Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

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.

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.

It always was a great joy to read Nancy Drew books and being able to see "The Hidden Staircase" was a wonderful thing Hollywood was able to give to the public in the 1940's. Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas and John Litel gave excellent performances and made the Drew characters come to life. Films in those days had a limited budget and it was an innocent age without all the blood and gore in todays films. No criticism is necessary for these Classic Films with Classic actors which are still being shown in the year 2000 and forever.

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.

Warner Bros. filmed several of these Nancy Drew stories in the late 1930s with Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas and John Litel top-billed and this one is probably the best--and the only one actually based on one of the early Carolyn Keene novels.

But the script is a hapless, far-fetched one and really stretches credibility and patience when viewed today. Only a certain nostalgia for these kind of B-films that played the lower half of a double bill can have any appeal for modern viewers.

The actors aren't to blame. Bonita Granville as Nancy does an excellent job, as does Frankie Thomas as her All-American boyfriend Ted, and John Litel as her lawyer father. All of it, however, is weakened by a poor script and a weak storyline. Only the last twenty minutes or so maintains any real suspense.

Most of it is pretty uninvolving but appeals more as a curiosity piece than anything else.