oldblackandwhite No doubt some of today's young people (at least the less lascivious ones) will like these well made Nancy Drew programmers from the late 1930's, but they are likely best received by old geezers such as yours truly. That is geezers who just love cute, beautiful, sassy, exuberant, 16-year old Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew, just like the granddaughter they have or wish they had! Sweet, manipulative, cute little Nancy! I say little because she was short, even though built like a miniature Joan Blondell. She can twine her stern, dignified, swank attorney father (John Litel) around her pinkie with one hand tied behind her back and the fingers crossed -- just as easily as she could yours truly! Okay, it is a grandpa syndrome. I just love these little Nancy Drew movies, but the grouchy old wife, after watching the first picture of the series, finds Nancy silly, irritating, and fluffy, and furthermore refuses to watch any other.Nancy Drew, Detective, the second of the four-picture series, is breezy, clever, fast moving, fast talking, light-hearted fun. Though assuredly a B-picture, it gets the same high-gloss production values from Warners as the others of the series. The sets are first-rate, even if the same ones are used in all four movies. Direction by William Clemens and cinematography by Arthur Edeson are "A" class, and Heinz Roemheld's florid original score propels the action along at a break-neck pace.The young actors who carry most of the load are kept on their toes by Warner's stable of superb character actors, led by the ever reliable Litel and including Thomas E. Jackson, as a tough city editor giving Nancy a bigger break as a reporter than he knows, and Olin Howland as the police sergeant who helps the kids get the goods on the bad guys. The lanky, 6-foot-plus Howland is hilarious in his disguise as a grumpy, elderly woman!But it is the adorable and energetic Bonita who carries the picture, along with Frankie Thomas as Nancy's long-suffering, much-manipulated boyfriend Ted. In this picture the two teen sleuths get some bratty, tag-along help from Ted's horrid little sister (Mary Lee) and her equally obnoxious pal (Dickie Jones). Actually the brats are cute if you view them in the right light. This picture is more of a comedy than a mystery, and one of the best scenes occurs when Nancy, Ted, and the brats get in trouble at a Chinese restaurant and have to sing for their supper. It's a cute number if you're in the right mood. Astonishingly, Mary Lee, who was actually 15 but looked only ten, had a voice like a chain-smoking, thirty-six year old torch singer! Bonita could sing, too, the adorable, little cutie!Nancy Drew, Reporter is primarily for fun. I probably rated it higher than I should have. Certainly not Accademy Award material. But a delight from beginning to end. An enduring example of how the big studio systems of Hollywood's Golden Era could turn out good-looking, entertaining pictures while only half-way trying.

classicsoncall It would be too easy to pick this story apart for it's lack of credibility, but that would be a disservice to all the young fans of the Nancy Drew series of books and films that continue to entertain to the present day. The best thing to do with this one is watch it with a few kids and get their reaction to the on screen hi-jinks between Nancy (Bonita Granville) and her put upon pal Ted Nickerson (Frankie Thomas). Nancy's pretty slick actually, the way she filched the newspaper assignment and how she managed to con her way into and out of the scrapes she found herself in.There were a few things that had me going 'Huh?' though, like did the door man at the gym REALLY charge them ten cents to get in? The other head scratcher was the lettering on the office door of the River Heights Tribune - what exactly is a 'Newspaper Morgue'?

wes-connors In her second case for the movies, pretty teenage sleuth Bonita Granville (as Nancy Drew) enters a "young newspaper reporter" contest. Naturally, she sheds her human interest story assignment for something more dangerous, and decides to cover a murder trial. Soon, Ms. Granville is re-investigating the case, eventually putting herself in danger. Granville, looking more and more curvaceous, enlists the aid of young wavy-haired neighbor Frankie Thomas (as Ted Nickerson), who looks swell in boxing trunks. ("One Round Lugan, the Frisco Flash!") This entry's story isn't as well-paced as the first, but the teen detectives are still very appealing. John Litel (as Carson Drew) leads an entertaining supporting cast.****** Nancy Drew... Reporter (2/18/39) William Clemens ~ Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas, John Litel

Neil Doyle Another pleasant programmer in the Nancy Drew series starring BONITA GRANVILLE as the girl sleuth, this time it's NANCY DREW...REPORTER based on the Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene.This one was written by an original screenplay writer, not based on an actual Drew story, but it follows the mold of the original books, using some of the same characters again. Nancy is determined to prove Eulah Denning is not a murderess but her father (JOHN LITEL) vehemently disagrees with her. DICKIE JONES (he was the voice for "Pinocchio"), is her pesky kid neighbor and once again, Nancy has to enlist the aid of FRANKIE THOMAS to help her do some investigating.Watch for JOAN LESLIE in a bit role as one of Granville's classmates on a field trip.The story has Nancy tricking her father into defending the accused woman while she works on finding exculpatory evidence. Litel, by the way, has a much lighter touch than usual as the stolid attorney and actually kids around with his daughter in this one. FRANKIE THOMAS has his usual line where he says, "You're not going there alone, are you?", as Nancy talks him into joining in on her detective work. The accent is more on comedy than mystery, especially when Nancy gets boyfriend Ned involved in a boxing match.There's even a totally unexpected sequence where Nancy, Ned and the pesky kids have to literally sing for their supper in a Mandarin restaurant. The plot goes off in all directions without keeping track of finding the real murderer, which makes it one of the weaker entries in the series.Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to have a writer work up an original screenplay. At any rate, it doesn't work this time.