Product Description

In 1930 teen detective Nancy Drew debuted in print captivating girls everywhere. In 1938 she came to the screen in the first of four films with Bonita Granville. Sleuth with Nancy as she seeks a missing heiress (Nancy Drew - "Detective") investigates a poisoning (Nancy Drew - "Reporter") clears a family friend accused of murder (Nancy Drew - "Troubleshooter") and faces death in a secret tunnel (Nancy Drew and "The Hidden Staircase"). Whether you're revisiting Nancy or first met her in 2007's new Nancy Drew movie we invite you to enjoy mystery and fun that moves like a speedy blue roadster!"Detective": In order to save a wealthy elderly woman from her kidnapper Nancy Drew and Ted Nickerson disguise themselves as a "widow" and a nurse."Reporter": Nancy takes on a murder case when she enters a contest at a local newspaper. While observing the trial of a poisoned woman Nancy thinking the suspected killer is not guilty searches for a vital piece of evidence and uncovers the identity of the real killer."Trouble Shooter": Nancy and Ted enter dangerous territory as they uncover the real murders and clear her Uncle Matt of the charges."Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase": Nancy and Ted come to the rescue of two elderly women who are about to lose their family mansion which is enhanced with a hidden staircase and a moving wall.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 012569797949 Manufacturer No: 79794

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10976 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 263 minutes

Amazon.com
These four classic, 1938 black-and-white Nancy Drew hour-long films directed by William Clemens (not the 2007 movie starring Emma Roberts) feature Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew, John Litel as Carson Drew, and Frankie Thomas as Ted Nickerson. Based on the character from the book series first published in 1930, the headstrong teenager Nancy Drew has a knack for winding up right in the middle of a mystery, and neither her father nor friend Ted can talk Nancy into doing what they consider the sensible thing: letting the police handle the detective work. With a curious mix of early feminism and cultural chauvinism, a dichotomy representative of late-1930s society, Nancy investigates each mystery with fervor, usually dragging her friend Ted into the thick of the investigation and demonstrating a complete disregard for her personal safety or the safety of her friends and family in her determination to track down the perpetrator. Sharp-witted and quick to pick up on the smallest, seemingly insignificant details, Nancy often succeeds where the local Police Captain Tweedy (Frank Orth) fails. Nancy Drew, Detective presents the story of an elderly benefactress unscrupulously detained at a sanatorium, while Reporter and Trouble Shooter are murder mysteries, and Hidden Staircase deals with a combined murder and attempt to dupe two elderly women. While somewhat ponderously paced by modern standards, these original Nancy Drew adventures are quality suspense mysteries that deserve their classic designation. (Ages 10 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

From the back cover
In 1930, teen detective Nancy Drew debuted in print, captivating girls everywhere. In 1938, she came to the screen in the first of four films with Bonita Granville, whose Nancy is "brainy, feisty, resourceful, and full of energy" (Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide). Sleuth with Nancy as she seeks a missing heiress (Nancy Drew, Detective), investigates a poisoning (Nancy Drew... Reporter), clears a family friend accused of murder (Nancy Drew--Trouble Shooter), and faces death in a secret tunnel (Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase). Whether you're revisiting Nancy or first met her in 2007's new Nancy Drew movie, we invite you to enjoy mystery and fun that moves like a speedy blue roadster!

Customer Reviews

Likeable characters.

Four films from 1938 in black and white. "Reporter", "Trouble-shooter", and "Hidden Staircase" are lively, clever, with some humor. "Reporter" has a song. "Hidden Staircase" has some scary moments, not too scary.

Nancy's boyfriend, Ted Nickerson, is always working or planning something fun like fishing, when Nancy comes along and talks him into helping her solve a mystery, which always means putting Ted in danger. Ted always begins to say "no", how he already has plans, yet Nancy always manages to charm him into helping her. Nancy and Ted are just good friends, rather than officially boyfriend and girlfriend. So Nancy always makes sure Ted does not get too interested in other girls. Nancy always has good motives, but her plans often don't go as planned, getting Ted into trouble.

The first film "Detective" is fair at best. Scenes like Nancy calling the police captain a fool, and her lawyer-father calling his elderly maid an idiot set the tone for a poor script.

I wish they had made more episodes, because after the first film, they began hitting on some good themes that they could have run with.

Detective Fun
If you loved the books then get this classic collection. Light comedy in amongst detective work. Very entertaining for all ages. Lots of laughs and mystery. Even though these 4 movies in the collection are in black and white they are picture perfect and well worth adding to the DVD Collection.

True to Nancy's spirit
The plots of these four movies bear only a slight resemblance to the stories I remember from my long ago childhood, but the spirit of Nancy is present in Bonita Granville's performance. I was disappointed in characters dropped, and I'm still not sure why Ned became Ted, but all four tales were fun to watch.