Nancy Drew… Detective (1938)

First in the short series of Nancy Drew movies made in 1938/39. The mystery here has Nancy (Bonita Granville) searching for a missing wealthy dowager and tangling with crooks. Granville is dynamite in probably her most famous role. John Litel is good as Nancy's encouraging but protective father. Frankie Thomas plays her sidekick, best friend, and would-be boyfriend. Great female role model for young girls, way ahead of its time. I never read the books so I can't say how close to the source material these movies are, but I enjoy them. Fun script, likable characters,and short runtime make for an entertaining B detective movie. Not the best in the series but good.

Rather than writing a long review on all four movies, I will be remarking on the whole series and the individual movies here.Bonita Granville stars as sleuth Nancy Drew, based on books by Carolyn Keane, though I hear they're not completely faithful as they take out some of her girlfriends, which was probably a good thing, as they want to emphasize on Miss Granville's character and her on-going relationship with supposed boyfriend and partner in sleuthing, Ted Nickerson, played by Frankie Thomas, but against his better judgment. Dad is lawyer Carson Drew, played John Litel, and the law is represented by Frank Orth, a rather inept police chief who takes the easy decisions with less work to it. He is seen in the first installment and the last, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase.I won't be going into the actual plots of each, but I will say that if you want a fun fast-paced mystery, then you should see this mystery series which is out on DVD. Of the four movies, I would rank the third, Nancy Drew - Troubleshooter, as the best with a rating of '9', with some great aerial shots of Nancy and Ted in a plane they can't fly (they were put in that position by the bad guys) and with a subplot of a love interest for her dad. This installment moves very briskly and is very funny. The last one, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, I would rank as '8' and the first one, maybe '8', too. (My favorite two are the last two, but they are all entertaining.) But the weakest in my opinion is the second one, Nancy Drew - Reporter, ranked '6' or '7' tops, due mainly to the presence of two young actors who are too obnoxious to bear, Ted's younger sister and friend. In almost all of these movies, the killer is already known by the viewer as there are very few suspects. The fun and entertainment is in the case, the chase, and the predicaments that Nancy Drew gets in with Ted. On the whole, the Nancy Drew series does provide Bonita Granville a chance to stand out and shine from her other films and from other stars of her age. And, you get to see Hollywood making some family entertainment that should be enjoyed by all. My rating of '8' at the top is for the whole series. I just wish they could have made more, but maybe Miss Granville or the bigwigs got tired of them. It all ends with a remark that "Ted" is in trouble again, "dad." Ironic, of course, it's because of Nancy Drew, that he got in trouble. Nancy Drew may help her friends and solve murders, but it also has its consequences for others along the way.

Nancy Drew--Detective (1938) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The first of four films in Warner's Nancy Drew series has Bonita Granville playing the teenage detective. In this film the wannabe detective tangles with gangsters over a missing old woman who was about to donate money to Nancy's school. The only other one in the series that I've seen is the second one and I really enjoyed it more than this one. The 66-minute running time goes by fairly slowly due to the middle section that really drags. The story really isn't all that interesting and none of the supporting characters have any flair. Granville is terrific in the lead and the main reason for watching this.

Mary Eldredge, a wealthy older woman, is prepared to make a substantial donation to the school Nancy Drew (Bonita Granville) attends. But when she disappears before the gift can be finalized, Nancy immediately suspects foul play. And when Nancy witnesses the local doctor being kidnapped, she's sure she's on the right track. Can Nancy, with the help of her friend Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas), find and rescue the old woman? Honestly, I wasn't expecting to enjoy Nancy Drew – Detective quite as much as I did. Sure, I'm a fan of 1930s-style mysteries like the Charlie Chan or Falcon series, but from afar, I've always thought of the Nancy Drew movies too lightweight and fluffy in comparison (though when I think about it, there's nothing deep and meaningful about Chan or any of the other movies I've enjoyed for years). And though Nancy Drew – Detective is a breezy affair, it's still very enjoyable. I cannot come up with enough positives to write about Bonita Granville. She has an infectious charm that dominates the entire movie. It's hard to watch her and not have a smile on your face. You just naturally root for her. The supporting players, particularly John Litel as Carson Drew and Frankie Thomas as Ted Nickerson, also add a lot of enjoyment to the movie.The mystery elements of Nancy Drew – Detective hardly matter. It's quite obvious from the start what has happened to the old woman Nancy is looking for. But none of that really matters. The important thing is watching Nancy and the gang get to the final solution. It's just a lot of fun!