Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Plot

This final entry in Warner Bros.' Nancy Drew series is the only one actually based on a novel by Nancy Drew creator Carolyn Keene. Bonita Granville returns as the ebullient titular teenaged sleuth, while Frankie Thomas portrays Nancy's best friend and fellow "gumshoe" Ted Nickerson. The plot concerns a bizarre codicil in a will, requiring two elderly sisters to spend every night in their family mansion over a period of 20 years in order to lay claim to the crumbling old house. The ladies plan to contribute their legacy to a local children's hospital, but certain sinister forces in town hope to erect a racetrack where the mansion presently stands. When the sisters' chauffeur is murdered, Nancy and Ted investigate, even though Nancy's attorney father, Carson Drew (John Litel), has expressly forbidden them to do so. Their tremulous journey through the cellar of the mansion leads to a surprising revelation -- and, very nearly, to a watery grave. Arguably the best of the series, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase moves along at so fast a clip that the audience is left nearly as breathless as the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Probably the best of the Bonita Granville Nancy Drew films, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase packs an incredible amount of plot into its scant 60 minutes. As a result, quite a lot happens over the course of this densely plotted film -- which is a good thing, for if one actually had the time to think about some of the elements (such as a will requiring beneficiaries to spend every night in a house for 20 years), one might conclude that they were a little far-fetched or mechanical. One also might have time to wince a little over some of the dialogue or the characterizations. Fortunately, William Clemens keeps things moving at a nice, fast clip, without forgetting to build up a little atmosphere here or throw in a few genuine scares there. The cast, as usual, does very well, with Granville's Nancy her usual perky, wholesome self and Frankie Thomas' lank Ted his usual boy-next-door, "aw shucks" self. The two make a fine pair and play off of each other quite well, and get good support from John Litel's solid but not stolid Carson Drew. Parts of Staircase may give one pause -- such as the laissez faire attitude the teens take to handling guns or Nancy's willingness to get Ted in trouble with his boss -- but the movie moves on to the next segment so quickly that one can't really dwell on these things. Not a great film, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase is still a good deal of fun. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Bonita Granville - Nancy Drew
• Frankie Thomas - Ted Nickerson
• John Litel - Carson Drew
• Frank Orth - Capt. Tweedy
• Renie Riano - Effie Schneider

Vera Lewis - Floretta Turnbull; Louise Carter - Rosemary Turnbull; William Gould - Daniel Talbert; George Guhl - Smitty; John Ridgely - Reporter; Creighton Hale - Reporter; Frank Mayo - Photographer; Frederic Tozere - District Attorney Investigator; Don Rowan - Phillips; Dick Elliott - McKeever; William Hopper - Reporter

Credit

Ted Smith - Art Director, Milo Anderson - Costume Designer, William B. Clemens - Director, Louis Hesse - Editor, Lewis William O'Connell - Cinematographer, Bryan Foy - Producer, Everett A. Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, Kenneth Gamet - Screenwriter, Carolyn Keene - Short Story Author

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