Nancy Drew... Reporter (1939)

Director:

William Clemens

Writers:

Mildred Wirt Benson (stories)
Kenneth Gamet (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family | Musical | Mystery

Tagline:

STOP THE PRESSES! Nancy's on the trail of a terrific SCOOP!

Plot:

Nancy Drew, reporter for the school newspaper, clears a girl of murder charges.

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper | Murder | Nancy Drew | Teenager | Trial

Cast

Bonita Granville	...	Nancy Drew
John Litel	...	Carson Drew
Frankie Thomas	...	Ted Nickerson (as Frank Thomas Jr.)
Mary Lee	...	Mary Nickerson
Dickie Jones	...	Killer Parkins
Larry Williams	...	Miles Lambert
Betty Amann	...	Eula Denning
Thomas E. Jackson	...	City Editor Bostwick (as Thomas Jackson)
Olin Howland	...	Sergeant Entwhistle
Sheila Bromley	...	Bonnie Lucas
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irving Bacon	...	Tracy (scenes deleted)
John Dilson	...	Deputy Coroner (scenes deleted)
Edgar Edwards	...	Drunk (scenes deleted)
Jack Gardner	...	(scenes deleted)
Jack Mower	...	Deputy Coroner (scenes deleted)
Walter Young	...	Doctor Hibbard (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Passed (PCA #4838)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Florence Halop's film debut.

Quotes:

Nancy Drew: Ted, why did you have to have a sister?
Ted Nickerson: Ask Ma!

Movie Connections:

Followed by Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939)

Soundtrack:

Something Tells Me

Very Enjoyable B-Feature

This very enjoyable B-feature was part of a series that starred Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew, with Frankie Thomas as her loyal and often beleaguered friend Ted. As long as you have the right expectations, it's good fun to watch. The detective story is simple but lively, and it has many pleasant light moments that make the time fly by.

In this feature (which is not one of the stories adapted directly from the books), Nancy tries her hand at being a reporter while she simultaneously attempts to clear an heiress of a murder charge. The plot is meant to be enjoyed rather than analyzed, and the settings likewise are pleasantly varied, as long as you aren't too critical of the details.

Granville probably didn't find this role much of a challenge, but she gives it exactly what is called for. She makes it believable that Nancy really could outsmart all of the 'adult' characters, and she also has plenty of lively energy. Thomas makes Ted seem appropriately fretful about Nancy's taste for adventure, yet always ready to help.

Several of the sequences work pretty well as light entertainment, and the brisk pace holds it together rather effectively. This is really just what you hope for in a B-feature - not much of a weighty nature, to be sure, but more than enough to make for an enjoyable hour or so of viewing.