The Hardy Boys on The Mickey Mouse Club

MacGyver · December 15, 2010, 12:56:39 PM

I found this site for those who enjoy The Hardy Boys serials on The Mickey Mouse Club- I've got The Mystery of Applegate Treasure on DVD. I really wish Disney would release The Mystery of Ghost Farm on DVD as well.
Anyway- this site has a number of cool screenshots from both serials and a good synopsis of each as well.

http://www.originalmmc.com/hardy2.html

MacGyver · December 15, 2010, 01:14:10 PM

It's also worth noting that some parts of The Mystery of Ghost Farm have been officially released to VHS and DVD.
Disney released a set of 10 VHS tapes in 1994 with compilations from The Mickey Mouse Club- it seems Volume 4 contains an introduction to the serial and Volume 10 actually includes the first chapter from the serial.
A 2005 DVD release, The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club also contains the opening chapter from this serial. So that's nice to know- but I'd still like to see the whole thing and enjoy this piece of Hardy Boys history.

hardygirl847 · December 15, 2010, 05:33:02 PM

I haven't seen any of these and I'm not sure I'd like them. GASP...I know...It just doesn't seem like my vision of the Hardys. Definitely a cool part of their history though.

MacGyver · December 15, 2010, 07:29:34 PM

You should give them a try- yes, it's probably quite a bit different from your vision of The Hardy Boys, but it is a fun take on it in any case. And The Mystery of Applegate Treasure, the one available in its entirety on DVD, is a pretty fun adaptation of The Mystery of the Tower Treasure (original text). If you don't want to outright purchase the set, check your local library- they may have a copy to check out! (If not, ask the Reference Department about their InterLibrary Loan service. They can probably get it sent over for you.)

Olivia · December 15, 2010, 08:20:06 PM

I've seen The Mystery of Applegate Treasure. It's in a lot of 10 minute increments (if I remember correctly) and I had to keep fast forwarding the intro.

I just remember that it was good for what it was -- a 1950s adaption with kids. I also remember that the actor playing Joe was really good.

MacGyver · December 15, 2010, 10:57:50 PM

Tommy Kirk was a great child actor for Disney who also did some cool films as he got older (The Shaggy Dog, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and one of my favorites- The Monkey's Uncle

tomswift2002 · December 16, 2010, 07:59:12 AM

Quote from: Olivia on December 15, 2010, 08:20:06 PM
I've seen The Mystery of Applegate Treasure. It's in a lot of 10 minute increments (if I remember correctly) and I had to keep fast forwarding the intro.

I just remember that it was good for what it was -- a 1950s adaption with kids. I also remember that the actor playing Joe was really good.

Actually it was 15. But you have to remember that back in the 1950's the serial was meant to be viewed over the course of nearly 4 months, instead of a couple of hours.

SDLagent · December 17, 2010, 02:01:20 AM

Quote from: hardygirl847 on December 15, 2010, 05:33:02 PM
I haven't seen any of these and I'm not sure I'd like them. GASP...I know...It just doesn't seem like my vision of the Hardys. Definitely a cool part of their history though.

They'd be really good for younger kids. 5-10, maybe. But, yeah, they're different. I didn't mind them.

Quote from: Olivia on December 15, 2010, 08:20:06 PM
I've seen The Mystery of Applegate Treasure. It's in a lot of 10 minute increments (if I remember correctly) and I had to keep fast forwarding the intro.

I just remember that it was good for what it was -- a 1950s adaption with kids. I also remember that the actor playing Joe was really good.

Yeah, that intro got really freaking repetitive.

hardygirl847 · December 17, 2010, 08:26:56 PM

I suppose the time issue was due to children attention spans? lol I will have to do some searching and see. Will I feel like I have warped back in time like I was watching Leave it to Beaver or something?

MacGyver · December 18, 2010, 03:14:35 PM

Leave It to Beaver is awesome!

Wally rules!

But The Mystery of Applegate Treasure isn't exactly like that. And honestly, though that show is used as the picture of idyllic American life- the Beaver got into trouble all the time. The brother relationship between Theodore and Wally is pretty reminiscent of Frank and Joe to some degree, actually.
The time issue was due to The Mickey Mouse Club being a variety show- so they fit in a lot of different acts. Yeah, I suppose they catered to short attention spans for kids too- Sesame Street used a similar model when it started too.

tomswift2002 · December 18, 2010, 09:09:06 PM

Quote from: hardygirl847 on December 17, 2010, 08:26:56 PM
I suppose the time issue was due to children attention spans?

For the first 2 seasons of the 1950's Mickey Mouse Club the shows ran an hour in length, while the 3rd Season saw the shows cut back to half-hour shows. But if you watch the other serials that have been released in the Walt Disney Treasures line (Spin and Marty & Annette) to the complete first week of the 1950's MMC, you'll notice that the show was a magazine variety show for kids (even watch the introductory episode for the Hardy Boys serial that was included as a bonus on the DVD and you'll get an idea as to the type of show that the MMC was).

hardygirl847 · December 18, 2010, 11:11:29 PM

How could I forget that MMC was a variety show?! That makes total sense as to why it was in short increments.

I did some quick searching and didn't come up with anything like a preview or a snippet on Youtube. Perhaps I will check my library. I guess I should see what it was like.

tomswift2002 · December 19, 2010, 05:17:35 PM

Quote from: hardygirl847 on December 18, 2010, 11:11:29 PM
I did some quick searching and didn't come up with anything like a preview or a snippet on Youtube. Perhaps I will check my library. I guess I should see what it was like.

Well, if you can find the Walt Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse Club DVD that was released back in December 2004, you'll be able to watch all 5 episodes from the series first week on the air (October 3-7, 1955) and get an idea of what each day was about. But as I said earlier, The Hardy Boys, Spin & Marty and Annette have the introductory and (for Annette) closing episodes of the MMC that are complete hour/half-hour episodes.

hardygirl847 · December 21, 2010, 03:33:38 PM

Quote from: Captain Santa Claus on December 19, 2010, 05:17:35 PM
Well, if you can find the Walt Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse Club DVD that was released back in December 2004, you'll be able to watch all 5 episodes from the series first week on the air (October 3-7, 1955) and get an idea of what each day was about. But as I said earlier, The Hardy Boys, Spin & Marty and Annette have the introductory and (for Annette) closing episodes of the MMC that are complete hour/half-hour episodes.

I guess I will see what I can find and go from there. I appreciate the help though, thanks!

MacGyver · July 03, 2012, 04:06:02 PM

I picked up The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club on DVD a few days back at a second hand store and it was nice to at least see the introduction for "The Mystery of Ghost Farm" serial. The introduction gives you a pretty good idea of the basic plot of the serial. I still would like to see the actual show itself, but at least that's something from the serial and it is preserved on DVD. Frank and Joe Hardy are involved in solving a mystery surrounding a farm that seems to be deserted and haunted. Iola Morton shows up again and so does Aunt Gertrude and Fenton Hardy, as well as Mr. Applegate. And it's set a year later from the previous serial. It looks pretty cool- I wish Disney would release this Hardy Boys serial in its entirety on DVD.