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Written by Randy A. Salas, MCT
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Monday, 11 June 2007 |
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Nancy Drew has sold more than 200 million books worldwide and spawned a top-selling computer-game series. But on television and in film, the mystery girl has had a spotty showing.
Among three TV outings in the past 30 years, Nancy Drew's best was the kitschy late-'70s series that paired her with two other famous teen sleuths, "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" - and that was mostly thanks to the perpetual hotness of star Pamela Sue Martin (at least that was true for this reviewer, who was a teenager at the time). Fans can get another helping of those episodes Tuesday, when a second-season set (Universal, $40) comes out.
Film appearances have been even more infrequent for the perennially popular character. Friday's release of "Nancy Drew," starring Emma Roberts, will mark the crime solver's first appearance in movie theaters in almost 70 years. If you can't remember the earlier films or have never seen them, Tuesday's DVD release of "The Original Nancy Drew Movie Mystery Collection" will reacquaint or initiate you.
The two-disc set (Warner, $25) contains the four films that came out in a 10-month span in 1938 and 1939, not long after the first Nancy Drew book was published in 1930. In order, the films are "Nancy Drew: Detective," "Nancy Drew: Reporter," "Nancy Drew: Trouble Shooter" and "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase." "Reporter" has been available in many sketchy-quality public-domain DVDs, but the other three are new to the format.
Viewed today, the movies are very much a product of their time, endearingly so for nostalgia buffs. I hesitate to pigeonhole them as kids' stuff, because some nonchalant reactions to violence might make parents flinch. After one character is nearly beaten to death in the first film, for example, Nancy and company merely shrug it off and move along.
The Scooby-Doo plots are probably the film series' most obvious flaw. There's little sleuthing to get in the way of the story. Nancy pretty much pegs the bad guys early in each 60- to 70-minute installment and spends the rest of the time trying to convince the mostly brainless adults that her oft-cited "woman's intuition" was right.
The main reason to watch is the fabulous Bonita Granville, an effervescent charmer who came to the Drew role soon after her supporting-actress Oscar nomination for 1936's "These Three." She's a delight, even if her occasionally hyperactive perkiness conjures the image of a Chihuahua on Red Bull. Her chemistry with Frankie Thomas, who played her neighbor sweetie Ted Nickerson, goes a long way toward smoothing over plot contrivances.
Warner Home Video's presentation is a slight disappointment only because it pales in comparison to the usually spotless treatment it gives vintage films. "Trouble Shooter" and "Hidden Staircase" look fine, but "Detective" and "Reporter" have occasionally severe audio and image flaws - surely a problem with the source material.
The sole extras are trailers for each film. It would have been ideal to have a background documentary on Nancy Drew, especially since the character was so new when the films were made. And someone in the know could have offered feature-length commentary explaining things such as the story behind the studio lifting a kissing ban for the young star after she turned 16 (according to the caption on a file publicity photo) so she could film a romantic scene with Thomas in "Hidden Staircase."
Still, we do get four films, and Nancy Drew fans - especially older ones - will delight in experiencing them on DVD. | Only registered users can write comments.
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