Nancy Drew Reporter(Warner Bros.) (1939)

ADVANCE PUBLICITY — "NANCY DREW — REPORTER" (Opening Day) Bonita Granville A News Sleuth In Second of Series Bonita Granville again appears as a brave and clever heroine in “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” second in the series of films the Warner Bros. Studio is making from Carolyn Keene’s popular Nancy Drew stories, which opens at the Strand Theatre today. Other principals in the cast who were in the highly popular initial picture, “Nancy Drew— Detective,’’ include Frankie Thomas, still Nancy’s best boy friend, and John Litel, who carries on as Nancy’s father. Most interesting of the newcomers to the cast is Mary Lee, a pretty, 14-year-old singer. Others who have important roles include Sheila Bromley, Larry Williams, Betty Amann, Thomas Jackson, Dickie Jones and Olin Howland. Assurance of the same high standard of entertainment as was established in the opening episode is contained in the fact that the screen play of the new picture was written by Kenneth Gamet, who did a similar service for the preceding production, and the director is William Clemens, who certainly won the right to direct the entire series with his work on the first picture. I n this continuation of Nancy Drew’s adventures, she becomes a reporter by being one of the five winners of a journalism contest at her high school sponsored by a local paper. The prize is a one-month job as a reporter. Given an unimportant assignment that could be gets about it and attends an inquest into the murder by poison of a wealthy old woman. When a girl whom she believes innocent is held for the crime, Nancy goes to work to solve it. And solve it she does, with the aid of her boy friend, Ted Nickerson, and her father, who is an attorney. But on the way to the solution and the arrest of the real murderer, Nancy and Ted find plenty of excitement and danger as well as many adventures more amusing than sinister. Mat 103—15c Frankie Thomas Famous Fighters In Warner Film It was a sports writer’s and fight fan’s field day at the Warner Bros. Studio one day during the filming of “(Nancy Drew—Reporter,” which will open next Friday at the Strand Theatre. More than a score of fighters, some famous many years ago, some still fighting in the squared circle, were working as movie actors. They provided the atmosphere in a boxing gymnasium sequence for the second picture of the series based on the Carolyn Keene stories, which features Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas. Maxie Rosenbloom, former light-heavyweight champion of the world, who was working on a neighboring stage in “The Professor Steps Out,” dropped in. Bonita Is Sixteen Bonita Granville, featured in Warner Bros.’ “Nancy Drew— Reporter,” which opens next Friday at the Strand Theatre, was born in New York City, Feb. 2, 1923. She went on the stage at the age of three and a half years. "WHEN FOUND MAKE A NOTE OF IT" — and Bonita Granville, as irrepressible Nancy Drew—Reporter, in the title role of the picture of the same name, is following that old advice. The second in the new Warner Bros. series comes to the Strand Theatre on Friday. Mat 201-—-30c (Lead) agrsah, ix. ‘Nancy Drew--Reporter’’ Second In New Hit Series At Strand, Friday “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” second picture in the Warner Bros. series based upon the exploits of the resourceful and courageous heroine of Carolyn Keen’s immensely popular Nancy Drew stories, opens at the Strand Theatre next Friday with Bonita Granville, of course, again playing the title role. The introductory film of the series, “Nancy Drew — Detective,’ was released _ several months ago and was greeted with such enthusiastic approval by the public that the success of what was regarded as an experiment was established without question. The experiment involved in the Nancy Drew series was the production of a series of films about an adolescent girl which would appeal not only to youngsters but to film-goers of any age. And the success of the opening picture has proven amply that just such a happy result was achieved. Naturally, the basic formula which proved so popular in the first picture has been followed in “Nancy Drew—Reporter.” It in volves plenty of exciting incidents, with moments of real peril for the heroine, but also a saving overtone of humor which gives a warm and jolly flavor to the story. As the title of the second picture promises, Nancy Drew works on a newspaper during this episode. When she and four high school classmates win a journalism contest sponsored by a local paper and are given one-month jobs as reporters, she is handed an inconsequential assignment to cover a poetry club luncheon, but instead she goes to a coroner’s inquest into the death by poison of a rich old woman. A ward of the dead woman is held for murder but Nancy is convinced she is innocent, and she gets her attorney father to defend the accused girl. She also has an idea as to who is guilty, and she and her boy friend, again played by Frankie Thomas, trail two of their suspects to a Chinese restaurant, where they learn a lot by eavesdropping. They eventually capture the guilty persons. One of the most enjoyable se quences in the picture takes place in the restaurant, where Bonita and Frankie have been joined by Dickie Jones and Mary Lee, the latter a pretty, 14-year-old singer who is new to the Nancy Drew cast. The kids do not have enough money to pay for their meal, so they sing for their supper. The result is an expert juvenile rendition of “Mutiny in the Nursery,” the swing hit from “Going Places,” with Mary and Dickie doing the solos and Bonita and Frankie coming in on the choruses. Prominent in the cast besides the four kids mentioned are John Litel, again as the father of Nancy Drew; Sheila Bromley, Larry Williams, Betty Amann, Thomas Jackson and Olin Howland. The same writers, Kenneth Gamet, who prepared the script of the first picture of the series, is responsible for the new one, and the director is again William Clemens, who proved, by his direction of the opening film, that he was the best man at the Warner Studio for the assignment. Mat 202—30c TO THE RESCUE—come Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas in a thrilling bit from "Nancy Drew—Reporter," coming to the Strand, Friday. Double Talk Dickie Jones, who appears with Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas in “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” the Warner Bros. picture coming to the Strand Theatre next Friday, is the voice of Donald Duck’s nephew in the Walt Disney cartoons. Bonita Swings It Bonita Granville sings “Mutiny in the Nursery,” the swing hit by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, which was introduced in “Going Places,” in her new Warner Bros. picture, “Nancy Drew —Reporter,”’ which comes to the Strand Theatre next Friday. [9] Actors Prefer Series Pictures Most coveted assignments in Hollywood today are those of the series pictures. They are the meal tickets, the guarantee of work over an indefinite period. Once a player is established in a series picture, his or her place cannot be taken by another. Bonita Granville, for instance, was established in the title role of the Warner Bros. “Nancy Drew” series by her appearance in “Nancy Drew — Detective,” first of the series. So, naturally she is the heroine of “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” second in the series, which will open at the Strand Theatre next Friday. John Litel was established as her father and Frankie Thomas was introduced as her adolescent boy-friend in the first picture of the series and play the same roles in the new picture. They and other characters definitely linked with the life of Nancy Drew cannot be discarded once they have been introduced. As a rule, only the villians are changed from picture to picture. Each picture in the series is a complete story and so the villain usually is disposed of. ~ (Advance) Bonita Granville Experts’ Choice As Nancy Drew Bonita Granville is Hollywood’s choice as the typical sixteenyear-old American girl, At least she was chosen by the Warner Bros. Studio to play the role of Nancy Drew in the series of pictures being made from the novels written about that remarkable young lady in the past thirty years and popular with juveniles and adolescents through all those years. Bonita became sixteen herself in February, and she is a completely normal, healthy girl who is average in her school work, pretty in a youthful way and no better and no worse in her average behavior than any other girl her age. Emily Post and Kathleen Norris, among others, helped to supply the information the studio used in selecting Bonita for the Nancy Drew roles. These authorities described Miss Sweet Sixteen as a girl who doesn’t smoke or drink, has boy friends but no “steady,” stays out until eleven o’clock at night and has not yet learned to cook or keep house. Bonita’s own answers to the same set of questions matched the guesses of the older women quite closely. She doesn’t smoke or drink, is not allowed to stay out at night unchaperoned, has an allowance of spending money, helps her mother buy her clothes and is a “tomboy” by day and a “lady” by night. She “hates housework” and can’t cook. She brought a supply of high school slanguage to the first picture of the series with her and the script was modified to include some of it. Producer and Director were interested. They took Bonita and Frankie Thomas, who plays opposite her, into a story conference and recorded their suggestions of dialogue changes, Naturally, the lesson thus learned was applied to the script of the second picture of the series, “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” which opens next Friday at the Strand Theatre. Bonita lives with her mother in a Hollywood apartment. Between pictures she attends Hollywood High School and when she is working she has a special teacher on the set to keep her even with her classes. She likes to dance, swim and ride horseback. BONITA GRANVILLE GETS HER MEN — ALL 6 Mat 105—I5c Nothing that 16-year-old Bonita Granville has done recently has made as much impression on the six worshipful kids of the “Dead End” group as Bonita’s feat of getting an “A” in high school algebra. Bonita’s latest Warner Bros. picture, “Nancy Drew—Reporter,” opens at the Strand Theatre, Friday with John Litel and Frankie Thomas and Sheila Bromley.