Synopsis

Teen detective Nancy Drew moves from River Heights to Los Angeles with her father, Carson, and tries to live a more ordinary life. That plan changes when she discovers clues connected to the unsolved death of former movie star Dehlia Draycott, who once lived in their rented home. Nancy secretly investigates the case, uncovering long-buried secrets while adjusting to a very different new environment.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is not based on one specific Nancy Drew novel, but it incorporates elements from several books. The search for a missing will recalls Nancy's first published mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock.

• Dehlia Draycott's fictional film The Haunted Bridge is a reference to the Nancy Drew book of the same name. A poster for the movie can be seen in the mansion's attic.

• Nancy drives a blue 1960 Nash Metropolitan convertible, a deliberately old-fashioned choice that matches the film's nostalgic interpretation of the character.

• Emma Roberts had not read the Nancy Drew books before being cast. She researched the character through the nonfiction book The Girl Sleuth and worked with an etiquette coach to develop Nancy's formal manners.

• Amanda Bynes was considered for the title role, but a scheduling conflict prevented her from taking it.

• Although Roberts had a learner's permit, she could not legally drive the Nash Metropolitan alone during the road-chase scenes. The movie was filmed at locations around Southern California in early 2006.

• Bruce Willis makes a cameo during the sequence in which Nancy wanders onto a film set. The scene plays with the contrast between Nancy's strict knowledge of period details and Hollywood's looser approach to filmmaking.

• Warner Bros. planned two sequels with the same central creative team, but neither sequel was produced.

• The film received a non-canon novelization in 2007, written in a style intended to resemble the older Nancy Drew books.