Nancy Drew... Reporter

Bonita Granville is "Nancy Drew, Reporter," in this 1939 B feature, which also stars Frankie Thomas and John Litel. This particular story is not based on any of the books. Nancy is one of a group of teens vying for an award from the local newspaper, and of course, she steals an assignment off of someone's desk that will put her at an inquest. She decides that the woman accused of murdering an elderly woman is innocent and goes after evidence that will clear her.

Granville isn't the Nancy of the books, but the Nancy of the books isn't probably the best Nancy for the movies. I always think of Nancy as a very serious young woman with a sharp mind for mysteries. Granville is energetic, conniving, and a fast driver. She gets into trouble as well as danger. For some reason, her boyfriend Ned is now her boyfriend Ted (Thomas). Nancy's girlfriends aren't in the film. Instead, Ted has two brat siblings that follow them around.

The most interesting parts of the film are actually its depiction of life in 1939, with the old houses, the pay phones, and the fact that Nancy always looked more formally dressed than one sees today.

Very entertaining.

For some reason, this film was included in the Shirley Temple collection but she's not in it at all. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. I will say that it is both entertaining and light fare. The actress who played Nancy Drew does a fine job. Nancy Drew is well known as the fictional teen detective to readers everywhere. I am surprised that this adaptation was done early. Bonita Glanville was probably the first Nancy Drew. This film is only an hour about Nancy Drew trying to help the wrongly accused. She is believable and likable allay once. Her portrayal is fine. The script is average. The cast does a decent job. There is danger though with an injured boxer on the wrong side of the law.

"Fun" would be the best way to describe this film in one word. It is not a cinematic masterpiece, nor is it especially well made, but it is a delight to watch nonetheless. Granville gives it her best in the title role and some of the situations that she and her friends get involved in, such as having to do karaoke and a boxing match, make really amusing viewing. There is a certain charm to the film that is hard to deny. It fails to create much suspense with most of the mystery solution given early on, the plot is slim, the supporting performances are mediocre… but overall it really hits the spot if one is in the mood for an entertaining film that does not require much thought.

I watched this film last Saturday night, thinking it's been a long time since I saw this or the other 3 in the series. It didn't disappoint, I knew exactly what I was going to get and did. It all depends on personal preferences of course, but if this is an ancient cheap B pic how come 67 minutes simply flew by? I happened to watch Blazing Saddles for the first time the night before and found myself continually counting down the time remaining on the VCR clock.

It's a highly enjoyable romp in the best family Warner Bros tradition, even with that juvenile Vaudeville/Swing scene in it - it's not something that I can easily relate to! Having read most of the "classic" Nancy Drew books ghosted by Mildred Wirt (and the few by Walter Karig), I still think it was a perfect part for Bonita Granville as the teenage heroine (John Litel was a litel stocky as her Dad). Maybe the plot was also a bit less implausible and full of marvellously astronomical co-incidences than most of MW's stories were too!

And to top it all the DVD only cost £3, a nice production from Alpha Video.

The Nancy Drew series of films was made by Warner Brothers as part of their B-picture unit and was intended for viewing primarily by children. Nancy Drew...Reporter is a fine example of the series. The film was highly enjoyable, the acting was excellent, very clever bits in the plot. The film holds up just as well today, and makes a fine movie for children to sit down and watch. The film is in the public domain and can be found on DVD, Video, and TV.