Nancy Drew In Other Media

Movie Star Nancy!

In the late 1930's, Warner Brothers released four films starring Bonita Granville as Nancy, John Litel as Mr. Drew and Frankie Thomas as "Ted".

Nancy Drew, Detective - 1938 - 67 minutes.
Nancy Drew, Reporter - 1939 - 65 minutes.
Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter - 1939 - 70 minutes.
Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase - 1939 - 78 minutes.

These films are available on bootleg video tapes and sometimes show up on late night TV.
The films also provided several pieces of highly desirable and sought-after collectible items such as posters, lobby cards, still photographs and press kits.

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The Nancy Drew Game

Issued by Parker Brothers.
There are three variations of the Nancy Drew Game.
1957 - Cover shows Nancy in a red raincoat.
1959 - Cover shows Nancy in a green raincoat.
Canadian - Game board is red (American version is blue.)
In all cases, the game is played the same way.
A complete Nancy Drew Game includes:
1: Game board
2: 4 different colored car tokens (various colors reported)
3: 4 sets of colored markers matching the car colors.
The earlier games had thick wooden markers, the later ones were thinner plastic.
4: 2 dice (various colors reported)
5: 40 "Mystery Cards"
6: A flyer advertising other Parker Brothers games.
7: The packaging includes: Decorated box cover, plain box bottom, 6 colored cardboard separators. Mint games have the separators wrapped in cellophane.
The very attractive game board itself is sought after as a collectible.

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Nancy Drew Doll

1967 - 30 cm high - Made by Madame Alexander - 2 models (#1262 & 1264) - Retail price: $10.99.
The outfits of the dolls vary from a white or biege dress to a pink or blue two piece suit.
The dolls are extremely hard to find and are highly sought after by collectors. As of this writing, the price for these dolls seems to be in the $300.00 to $500.00 range.

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The Nancy Drew Cookbook

1973 - The Nancy Drew Cookbook Clues To Good Cooking
Grosset & Dunlap - picture cover - 159 pages.
There were several printings of this book. Later printings varied the endpaper color and the quantity and placement of illustrations. Library bindings also exist.

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Nancy In Television-Land!

1977-1979 - The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
Produced by Universal
Starring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy (Janet Louise Johnson played Nancy in the last 4 episodes), William Schallert as Mr. Drew, George O'Hanlon as Ned, Jean Rasey as George (1st season), Susan Buckner as George (2nd season), Ruth Cox as Bess.
First broadcast on Sunday evening 1/30/77 on the ABC network (7PM EST).
Nancy alternated every other week with the Hardy Boys (and once in a while with the Brady Bunch Hour).
There were 14 Nancy Drew episodes in the first season.
In the second season she joined forces with the Hardy Boys for 8 episodes and did her own sleuthing in 3 others.
Nancy was left out of the last 8 episodes of the final season.
The popularity of this series produced a wealth of collectible items. I've listed some below but I'm sure there are more.

1977 - Nancy Drew Fan Club Kit
Kit came with folder, poster, membership scroll & card, bookmarks, photos and more.

1977 - Activity Books
Grosset & Dunlap under their Elephant or Treasure Books imprint - large paperbacks
Nancy Drew Mystery Activity Book #1 - Elephant Books
Nancy Drew Mystery Activity Book #2 - Elephant Books
Nancy Drew Mystery Activity Book #3 - Elephant Books
Nancy Drew Secret-Code Activity Book - Elephant Books
Nancy Drew Mystery Pictures To Color #1 - Treasure Books
Nancy Drew Mystery Pictures To Color #2 - Treasure Books
Nancy Drew Clues To Color - Treasure Books

1977 - Activity Books
Grosset & Dunlap under their Tempo imprint - paperbacks.
These books are smaller than the books listed above.
Nancy Drew Mystery Mazes
Nancy Drew Detective Logic Puzzles
Nancy Drew Secret Codes
Nancy Drew Mystery Puzzles
Nancy Drew Scrambled Word Finds
Nancy Drew Clever Crosswords

1977 - Picture Books
Grosset & Dunlap - 2 volumes.
1: A Picture Book Nancy Drew The Mystery Of The Lost Dogs - 62 pages.
2: A Picture Book Nancy Drew The Secret Of The Twin Puppets - 62 pages.
Known variants include B&W illustrations, dark orange illustrations and a library edition.

1977 - Nancy Drew Halloween Costume
Manufactured by Collegeville Costumes.

1977 - Nancy Drew Lunchbox - Metal with plastic Thermos.
Manufactured by King Seely Thermos Co.

1978 - Greeting Card Kit
Cartoonarama Presents Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew (Cartoonarama Inc.)
Complete set contains 6 jars of various color paint, 6 pictures Of Nancy/Hardys on transparent sheets, 6 cards & matching envelopes, paintbrush, sheet of rub-off verses, instructions.

1978 - Jigsaw Puzzle
Manufactured by American Publishing Corp. Was released in a standard carboard box and in a metal can which required a can opener.

1978 - The Hardy Boys And Nancy Drew Meet Dracula
Grosset & Dunlap - 103 pages - Paperback - Photo illustrations from TV show.

1979 - The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book
Grosset & Dunlap - 152 pages - picture cover hardbound.

1979 - My Nancy Drew Private Eye Diary
Simon & Schuster - 416 pages - hardbound.
Originally issued with a white cover, shortly after it's release the book was slightly modified and the cover color changed to red. Both types came with a small key.

Nancy appeared in a syndicated TV series produced in Canada.
The series ran for 1 season in the mid 1990's. The producers of this show (New Line Cinema) issued a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Telephone Calling Card.

Nancy Drew and The Simpsons
Nancy seems to be Lisa Simpson's favorite series. From time to time Lisa will mention Nancy.

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Additional Nancy Drew Collectibles

For an enjoyable overview of the Nancy Drew series, Karen Plunkett-Powell's Nancy Drew Scrapbook is hard to beat.
It's loaded with information and pictures and is available from AMAZON.COM.

Dr. Meredith Jaffe, noted Nancy Drew collector and authority, kindly provided this list of other Nancy Drew collectibles, compiled from her extensive collection & research.

Playboy Magazine July 1978
Poster of Nancy Drew's hometown according to Betsy Caprio
Book club advertising
Post Cereal box bookmarks
Miniature DJ version of The Quest of the Missing Map (Pleasant Co.)
Advertising header for The Nancy Drew Notebooks
Nancy Drew Conference - sweatshirt, poster
Academic writings, articles, letters, etc.
Foreign editions (several different languages)
Fan club application, data sent to members
FAO Schwartz slipcased set of Applewood reproductions 1-8
Braille format books
Videos of 1970's TV episodes
Videos of 1990's TV episodes
Items related to TV shows
Original artwork
Nancy Drew, Girl Detective - play in 2 acts
TV Guide 6/11/77, 6/25/77
Nancy Drew Files - promotional bookmarks and booklet
Shoelaces
National Lampoon parody 10/74
"The Pink Album" by Tuscadero (with Nancy Drew song)
Audio book of Nancy Drew: The Secret in the Old Lace
Miniature glossy book of Hollow Oak (for dollhouses)
Nancy Drew T-shirt

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