Nancy Drew: Detective (1938)

Nancy Drew: Detective
Directed by William Clemens
Written by Kenneth Gamet from a story by Mildred Wirt Benson
1938/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Nancy Drew:  I think intelligent women should have careers.[/box]

This was my first foray into the cinematic world of girl detective Nancy Drew and I thought it was a ton of fun.

An elderly alumna makes a sizable donation to Nancy’s school, then promptly “goes away for her health”.  Nancy Drew (Bonita Granville) smells a rat and with the help of her friend Ted Nickerson begins to investigate.  Nancy gets some help from her lawyer father but is in general more than a match for the bad guys.

Bonita Granville really matched my mental image of the cheerful, plucky, and resourceful Nancy.  I loved watching her drive around in that roadster.  I wouldn’t want to oversell this “B” fare but if you have any affection at all for the books, I’d recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvU2apXJus

Fan video – Clips from this and Nancy Drew: Reporter  (1939) set to “Nice Day” by Persephone’s Bees