Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Bonita Granville has the title role in "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," the final entry into the Nancy Drew series. It also stars Frankie Thomas and John Litel. This particular film is based on one of the actual books, but how closely it sticks to the story - well, I haven't read Nancy Drew in nearly 50 years, so I can't remember. Since in the books, Nancy had two girlfriends, missing in the series, it probably doesn't stick all that closely.

In this one, Nancy is determined to make sure that two elderly sisters keep to their father's will so that the house can be donated to a hospital. That won't happen unless at least one of them is in the house every night for twenty years. With only two weeks to go, and their chauffeur shot dead in the house, the ladies want out - fast.

Nancy manages to drag Ted Nickerson, her quasi-boyfriend, into all kinds of trouble, and that's where the fun happens. Thomas is a riot. Nancy always got into deep water in the books, but I remember her as more serious and perfect. That wouldn't have worked for the films, so Nancy is kind of a Lucy and Ted is Ethel, an unwilling participant in her schemes.

Bonita Granville was a fine movie Nancy, very lively, wacky, and likable. It's a shame there are only four "Nancy Drew" films. It is a very good series.

This is the fourth of four Nancy Drew films by Warner Brothers starring Bonita Granville. It was based on the Drew story "The Hidden Staircase", though I've never read the book and have no idea how close it is to the original tale. But, knowing Hollywood, many liberties were taken with the story.

The story begins by learning that two elderly sisters, the Turnbulls, stand to inherit the home they've been living in many years. However, the will has an odd proviso--that they MUST remain in it every night until some goal is met. Well, they've abided by the will so far, but when their servant is murdered and all sorts of mayhem follows, the sisters' resolve begins to wane. Naturally, the pushy Nancy Drew has decided to make the case her business and naturally the cops investigating are all idiots!

This film is one of about 600,000 B-mysteries made by Hollywood...and they were churned out like mad by both the big studios and the tiny ones. Why? Well, they were pretty cheap to make and made plenty of money! And, compared to the rest of them, this one is a bit better due mostly to better and more competent direction. Too many of them simply looked rushed but this one seemed more polished and complete. Well worth seeing.

I think Warner Bros. captured the spirit of the Nancy Drew novels, and presented them in great style. The give and take between Nancy and her father is actually better than the books, and Ted Nickerson, as played by Frankie Thomas, makes the character stand out far more than in the books, where he was just a straight man for Nancy. And Bonita Granville as Nancy gives a phenomenal film portrayal of the heroine of millions, without going over the top, and she is especially likable and memorable. We have to remember this is a film portrayal of a book, it is not the book, nor was it meant to be, and it captures exactly the feeling of Nancy Drew mysteries. I wish the Hardy Boys had been done like this! I gave it a 10 not because it was the best movie ever made, but because it was a great interpretation of the book that lost nothing in the translation to screen, and gained in the character given by superb actors.

Fourth and final entry in the wonderful Nancy Drew series starring the ever-adorable Bonita Granville. This time out Nancy's trying to help a couple of elderly sisters. They want to donate their mansion for a children's hospital but their father's will stipulates the ladies must live in the house every night for twenty years before it's theirs. With two weeks to go before the twenty year deadline, someone is trying to scare the old ladies out of the house. So Nancy investigates, dragging best friend Ted (Frankie Thomas) into trouble along the way.

As in the other films in the all-too-short series, pretty Bonita Granville is extremely likable. John Litel as her dad and Frankie Thomas as her sidekick are also great. Frank Orth's Captain Tweedy is amusing. The culprit behind the mystery is pretty obvious but it's still fun. Seems odd nobody suggested someone stay with the two old ladies to keep them safe, but I guess we wouldn't have had much of a movie then. Exciting finish, as the Drew series was usually good at providing. Wish there had been more of these movies.

Long before Harry Potter arrived to slake the thirst of voracious young readers, the factory minted Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery series were getting regular readers.

While straight forward and relatively uncomplicated in their mystery plotting, they were basically solid "B" level templates, and at the height of the 30's Hollywood mystery vogue, Warner Brothers jumped on the bandwagon with a creditable four film series of Nancy Drew's - this final effort arguably the best (and the only one to share a title and a couple plot elements with an actual Nancy Drew book).

Bonita Granville makes a borderline silly Nancy, with a mad energy level approaching Betty Hutton levels and (plot-wise) causing as many problems as she solves, but once accepted, her chemistry with John Litel's warm Carson Drew (the father figure) and Frankie Thomas' guileless comic foil/boyfriend Ted Nickerson is outstanding. Had the series tried for more, these solid supporting performances might well have kept it around for a longer run, but Granville's frequently charming caricature and Frank Orth's even sillier Police Captain Tweedy (who never listens to ANYONE once he hears half a clue) firmly place it in limited audience "B" territory - above the cartoonish "Dick Tracy" series, but several steps below the longer running "adult" Charlie Chan's, Mr. Moto's, Sherlock Holmes', Thin Man's or even the solid Saint's, Falcon's or Lone Wolf's.

The best thing about the series 70 years after it was first shown (and which should still hold the attention of the serious film lover) is its beautifully observed picture of life in small town America just before World War II, when icemen actually did deliver blocks of ice to the actual ice boxes which adorned most kitchens (and the standard system for calling for delivery) both of which form interesting plot points.

We're not talking great art here. Consider the drop in quality of the still decent 3rd and 4th Harry Potter films - as the books got better, "movie-movie" directors made the films less faithful and less effective. At least the Nancy Drew series ended on a high note as they edged closer to the source material.