June 2010 Book Club Discussion: The House on the Cliff

[hexton]

It doesn't really bother me (Fleming was similar in some of his Bond novels-especially Live and Let Die) as it was part of the times. I'll admit that when I first started reading some of these original texts it did stick out like a sore thumb.
Original HOTC is good, but the revised does simply read better. The revised is at least a 4 out of 5.

[hexton]

It's not so much the lack of emotion, it's how easily Joe recovered. Losing your memory's a big a thing, and it wasn't even mentioned in the next book. They should have treated it like Iola's death.

I'm a big fan of film noir and hardboiled detective stores.

Now I really have to read BAB-it sounds like it could almost be a noir story.

[hardygirl847]

BAB is my fave hexton!! Don't know about it being a noir type of story but I LOVE it!

[SDLagent]

Now I really have to read BAB-it sounds like it could almost be a noir story.

I was actually saying this story, The House on the Cliff, has a noir vibe. A lot of The Hardy Boys books from the 30s and 40s do to a certain extent but out of all the ones I've read, the original text of The Melted Coins really does.

[NancyDrew]

I actually pulled out both versions to read when I saw this thread about a week ago. I won't go on about it because y'all had so many wonderful thoughts already but I did find it interesting Frank's character vs. Joe's. Frank is clearly the leader in the story and plays a larger role in content. At least that's what I thought.

I also found the time differences and changes interesting. Such as the use of "prison" in the revised verson but "penitentiary" in the original. And the head criminal (not only had a name change lol) but also was mentioned to originally be going to the electric chair and then changed to put away for a long time. I thought that was neat to compare them.

[SDLagent]

I actually pulled out both versions to read when I saw this thread about a week ago. I won't go on about it because y'all had so many wonderful thoughts already but I did find it interesting Frank's character vs. Joe's. Frank is clearly the leader in the story and plays a larger role in content. At least that's what I thought.

I noticed that too. Frank is the leader! And not just of Joe, of the chums too. Tony (who, we find out in a later book, is the same age as Frank) makes a few suggestions but other than that the other boys are content to follow Frank's directions, more or less, without question.

[MacGyver]

Makes sense- Frank is the older one, so Joe is generally going to acquiesce to his leading.

[NancyDrew]

 

I noticed that too. Frank is the leader! And not just of Joe, of the chums too. Tony (who, we find out in a later book, is the same age as Frank) makes a few suggestions but other than that the other boys are content to follow Frank's directions, more or less, without question.

Makes sense- Frank is the older one, so Joe is generally going to acquiesce to his leading.

I know that Frank is older but I was surprised at just how much he dominated the speaking and action vs Joe.

And I agree about Tony. Also, with Chet, is role is greatly increased with the revisions. Not only his speaking but even participation in scenes he originally wasn't in. Even though the cover still only shows three guys. I guess they tried to revise it to make in even. Although I thought Tony had a bigger role in the 1st than second but I could be wrong.

[MacGyver]

I would probably agree with that. Tony certainly had a pretty hugely important role in the first edition of "The House on the Cliff".

[SDLagent]

I know that Frank is older but I was surprised at just how much he dominated the speaking and action vs Joe.

And I agree about Tony. Also, with Chet, is role is greatly increased with the revisions. Not only his speaking but even participation in scenes he originally wasn't in. Even though the cover still only shows three guys. I guess they tried to revise it to make in even. Although I thought Tony had a bigger role in the 1st than second but I could be wrong.

There was only three guys in the boat in the original. Was this changed in the revised? Is this what you are talking about? If not, the cover's correct.

[NancyDrew]

In the revisions, there is four guys: Tony, Chet, Joe and Frank so the cover is not accurate in the revised version.

[hardygirl847]

You would think that the publishers, editors, writers, illustrators, etc....would notice that! Were they just too lazy or out of funding to change it?! lol

[tomswift2002]

You would think that the publishers, editors, writers, illustrators, etc....would notice that! Were they just too lazy or out of funding to change it?! lol

Not really.  The 1950 Bill Gilles cover of The Sinister Sign Post depicts both Frank and Joe Hardy watching the scene on the beach, even though only one of them was there in the actual scene in the book.

[SDLagent]

You would think that the publishers, editors, writers, illustrators, etc....would notice that! Were they just too lazy or out of funding to change it?! lol

I remember reading once about The Hardy Boys Casefiles that the cover artist would sometimes draw a cover that didn't match-up with story, so the ghostwriter would have to make last minute changes to some-how fit the scene on the cover into the story.

Not really.  The 1950 Bill Gilles cover of The Sinister Sign Post depicts both Frank and Joe Hardy watching the scene on the beach, even though only one of them was there in the actual scene in the book.

Both Hardy boys usually appear on the cover. No matter what. And they look like the conventional Hardy boys, too, even though sometimes are in disguise in the scene depicted on the cover. Like with Evil, Inc., where Frank and Joe actually had there hair died in the story but on the cover they do not.

[hardygirl847]

Yeah the Casefiles were kind of notorious for that at times. It makes complete sense from the publisher's POV to have both boys and their "usual" appearance on the cover. I just don't know why they don't choose a different part of the story where it actually correlates with the front...?! Is that REALLY the ONLY part of the book the artist could draw? lol