Editing Nancy Drew (section)

=== Bonita Granville ===
In 1937, [[Warner Bros.]] bought the rights to the ''Nancy Drew'' book series from the Stratemeyer Syndicate, for a reported $6,000. Warner Bros. wanted to make a series of [[B movie|B-films]] based on the character, to serve as a companion to their popular ''[[Torchy Blane]]'' B-film series, which starred [[Glenda Farrell]], [[Barton MacLane]], and [[Tom Kennedy (actor)|Tom Kennedy]]. Adams sold the rights to [[Jack L. Warner]] without an agent or any consultation; thus, she sold all and any film rights to Warner Bros., a move she would later regret and that would later come into question by her publishers.

From 1938 to 1939, four films in the series were released. All of them were directed by [[William Clemens (film director)|William Clemens]], written by ''Torchy Blane'' writer Kenneth Gamet, and featured the same primary cast: [[Bonita Granville]] as Nancy Drew, [[John Litel]] as Carson Drew, and [[Frankie Thomas]] as Ted Nickerson (changed from Ned Nickerson). [[Renie Riano]] and [[Frank Orth]] also appeared in some of the films as Effie Schneider and Captain Tweedy, respectively.

The four are as follows: 
*''[[Nancy Drew... Detective]]'' (November 1938; loosely based on ''[[The Password to Larkspur Lane]]'')
*''[[Nancy Drew... Reporter]]'' (February 1939)
*''[[Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter]]'' (June 1939)
*''[[Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939 film)|Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase]]'' (September 1939; loosely based on ''[[The Hidden Staircase]]'')

The series was announced by Warner Bros. in April 1938; production of the first film, ''Nancy Drew Gets the Passport'', was set to begin production in June, directed by [[John Farrow]] with a screenplay from Robertson White. However, for unclear reasons, Farrow and White were replaced by Clemens and Gamet, and production was delayed to August. The first two films did well enough to allow Warner Bros. to expand the budgets for the third and fourth films; in early 1939, they announced the green-lighting of an additional four films, which would have brought the total up to eight.<ref name="BuzzFeedMovie">{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/phixwithwings/80-years-ago-nancy-drew-made-her-big-screen-debut-3ofba|title=80 Years Ago Nancy Drew Made Her Big Screen Debut|last=phixwithwings|date=November 15, 2018|website=[[BuzzFeed]]|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="DetectiveAFI">{{cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/6253?sid=3331456f-45e2-4be6-b6b0-506496746486&sr=5.6730986&cp=1&pos=3|title=Nancy Drew, Detective|website=AFI|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref>

After the second film, Warner Bros. assigned the third film, originally titled ''Nancy Drew Steps Out'', to Eddie Anderson and Charles Perry; like White, they were replaced under unclear circumstances. Gamet was once again rehired to write for the series and completed writing the eight films. In late 1939, Warner Bros. decided to eliminate their [[double feature]] setup, thus canceling the ''Nancy Drew'' film series. Although it was initially announced that the ''Nancy Drew'' series would be converted into [[two-reeler]]s, Warner Bros. canceled those plans days later.<ref name="BuzzFeedMovie"/> Gamet had at least written the fifth and sixth film, and the fifth may have been produced. Frankie Thomas stated that he believes he and Granville had made five films, not four, while Harriet Adams wrote in August 1939 to [[Mildred Benson|Mildred Wirt]], the ghostwriter of the books at the time, that "three have been shown in this area, and I have just heard that a fifth is in production."<ref>Plunkett-Powell (1993), 117.</ref><ref name="kismaric-103">Kismaric and Heiferman (2007), 103.</ref> In addition, Gamet had reportedly written a sixth film.<ref name="BuzzFeedMovie" />

Critical reaction to these films was mixed. Some found that the movies do not "depict the true Nancy Drew",<ref>Plunkett-Powell (1993), 114.</ref> in part because Granville's Nancy "blatantly used her feminine wiles (and enticing bribes)" to accomplish her goals.<ref>Plunkett-Powell (1993), 115.</ref> The films also portray Nancy as childish and easily flustered, a significant change from her portrayal in the books.<ref>Nash (2006), 71–116.</ref> Just as with the critics, both ghostwriter Mildred Wirt and editor Harriet Adams were also divided on the films' reception. Adams did not like the films and resented the studio for its treatment of the character; she did, however, keep a personalized autographed photo from Granville on her office desk for many years according to her employees and may have used John Litel's portrayal of Carson Drew to revamp the character when she revised the books in the 1960s and 1970s. Contrary to Adams, Benson was said to have liked the films of the time, despite them being different from the character she wrote.<ref name="kismaric-103" />

To promote the film, Warner Bros. created a Nancy Drew [[fan club]] that included a set of rules such as "must have steady boy friend, in the sense of a 'pal'" and must "take part in choosing own clothes."<ref>Kismaric and Heiferman (2007), 116.</ref> These rules were based on some research Warner Bros. had done on the habits and attitudes of "typical" teenage girls.<ref>Nash (2006), 87–90.</ref> Granville was the "honorary president" of the fan club, and a kit for the club came with autographed pictures of her.

The series became somewhat of a [[Cult film|cult success]] after the films started appearing on cable channels such as [[Turner Classic Movies]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} The films were arguably ones in which all five cast members were notable for in their careers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} Granville recalled making the films fondly and later called ''Nancy Drew… Trouble Shooter'' her favorite of the four.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} She and Litel would later reunite for the 1947 film ''[[The Guilty (1947 film)|The Guilty]]'', produced by Granville's husband [[Jack Wrather]]. Thomas would later go on to portray Carson Drew in a failed pilot for CBS.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}