Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

gridoon2018 Out of the three Nancy Drew films starring Bonita Granville that I've seen so far (this one, "Reporter", and "Trouble-Shooter"), "The Hidden Staircase" is my least favorite. It's still enjoyable to watch, but the mystery is one of the least interesting (even though the identity of the bad guy is a surprise), the climax (Nancy and Ted are trapped in an underground tunnel) is underwhelming compared to the wild plane ride of "Trouble-Shooter", and even Nancy herself, for the first time, occasionally comes dangerously close to crossing the line from adorable to obnoxious, especially when she not only gets Ted into trouble with the law, but takes off and leaves him behind (after the "shooting" incident). I wouldn't recommend starting to watch the series with "The Hidden Staircase". **1/2 out of 4.

Michael_Elliott Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Fourth and final film in Warner's detective series has Bonita Granville returning as Nancy Drew. In this film, two old women are about to turn over their property to charity but someone is trying to haunt them out of it. You see, the women must stay there day and night for two weeks or the will is no good and the property is turned over to the city. This final film is the shortest of the four (only running 60 minutes) but it's also the weakest. There isn't any comedy to speak of and none of the mystery aspects are fully recognized. Granville is good in her role as usual but the supporting characters are weak this time out.

John Esche Long before Harry Potter arrived to slake the thirst of voracious young readers, the factory minted Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery series were getting regular readers.While straight forward and relatively uncomplicated in their mystery plotting, they were basically solid "B" level templates, and at the height of the 30's Hollywood mystery vogue, Warner Brothers jumped on the bandwagon with a creditable four film series of Nancy Drew's - this final effort arguably the best (and the only one to share a title and a couple plot elements with an actual Nancy Drew book).Bonita Granville makes a borderline silly Nancy, with a mad energy level approaching Betty Hutton levels and (plot-wise) causing as many problems as she solves, but once accepted, her chemistry with John Litel's warm Carson Drew (the father figure) and Frankie Thomas' guileless comic foil/boyfriend Ted Nickerson is outstanding. Had the series tried for more, these solid supporting performances might well have kept it around for a longer run, but Granville's frequently charming caricature and Frank Orth's even sillier Police Captain Tweedy (who never listens to ANYONE once he hears half a clue) firmly place it in limited audience "B" territory - above the cartoonish "Dick Tracy" series, but several steps below the longer running "adult" Charlie Chan's, Mr. Moto's, Sherlock Holmes', Thin Man's or even the solid Saint's, Falcon's or Lone Wolf's.The best thing about the series 70 years after it was first shown (and which should still hold the attention of the serious film lover) is its beautifully observed picture of life in small town America just before World War II, when icemen actually did deliver blocks of ice to the actual ice boxes which adorned most kitchens (and the standard system for calling for delivery) both of which form interesting plot points.We're not talking great art here. Consider the drop in quality of the still decent 3rd and 4th Harry Potter films - as the books got better, "movie-movie" directors made the films less faithful and less effective. At least the Nancy Drew series ended on a high note as they edged closer to the source material.

Arthur Hausner Whoever heard of anyone willing two spinster sisters an estate with the provision that unless at least one of them occupy the house every night for the next twenty years it will revert to the city. That's the ridiculous premise of this Nancy Drew murder mystery. But once I got over that, I rather enjoyed watching the antics of the young Bonita Granville as she tries to solve the case with her friend, Frankie Thomas. I had to laugh at the number of crimes she commits while doing that, but it was part of the fun. Frank Orth has some good comedy as the inept police captain. Unfortunately, the badly-named title is itself a "spoiler," since through most of the movie everyone wonders how the murderer got into the house.For those interested in credits, Dick Elliott (billed last) never shows up, nor is his character ever mentioned.