In 6-(4-bromophenyl)-3-methyl-1-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine, C(19)H(16)BrN(3), the reduced pyridine ring adopts a conformation that is close to a screw-boat form. Molecules are linked by pairs of symmetry-related C-H...pi(arene) hydrogen bonds into cyclic centrosymmetric dimers. Molecules of 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine, C(18)H(12)N(4)O(2), are linked into centrosymmetric R(2)(2)(8) dimers by pairs of symmetry-related N-H...N hydrogen bonds, and these dimers are linked by pairs of C-H...pi(pyridine) hydrogen bonds to form a chain of edge-fused rings, or a molecular ladder, along [100]. The molecular aggregation in this compound is completed by two weak C-H...O hydrogen bonds, one of which links the chains along [100] into sheets.