The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure

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.

Even though these good-natured Hardy Boys' episodes (which were regularly featured on TV's "Mickey Mouse Club") are somewhat silly and strictly juvenile in their story-lines, they are still sure to be of some interest to anyone who might be a nostalgia-buff for 1950's television programs, especially light-hearted ones of mystery and comedy.

Set in the small, middle-class town of Bayport, N.Y. - Join 13 year-old Frank Hardy and his gung-ho, 12 year-old bro', Joe, as the suspense and drama unfolds and our 2 amateur detectives (along with their friends and family) search for vital clues that will reveal the truth behind "The Mystery Of The Applegate Treasure". (Wow! It sure sounds exciting, eh!)

So, sit back, relax, and see just why this highly-popular kiddies' show thrilled television's first generation of children and still continues to thrill audiences to this very day.

Filmed in b&w, each of these 19 episodes (dating from 1956-1957) has a running time of approx. 12 minutes. This 2-DVD set also contains some interesting bonus material.

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.

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.

Disney's 16-episode serial "The Hardy Boys": "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure" (1956) is based on Franklin W. Dixon's (aka Edward Stratemeyer) "The Tower Treasure"- the first of many "Hardy Boys" books. It was the first of two "Hardy Boy" serials produced by Disney (originally broadcast during October 1956) for its "Mickey Mouse Club" show; which was broadcast from 5PM-6PM each weekday. The one-hour show was broken into four segments with this sort of serial taking up one of these 15-minute segments The "Spin and Marty" serials were also used for this purpose.

As in the books, Frank (Tim Considine) and Joe (Tommy Kirk) are the teenage sons of Fenton Hardy (Russ Conway), a private detective. Following in their father's footsteps the two boys are looking for a pirate's treasure supposedly hidden in the Applegate Mansion in their neighborhood. The series has a cool theme song (see below). Despite the song there are no pieces of eight. They were one ounce Spanish silver coins, worth 8 reales, or half of a gold dubloon.

Frank and Joe are assisted by Joe's girlfriend Iola (Carole Ann Campbell) and hindered by their Aunt Gertrude who is looking after them while their father is out of town.

The Applegate mansion is a spooky looking house and when the boys finally meet the owner he confirms that there really is a treasure, given to his grandfather by LaFitte the pirate as repayment for when he burned the Applegate plantation. His grandfather hid the treasure and no one has been able to find it since.

The story has gold doubloons and crooks, and Iola gets a lot of scream queen moments. "Applegate's Treasure" was my personal favorite of all the MMC serials. The only drawback is that it was a rather complex mystery with a lot of misdirection, and having to watch it in a cliffhanger serial format was extremely frustrating. No sooner had they cleared up the suspense from the last episode than something would happen and they would break off- telling you tune in for the next episode. But we were hooked and faithfully tuned in day after day. A lot of family plans were altered during this time so as to not interfere with daily viewing.

Watching it now I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the performances by the child actors; especially Campbell and Kirk. The serial is definitely several notches above "Spin & Marty" in what was demanded of the cast, and for the most part they come through.

The DVD has some nice special features including a 2006 interview with Considine and Kirk in the Disney Studio where the serial was filmed. Also included is the entire (hour-long) MMC episode in which it premiered. It was a Monday, which was "Fun With Music Day", and Darlene does a lengthy song and dance number with Bobby.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

"Gold dubloons and pieces of eight, handed down to Applegate? From buccaneers who fought for years for gold dubloons and pieces of eight. Handed down in a pirate chest, the gold they sailed for east and west. The treasure bright that made men fight, till none were left to bury the chest. So now the gold and pieces of eight all belong to Applegate. The chest is here but wait...now where are those gold dubloons and pieces of eight?"