Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

JohnHowardReid The four "Nancy Drew" movies are now available from Warner Bros. in an excellent DVD set, I don't advise viewing them in order, as the first of the series, Nancy Drew – Detective is undoubtedly the weakest. Not only are production values slight, but the plot is totally unbelievable. Even halfway competent crooks would make sure they snatched lady bountiful from sight before — not after — she made a public announcement drawing attention both to herself and her bounty. The pity of it is that the actors concerned, James Stephenson (who looks rather odd without his customary mustache) and Charles Trowbridge might have got away with it had they played their roles for laughs. But, no! Even worse, perhaps, is the slow pace with which Clemens unwinds the story. His monotonous, never varied camera style of inter-cutting loosely framed medium shots with dull close- ups doesn't help liven up his sluggishly routine direction one iota. Admittedly, the screenplay's long dialogue exchanges don't help. Fortunately, there is a bit of action at the climax but even this disappoints when it is simply cut short just as it reaches the confrontation stage.Not exactly an auspicious start. Fortunately, the second movie, Nancy Drew – Reporter, represents a considerable and even an astonishing improvement. There are at least five reasons for this remarkable turn-around: (1) The budget was much higher, permitting the use of a large number of sets, peopled with fair crowds of extras; (2) Kenneth Gamet was allowed to write his own script around the Keene characters, not try to adapt one of the silly plots from the books; (3) Arthur Edeson (whom just about everyone would agree is Hollywood's greatest black-and-white cameraman) was assigned to do the photography; (4) the hiring of Edeson seems to have inspired everyone else, including director Clemens and the players. Even the kids are good, while Litel gives one of the most engaging performances of his entire career. Outstanding in the support cast are Olin Howland and Jack Perry. Howland is always a barrel of fun. Perry, however, spent his time in bit parts. Here, as Soxie, he has a decent role for once; (5) Best of all, Reporter all comes to a rousingly funny, enjoyably thrilling and satisfyingly slap-up conclusion.Trouble Shooter builds on the success of the second entry, and in some respects is even more entertaining. This time we have another straight-forward murder mystery. I thought the identity of the killer was revealed a little too early in the piece, but otherwise we are treated to plenty of exciting incidents, including a seat-twitching climax. Clemens utilizes his extensive budget wisely, turning on the pace and making effective use of numerous fascinating locations. The photography is crisp; and the players, especially Miss Wynters, are both engaging and appealing.Unfortunately, this admirable momentum is not carried over into the fourth and final "Nancy Drew". For some reason, it was decided to adapt one of the silly novels (as was done for the first entry), not write an original. The novel has many shortcomings, not the least of which is that the whole plot is given away in the title itself! True, on its own juvenile level, Gamet's screenplay is reasonably well-written. It can also be argued that Clemens has directed with okay competence and that the players are still in fair form. One thing for sure, however: Despite its promising plot premise, "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" falls far short of its predecessors. There are no acerbic newsmen like Thomas Jackson, or villainous plug-uglies like Jack Perry, or even young stars of tomorrow like Joan Leslie, Mary Lee, Charles Smith and company in this one.

AaronCapenBanner William Clemens once again returns to direct this third case of Nancy Drew(played by Bonita Granville) with her father Carson Drew(played by John Litel) and her boyfriend Ted Nickerson(played by Frankie Thomas). This time, a family friend living in the country is wrongfully accused of murdering a neighbor, so Carson and Nancy go there to help, though this time Carson finds a love interest, much to the chagrin of Nancy. It seems another neighbor and his pilot henchman had reason to dispose of the victim, so they gather evidence to prove it. Despite an effective runaway plane sequence with Nancy and Ted, mystery is once again flimsy and thin, though Bonita still shines as Nancy.

Michael_Elliott Nancy Drew--Trouble Shooter (1939) *** (out of 4) Third film in Warner's teenage detective series has Bonita Granville returning as Nancy Drew. This time out she's trying to save her uncle farmer whose been accused of killing a man. This is probably my favorite of the first three films because it takes on a lot more than just the actual mystery behind the killing. There's an entire subplot where Nancy gets jealous that her father is dating a woman and you'd expect something like this to come off silly but it actually works pretty well. There are plenty of laughs as well especially one sequence where Nancy tries to cook dinner. The mystery in the film doesn't actually get too much attention but it leads to a nice, if unbelievable, ending.

robert_deveau Though I've enjoyed the four Warner Bros. Nancy Drew films for their fast pace, snappy dialog and light touch, Bonita Granville doesn't bear much resemblance to the hyper-perfect Nancy of the long-running series of novels. The main drawback to the literary Nancy is that she's too perfect, even winning a golf tournament against a superior, more experienced player in THE HAUNTED BRIDGE. In TROUBLESHOOTER, (which bears the least resemblance to the books of any of the four films), Nancy's perfection is taken down a few notches: she can't drive (rear-ending several parked cars, constantly taking her hands off the wheel in her excitement), she can't cook (making a veritable Lucy of the kitchen), she allows the bad guys to destroy evidence -- why, she's as scared of ghosts as Willie Best and she can't even fly an airplane! NANCY DREW, TROUBLESHOOTER, with its general lack of mystery and constant slapstick, is essentially a parody of Nancy Drew. Fun, and satisfying in a slightly sadistic way, but nothing like the books.