Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939)

"Some day I'm gonna get psychoanalyzed and find out why I'm such a dope.", 4 April 2008

Nancy Drew, with the invaluable assistance of her friend Ted Nickerson, comes to the aid of two old spinsters about to lose their home. As part of their father's will, the old women must live in the house for 20 years or its ownership will change to the city. But the death of the chauffeur, a theft in the middle of the night, and voices in walls have the sisters ready to abandon their home and their legacy. It's up to Nancy and Ted to find out what's going on and, in the process, unmask a killer.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase is probably my least favorite of the series. That's not to say it's a bad, unentertaining movie, it's just not as good as the three movies that came before it. If I had to point to any one thing that bothered me about the movie it would be the complete lack of reality. While I realize that none of the four movies in the series is set in what I consider the real world, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase takes it a bit too far. For example, while Nancy is quite often misleading about what evidence she may have found while investigating a case, she crosses the line in this movie when she fabricates a suicide note and/or fails to tell the police about a bullet casing she's discovered. I don't care whose daughter she is or how much she has helped the police in the past, you get into real trouble when you start tampering with evidence.

But enough of my preaching. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase is still a lot of fun. Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas are as enjoyable as ever. The movie is well paced and at an hour in length there's not enough time for a wasted scene. The comedy is often quite funny. I found myself chuckling at more than one scene (the ice piling up on the ice box for example). While there's no real mystery as to the killer's identity, watching Nancy and Ted discover the how's and why's is a lot of fun. Finally, I'm a sucker for a movie set in an old house with moving walls and secret passages. They're just too much fun!

6/10