Hardy Boys (Mickey Mouse Club serial)

US TV serial

In the late 1950s, Disney contracted with the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Grosset & Dunlap to produce two Hardy Boys TV serials, starring Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk. The first of the serials, The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, was aired on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1956 during the show's second season.[1] To appeal to the show's audience, the Hardy Boys were portrayed as younger than in the books (Considine was 15 and Kirk was 14 during filming).[2] The script, written by Jackson Gillis, was based on the first Hardy Boys book, The Tower Treasure, and the serial was aired in 19 episodes of fifteen minutes each with production costs of $5,700.[3] A second serial, The Mystery of Ghost Farm, followed in 1957, with an original story by Jackson Gillis.[2] This serial shares some elements with "The House on the Cliff", the second Hardy Boys book.

Kirk said The Mystery of Ghost Farm was "inferior to the first one. It’s a real mishmash; it’s pretty terrible... real cheap. Gobbledygook."[4]

Kirk recalled Charles Haas, who directed the first as "a very strict, very tough, no-nonsense director. That's what I remember: very stern and rough, really. The other was directed by Bud Springsteen, who I’ve never heard of before or since, and who was a real happy-go-lucky."[4]

## Series 1: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure

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### Cast

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* Tim Considine – Frank Hardy
* Tommy Kirk – Joe Hardy
* Florenz Ames – Silas Applegate
* Russ Conway – Fenton Hardy
* Sarah Selby – Aunt Gertrude
* Carole Ann Campbell – Iola Martin

### Episodes

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Episode number | Episode title | Air date

|
|

0 | An Introduction | Oct 1, 1956
1 | A Stranger | Oct 2, 1956
2 | A Real Case | Oct 3, 1956
3 | The First Clue | Oct 4, 1956
4 | The Fugitive | Oct 5, 1956
5 | Applegate's Gold | Oct 8, 1956
6 | Dig for Treasure | Oct 9, 1956
7 | A Pirate's Chest | Oct 10, 1956
8 | Boys in Trouble | Oct 11, 1956
9 | Female Detective | Oct 12, 1956
10 | Iola's Bravery | Oct 15, 1956
11 | Footsteps in the Tower | Oct 16, 1956
12 | The Prisoner Speaks | Oct 17, 1956
13 | The Strange Confession | Oct 18, 1956
14 | A Golden Clue | Oct 19, 1956
15 | The Final Search | Oct 22, 1956
16 | The Tower's Secret | Oct 23, 1956
17 | Never Say Die | Oct 24, 1956
18 | Boys in Danger | Oct 25, 1956
19 | The Tower Treasure | Oct 26, 1956

## Series 2: The Mystery of Ghost Farm

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### Cast

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* Tim Considine – Frank Hardy
* Tommy Kirk – Joe Hardy
* Russ Conway – Fenton Hardy
* Sarah Selby – Aunt Gertrude
* Carole Ann Campbell – Iola Martin
* Andy Clyde \- Lacey

### Episodes

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Episode number | Episode title | Air date

|
|

0 | An Introduction | Sept 13, 1957
1 | Beginning of the Puzzle | Sept 20, 1957
2 | Detective Joe | Sept 27, 1957
3 | Who Feeds the Cat? | Oct 4, 1957
4 | Two Private Eyes | Oct 11, 1957
5 | Man Named Fred | Oct 18, 1957
6 | Animals in Danger | Oct 25, 1957
7 | Catching a Ghost | Nov 1, 1957
8 | The Ghost Speaks | Nov 8, 1957
9 | Lacey's Wonderful Will | Nov 15, 1957
10 | Detectives in Trouble | Nov 22, 1957
11 | The Ghost Confesses | Nov 29, 1957
12 | Iola to the Rescue | Dec 6, 1957
13 | Panic at the Zoo | Dec 13, 1957
14 | Uncle Billy's Secret | Dec 20, 1957

## Opening credits

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The theme song was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft and played over clips from Disney's  Treasure Island.

## Home media

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In December 2006, the Disney studio issued a Treasures DVD for The Hardy Boys: Mystery of the Applegate Treasure.

## References

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1. ^ Connelly (2008), p. 202.
2. ^ a b Connelly (2008), p. 204.
3. ^ Kismaric & Heiferman (2007), pp. 104–105.
4. ^ a b Valley, Richard (1993). "Just an Average Joe (Hardy): An Interview with Tommy Kirk". Scarlet Street (10): 60–69 at p62. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

## Sources

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* Connelly, Mark (2008). The Hardy Boys Mysteries, 1927–1979: A Cultural and Literary History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7864-3386-5.
* Kismaric, Carole; Heiferman, Marvin (2007). The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. New York: Fireside. ISBN 978-1-4165-4945-1.