Watch Nancy Drew... Reporter For Free

How sad is this?

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

When an accused murderess is sentenced, high school reporter Bonita Granville steps up to the plate to follow a suspicious suspect whom she believes to be the killer and in the process gets into all sorts of trouble. Along the trail with boyfriend Frankie Thomas and a few bratty siblings, she manages to outwit the law. Little Mary Lee steals the scenery when she all of a sudden breaks into song after the gang can't pay the bill in Willie Fung's Chinese restaurant. Washy dishy!, Fung hollers repeatedly after Granville announces that they don't have the 65 cents. The riotous conclusion involves a man in drag. At 70 minutes, the film is no drag, but it ain't a bucket of intelligence either. Love the kid with the Donald Duck voice, though!

Actress Bonita Granville wasn't a raving beauty, but she was spunky and she could act circles around other dames. "Nancy Drew, Reporter" was the second of the four Nancy Drew B-movies that she appeared in for Warner Brothers. This crime thriller about a wrongly accused murderer is fairly average, but "Case of the Stuttering Bishop" director William Clemens keeps the action moving at a breakneck pace. This is one of the B-pictures that Bryan Foy produced for the studio and it looks polished with several Warner Brothers contract players, one of whom is Joan Leslie. Leslie went on to become a major Warner Brothers starlet in movies like "Sergeant York" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy." The biggest mystery in this fast-paced yarn is the murder weapon, something called sodium ferrinide that contains poison and is used to kill a woman. Mind you, the murder occurs off-screen before the narrative unfolds. One of the most memorable lines is Nancy's description of a reporter: "A reporter has the right to do things an ordinary citizen shouldn't."

I wasn't able to see the first film in this series, so my reviewing "Nancy Drew...Reporter" is not ideal. I know that they made several of these films starring Bonita Granville in the late 30s and early 40s--but somehow I never got around to watching any of them. My reason for picking this one first is that it is the only one that is currently in the public domain (downloadable from IMDb's link). But considering I love B detective films, I was excited to see it--especially since it gave Miss Granville a different sort of film role. You see, usually she was cast as an obnoxious brat--and here she is sweet and precocious instead."Nancy Drew...Reporter" begins with Nancy and a group of other teens all going to the local newspaper. The editor has no interest in working with these kids and tells them he's got a contest to see which of them can write the best story--and gives them very mundane story ideas out of a hat. Nancy, however, has better ideas and goes off to investigate a real honest to goodness murder (just what every teen should be doing). In the process, she manipulates her boyfriend, father, the cops and just about anyone else in order to get her story. And, being almost terminally plucky, she is able to do just that by the end.This is a very typical B-detective story aside from having it star kids. In a lot of ways, it's like "The Thin Man" meets "Babaes on Broadway". Some may object to all the kiddie hi-jinx (especially that of the bratty little kids who tag along) but it's all well-written and fun. While I'd never put this on the same level as a Falcon or Boston Blackie film, it is close and worth a look if you like these sorts of films.By the way, while not nearly as good and culminating with a cute musical number, the film replicated the Laurel & Hardy bit from "Men 'O War" where Stan and Ollie try to take out a couple girls even though they haven't enough money for them all to get sodas.

NANCY DREW REPORTER is the second in a series of four programmers from the late 1930s, all directed by the same individual and starring the same cast. In this one, our junior reporter is hot on the trail of a poisoner, and her frantic hunt takes her into the netherworld of boxing, among other intriguing places. As has been noted elsewhere, the manic Nancy Drew of the movie series is not the more sedate Nancy Drew of the books, plus she is a bit older on film. But Bonita Granville's high spirits and fast-paced delivery are infectious, and so we go along for the wild ride. Granville, who later produced LASSIE on TV and in films, was absolutely charming at age 16, and is supported by some of the best actors of the day, including Frankie Thomas as her long-suffering boyfriend and John Litel as her authoritative lawyer dad. The 68 minutes on this one go by very fast, aided by a highly whimsical musical score. There's even a musical interlude halfway through that makes good use of Granville terrific singing voice. To add to the merriment, the cars seen throughout are an absolute riot. A must see. Also, the film quality and sound are first rate, way above many B films of the era. The people who put this trifle together clearly treated it the way they would any A production of the time.