. Very enjoyable, and a slice of '30s life which is no more.