Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A Brilliant Conflict

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Fourth and final film in Warner's detective series has Bonita Granville returning as Nancy Drew. In this film, two old women are about to turn over their property to charity but someone is trying to haunt them out of it. You see, the women must stay there day and night for two weeks or the will is no good and the property is turned over to the city. This final film is the shortest of the four (only running 60 minutes) but it's also the weakest. There isn't any comedy to speak of and none of the mystery aspects are fully recognized. Granville is good in her role as usual but the supporting characters are weak this time out.

Long before Harry Potter arrived to slake the thirst of voracious young readers, the factory minted Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery series were getting regular readers.While straight forward and relatively uncomplicated in their mystery plotting, they were basically solid "B" level templates, and at the height of the 30's Hollywood mystery vogue, Warner Brothers jumped on the bandwagon with a creditable four film series of Nancy Drew's - this final effort arguably the best (and the only one to share a title and a couple plot elements with an actual Nancy Drew book).Bonita Granville makes a borderline silly Nancy, with a mad energy level approaching Betty Hutton levels and (plot-wise) causing as many problems as she solves, but once accepted, her chemistry with John Litel's warm Carson Drew (the father figure) and Frankie Thomas' guileless comic foil/boyfriend Ted Nickerson is outstanding. Had the series tried for more, these solid supporting performances might well have kept it around for a longer run, but Granville's frequently charming caricature and Frank Orth's even sillier Police Captain Tweedy (who never listens to ANYONE once he hears half a clue) firmly place it in limited audience "B" territory - above the cartoonish "Dick Tracy" series, but several steps below the longer running "adult" Charlie Chan's, Mr. Moto's, Sherlock Holmes', Thin Man's or even the solid Saint's, Falcon's or Lone Wolf's.The best thing about the series 70 years after it was first shown (and which should still hold the attention of the serious film lover) is its beautifully observed picture of life in small town America just before World War II, when icemen actually did deliver blocks of ice to the actual ice boxes which adorned most kitchens (and the standard system for calling for delivery) both of which form interesting plot points.We're not talking great art here. Consider the drop in quality of the still decent 3rd and 4th Harry Potter films - as the books got better, "movie-movie" directors made the films less faithful and less effective. At least the Nancy Drew series ended on a high note as they edged closer to the source material.

Warner Bros. filmed several of these Nancy Drew stories in the late 1930s with Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas and John Litel top-billed and this one is probably the best--and the only one actually based on one of the early Carolyn Keene novels.But the script is a hapless, far-fetched one and really stretches credibility and patience when viewed today. Only a certain nostalgia for these kind of B-films that played the lower half of a double bill can have any appeal for modern viewers.The actors aren't to blame. Bonita Granville as Nancy does an excellent job, as does Frankie Thomas as her All-American boyfriend Ted, and John Litel as her lawyer father. All of it, however, is weakened by a poor script and a weak storyline. Only the last twenty minutes or so maintains any real suspense.Most of it is pretty uninvolving but appeals more as a curiosity piece than anything else.

It always was a great joy to read Nancy Drew books and being able to see "The Hidden Staircase" was a wonderful thing Hollywood was able to give to the public in the 1940's. Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas and John Litel gave excellent performances and made the Drew characters come to life. Films in those days had a limited budget and it was an innocent age without all the blood and gore in todays films. No criticism is necessary for these Classic Films with Classic actors which are still being shown in the year 2000 and forever.