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Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
USA 1939
produced by Bryan Foy, Hal B. Wallis (executive), Jack L. Warner (executive) for Warner Brothers
directed by William Clemens
starring Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas, John Litel, Aldrich Bowker, Charlotte Wynters, Edgar Edwards, Renie Riano, Roger Imhof, Erville Alderson, Willie Best, John Harron, Cliff Saum, Tom Wilson
screenplay by Kenneth Gamet, based on characters and stories by Carolyn Keene (= Mildred Wirt Benson), muusic by Heinz Roemheld
Nancy Drew, Nancy Drew (Bonita Granville)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Nancy Drew (Bonita Granville) accompanies her dad (John Litel) to the
country where he, a lawyer, has to get Nancy's uncle Matt (Aldrich Bowker)
out of jail, where he was put for the murder of his neighbour. Daddy Drew
is quick to clear up the situation - since no dead body or murder weapon
was ever found and all that keeps Matt in prison is the testimony of his
neighbour Clint Griffith (Erville Anderson), the sheriff (Roger Imhof) has
virtually no choice but to release him. And that should be the end of that
... until busybody Nancy finds a tropical flower, unearths it and finds
the dead neighbour beneath - and on Matt's land, too. So it's back to
prison for Matt and back to the sheriff's office for papa Drew ... while
Nancy and her sidekick Ted (Frankie Thomas) start to investigate on their
own. Nancy and Ted soon track the tropical flower back to Griffith, and
using every trick in the book to get him out of his place to break in
themselves, they find the murder weapon, too, and well-hidden at that -
but then they're caught by Griffith, who locks them inside a barn and
tells his accomplice and employee, pilot Marley (Edgar Edwards), to crash
his plane into the barn but "make it look like an accident."
Nancy and Ted are freed by a wild bull, but recaptured, and this time they
are invited to an airplane trip - which turns into more than they
bargained for when Marley bails out in mid-flight, leaving them to their
fate. Against all odds, Nancy and Ted survive, while Griffith and Marley
have ultimately given themselves away too soon when they report the crash
of their plane prematurely ... Not the greatest murder mystery
ever, rather a typical series-whodunnit - and a fun film, too, mainly
because Bonita Granville brings just the right energy to her role and is
helped by a more than capable supporting cast, while the direction is
swift and action-oriented and moves along its rather simplistic story
quite nicely. Plus, the film adds just the right dose of humour and wit to
the proceedings to keep things flowing smoothly. As I said, no classic,
but fun anyways.
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