I first became aware of Nancy Drew in the late 1970s during the character’s run on TV alongside The Hardy Boys. As I recall, my interest was piqued by the ads featuring Pamela Sue Martin who was playing Nancy, though I was never sufficiently interested to actually watch an episode. In contrast I was very interested to recently learn of the Nancy Drew film series.
Nancy first appeared in print in 1930, conceived as a female counterpart of the Hardy Boys, explaining their TV appearances together in the 70s. Over the years Nancy Drew books were ghostwritten by a number of different authors and published under the collective pseudonym of Carolyn Keene with the character evolving in line with changes in American culture and tastes.
In 1937, Warner Bros. sought the film rights with plans to make a film series to support their popular Torchy Blane B-films. Due to an error on the part of Nancy Drew editor Harriet Adams, Jack Warner acquired all and any film rights for only $6000. The four films in the initial series were released in rapid succession between 1938 and 1939, all directed by William Clemens, written by Torchy Blane writer Kenneth Gamet, and featuring Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew.
When the series was first announced in April 1938 Warner Bros. had attached Australian born director John Farrow with a screenplay from Robertson White. They were replaced by Clemens and Gamet, and as a result the start of production was delayed until August.
The films deviated significantly from the novels. In the films Nancy is portrayed as a ditzy and absent-minded schemer, while in the books of the time she was intelligent, sharp-tongued, and ahead of her time. Her on screen father Carson Drew was a young, handsome, athletic man who tried his best to keep his daughter out of danger, while on the page he was an older, more feeble, hands-off parent. Nancy’s college boyfriend Ned was transformed into Ted, her clumsy next-door neighbor (and boyfriend) who gets drawn into Nancy’s schemes despite his protests.
New characters were added, including Captain Tweedy who was a stereotypical bumbling cop. Such changes were a part of the shift in tone that made the films more comic and appealed to a wider audience. This incorporated a shift from the misdemeanors and misadventures of the books to gruesome murders spearheaded by dangerous criminals in the film series.
To promote the films, Warner Bros. created a Nancy Drew fan club. To be accepted as a member girls had to have a steady boyfriend who was more friend than lover and had to be involved in choosing their own clothes. Warner Bros. had researched their target audience (teenage girls) and aligned the rules with their interests, attitudes and habits. Bonita Granville was installed as "honorary president" of the fan club, and new members were sent a kit that included autographed pictures of her as well as a badge and a membership card.
The first two films did so well that the budgets for the third and fourth films grew significantly, and in early 1939, Warner Bros announced plans for four more films.
Gamet was tasked with writing scripts for those additional films however in late 1939, when Warner Bros. decided to abandon double features, the additional films in the series were cancelled. Initially it was announced that the remaining films would be converted into two-reelers, but these plans were subsequently cancelled only a few days later. There is some conjecture about whether or not Gamet had finished the scripts for the fifth and sixth films, and whether the fifth had begun production, but no additional film or even additional footage is known to have survived.
The critical reaction to the films was focused on concerns they were not true to the character, portraying Nancy as someone who "blatantly used her feminine wiles (and enticing bribes)" to accomplish her goals. She was also presented as childish and easily flustered. Editor Harriet Adams, who had sold WarnerBros the rights, did not like the films and resented the studio for its treatment of the character despite keeping an autographed photo of Bonita Granville (as Nancy Drew) on her office desk for many years.
From 1959 the books were revised and shortened to lower printing costs,and Nancy was changed to make her less unruly and violent, contributing to her increased popularity. By the 1980s Nancy was older and more professional and became involved in more romantic subplots. Along the way illustrations of the character continually evolved to keep pace with contemporary styles.
The film series enjoyed a revival, developing a new following after appearing on cable channels such as Turner Classic Movies and arguably paved the way for Nancy’s return to the big screen. As Warner Bros still had the film rights they began developing their next film around the mid-1990s, finally getting it back onscreen in 2007 with Emma Roberts starring as Nancy.
As with the earlier Drew films, reactions were mixed. While some accepted the film featured an updated version of the character, others found Nancy's classmates preference for shopping over sleuthing, and Nancy's drab dress sense and dorky behaviour jolting. While the leads from this film had signed on for two Nancy Drew sequels, they were never made.
With plans to kick-start another series in 2019 Warner Bros produced Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, a remake of the last film from the original series starring Sophie Lillis. It was successful enough to launch a TV series which ran from 2019 until 2023.
To date there have been six feature films, three television series, four television pilots, 33 video games, and two different comic book series. The character continues to be popular selling 80 million books that have been translated into over 45 languages. Nancy Drew is loved by many including Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor, and former First ladies from each side of American politics…Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.
No doubt many people still have a soft spot for Nancy Drew, and that 1930s film series played a key role in the success and the longevity of the character. Click below to see where it all started.
This is so fascinating thank you! I was a voracious reader of Nancy Drew books as a pre-teen in the late 80s but all the screen adaptations completely passed me by - I will have to check them out. Love the pics of the 1930s fan club ephemera - sadly it sounds like 11 old me wouldn’t have qualified had it still been going half a century later as I certainly didn’t have a “steady boyfriend who was more friend than lover” 😂