The Mystery of the Chinese Junk-1967 pilot

[Hardy Sleuth]

Hi fellow Hardy Boys fans,
      Well, as a completist in so many things, I have been interested in of course reading all of The Hardy Boys books, but also seeking out all the television and other media incarnations of The Hardy Boys. And I finally was able to track down one of the rarest and hardest to find of their appearances. For anyone else who had heard about this fabled production and wondered about it, here is your opportunity!
After much searching online, I have a copy of The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk 1967 pilot here. It's not the best quality, but it's very much watchable. Keep in mind that it may well be coming from a 16mm reel originally. And definitely please use discretion in sharing this link (as much as for bandwidth's sake as anything else.) Enjoy!

WOW!  Such a cool find, MacGyver, and how awesome for you to share it!  Thanks so much!!!!  That was very nice of you!!! 

[MacGyver]

As Parker Lewis would say, Not a problem. I was happy to do it as I know a lot of other Hardy Boys fans have been wanting to see this and it doesn't look like it's finding its way to an official DVD or any other media release any time soon, if ever.

[Hardy Sleuth]

As Parker Lewis would say, Not a problem. I was happy to do it as I know a lot of other Hardy Boys fans have been wanting to see this and it doesn't look like it's finding its way to an official DVD or any other media release any time soon, if ever.

It's something I definitely would like to watch! 

[hardygirl847]

I FINALLY made it to this topic thread!!! I don't know how you found it Mac, but that's super cool! I didn't really know about this and it's definitely cool to see. Unfortunately, the sound is so low (yes I checked my volume buttons lol) that I am having a hard time watching it.

Other than that though, I'm shocked it's even around! Nice sleuthing!

[MacGyver]

Cool! Glad you got a chance to watch it, hardygirl.
Yeah, unfortunately I can't do much with the quality, but it's amazing to have even that kind of quality with this thing as rare as it is. I guess just try cranking your volume as high as it will go...
It took me a while to get it converted to a level where it could be shared. And yes, it took me a long while looking online to find someone who had a copy of this pilot but it was great to finally see this production, which I think was really pretty good.

[SDLagent]

Finally watched it.

First off, I really wish this had been picked-up and turned into a series. I really liked this show's vibe. The overall feel of the show was just good and, in my opinion, very authentic Hardy Boys. At first I went, "Oh, actors that actually look like Frank and Joe for once!" Then I realized that the tall dark one was Joe and the shorter blond one was Frank. Seems like a pointless switch to me and a bit disappointing but I got over it and it barely diminished from the Hardy Boyness of the story. As I mentioned it just felt very Hardy Boys to me, and, in fact, I think it captured the spirit of the books better than any of adaptation I've seen. From analysing evidence in the crime lab to the chum to the references to Hardy Boys continuity I was again and again reminded of the original books which I haven't read in ages. Actually it made me want to read them again.

I really liked the style of the show, too. The hot rods, the beach parties, the Hardy's fashion sense. Very chill. Made me wish I could chill with the Hardys and their chums.

The story itself wasn't that great but it was still fun and exciting. Good entertainment. Likewise, the acting was the best but it wasn't horrible, either. The fight scenes were well done. Even though I thought the story could have been better, as you may have been able to guess by now, I really liked it! In fact I kind of loved it! Like I keep saying I just really liked the feel of the show. The vibe. The style. I can't quite put my finger on it.

[MacGyver]

Cool! Glad you got a chance to see it and liked it so much. I totally agree- I thought it was a great pilot as well. It's a shame it didn't make it into a series because they had a good handle on the aspects of The Hardy Boys books. We got to see Fenton Hardy and Aunt Gertrude making their usual appearances (but unfortunately, still no Laura Hardy! I don't know why she never seems to show up in any of The Hardy Boys productions...maybe she's in the cartoons...)  Anyway- it was also great having Chet Morton, Callie Shaw, Iola Morton and Biff Hooper and Tony Prito all on hand! (The last two making their only media appearances that I know of to date.)
Yeah- I don't know why they mixed up Frank and Joe as far as hair color and body size, but the casting was great otherwise- they definitely looked the part of The Hardy Boys.
        I've heard a lot of Hardy Boys fans say The Mystery of the Chinese Junk pilot is one of, if not the best adaptation of the books. I'm happy I was able to get this out there for everyone as I'm inclined to agree. (If I put them in order, I'd probably have this toward the top alongside the '70s series and then the Disney serials and the '90s series after that. And then the cartoon series. But I still love them all. )
I agree that the setting was well done for the time period too. In fact, that may be the best way to look at it- this pilot is probably the truest to the original 58 Hardy Boys books (well, revised versions anyway.) The '50s serials remind me more of the original texts (somewhat- mainly because Frank and Joe are much younger there and it's set in earlier times). The '70s show has sort of a mix of the original 58 (revised) books in some places and also sort of a blend of The Hardy Boys Digests feel as well. And the 3rd. Season was definitely like a precursor to The Hardy Boys Casefiles and even The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers on a very basic and general level. The cartoon show actually was adapted from the original 58 (revised) books as well, so I do give it some credit for keeping some of the very basic details from the books intact, though of course it was all way too rushed to really understand the story very well.
And the '90s series reminds me a good bit of The Hardy Boys Casefiles though not exactly- it was kind of its own thing as well.
       

[SDLagent]

I still haven't seen the 95 show. Hopefully someone will post them on YouTube.

On Laura not appearing in TV series, it's probably because Gertrude is a much more memorable character. The Gertrude in the pilot actually seemed like a combo of Gertrude and Laura. She was recognizable as Aunt Gertrude but seemed a bit more motherly. If I was making a TV series and keeping production costs in mind I'd probably do the same thing.

[MacGyver]

On Laura not appearing in TV series, it's probably because Gertrude is a much more memorable character. The Gertrude in the pilot actually seemed like a combo of Gertrude and Laura. She was recognizable as Aunt Gertrude but seemed a bit more motherly. If I was making a TV series and keeping production costs in mind I'd probably do the same thing.

Well, that makes sense. It's just still a shame to me that the character never made any appearance...though of course, it's not like Laura ever has had much of a big role in the books (save a few exceptions- Danger Zone in the Casefiles and Shhhhhhh! in the graphic novels come to mind)

And for the 1995 show- I do think it is worth seeing. I enjoy it pretty well. I'm sure you probably know already, but it is out on DVD- Amazon.ca seems to have some fairly reasonable prices for it...you might want to check at your local library- if they carry much TV series on DVD, it's possible they might have it... or you could request they get it anyway- might be another option for you if you can't really afford it right now. (I certainly understand that...)

[MacGyver]

Hey SDLAgent- since you've seen it, you can speak to this. Did you have any trouble with the audio levels? I'm wondering if it's been low volume for everyone or just some...

[SDLagent]

High, I did have trouble with it. Had to watch it with headphones in otherwise I couldn't hear it.

[MacGyver]

Okay- sorry about that then. The audio wasn't the greatest from the original source to begin with either... I'm not sure if I can do much to improve it...

[tomswift2002]

And for the 1995 show- I do think it is worth seeing. I enjoy it pretty well. I'm sure you probably know already, but it is out on DVD- Amazon.ca seems to have some fairly reasonable prices for it...you might want to check at your local library- if they carry much TV series on DVD, it's possible they might have it... or you could request they get it anyway- might be another option for you if you can't really afford it right now. (I certainly understand that...)

Canadian libraries might have it, considering that so far the only official release for the DVD was in Canada (which is a little odd, considering that for most shows Canada and the US get it released at the same time or the US gets it first followed by Canada).

[SDLagent]

Canadian libraries might have it, considering that so far the only official release for the DVD was in Canada (which is a little odd, considering that for most shows Canada and the US get it released at the same time or the US gets it first followed by Canada).

Well, it was produced by a Canadian company.

[tomswift2002]

Well, it was produced by a Canadian company.

That doesn't really mean anything, considering that Nelvana is well known throughout Canada and the US.  So even if kaBoom only had the Canadian rights, Nelvana could've always licensed the US rights to another distributor.