The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure

The Disney Studio may have been family-oriented, but they sure knew how to bore into the inner recesses of our little 6-year old brains whene the need arose.

Thurl Ravenscroft's cavernous bass and the skeletal arms and hands (the film being run slightly faster than normal), and the empty, cobweb-laced treasure chest (along with the pirate montage shown during the song..was enough to scare the poop outta' me back in the fabulous summers of '56 and '57. Beautiful times, except for the occasional pit-of-the-stomach terror such as this (which, in a way, added to the fun). LR.

We bought this "disney treasure" and took it to our lake house to watch with our children over summer vacation.

We will always remember the summer we watched the Mystery of the Applegate Treasure. We looked forward, each evening, to the next episode. So much fun. It is the end of the summer and they are still singing the theme song. I know it will be a sweet memory for years come. I wish there were more shows like this to experience together as a family. We ALL enjoyed it!

With so much "junk" out there, it was so refreshing to watch something that both our children and ourselves could really enjoy.

This serial was still airing in reruns about a decade later. "Gold doubloons and pieces of eight / Handed down from Applegate / From buccaneers who fought for years / For gold doubloons and pieces of eight." At least part of that is right, I'm sure. Then there was, "Yo-ho-ho, the wind blows free / Oh, for a life on the roaring sea." The late Thurl Ravenscroft may have been one of the singing voices.

My personal memories of Disney in connection with adventure are primarily confined to comic books rather than television. At the time I saw this serial (when it and I both already were almost 10 years old), I was into Carl Barks's Uncle Scrooge comics, and sometimes the Mickey Mouse comics of the adventure-serial variety, where Mickey wore a red suit. I wouldn't mind seeing this story again to see how it compares against other Disney adventures I loved that were presented to me in another form.

I remember in the mid 1970's in Northern Ohio they showed reruns of the 1950's 'Mickey Mouse Club' tv show. There was a 1950's nostalgia/revival following 'American Grafiti' (1973) and 'Happy Days' (1974) and Disney shrewdly cashed in by presenting this great show to a whole new audience. I remember this particular series from watching those very reruns of MMC. I didn't see all of the serial at the time but I saw enough episodes to appreciate the Hardy Boys and I actually started reading and collecting the series of fine Hardy Boys books by 'Franklin W Dixon'. Re-watching it today,from start to finish (in one sitting to boot!) may not be for everyone but I enjoyed it quite a bit! I read that this was made with a very low budget-but they got a lot for their money,and it is not bad in any major way at all. The two main actors that play the Hardy Boys are Tommy Kirk and Tim Considine. Kirk went on to a long and solid career in other Disney projects,beach movies,and many other lighthearted and fun movies. Mr Tim Considine had a busy career also as an actor in early seasons of 'My 3 sons' and went on to a long successful tv career. The lucky guy Considine was married to the lovely and beautiful 'Meredith MacRae',who played the blonde sweetie on the 'Petticoat Junction' tv show. Both of the 'Hardy Boys' in this series do a good job with their parts I say. Sure,there are always things to pick at in any show but as this show was shown originally,in 15-minute increments,there is not a lot to complain about. If you watch it like I did,all at once,all the overlap between episodes can be a bit much but I must keep in mind that this was not made or intended to be watched all at once. The overlap was necessary to keep long-time viewers focused and also so that people that tuned in to the series in the middle of it could get some idea of at least what happened in the preceding episode. This is a fine serial and well worth seeing.

I never heard of these two individuals, till now and so to me they are still kids. I binge watched Annette and the Hardy Boys. Tim is a beautiful boy - incredibly poised as an actor and I am sure he went on to do great things with his career. I would have guessed he would be leading man in many movies. I was totally wowed by Tommy Kirks ability to hit the role on target , ever time , with flare and precision. His mannerisms in the Hardy Boys were just incredible .That kid is 100% boy. Watching him run around over joyed to see his dad- so excited about the mystery case.. and then being let down was the most amazing acting. The other kids I fell in love with in Annette were that little boy steady and that little girl fawning all over him. What a total ham bone! I would have guessed these 2 got married in real life. I love the entire case of both series and Annette was just darling. The talent, singing and comedy are stunning. They dont make kids like that today. Well, got to go now. Tim and Tommy, just found something in someone's shoe - lets see what they will do next, they seem very excited about this.