The Hardy Boys
Critics have many explanations for the characters' longevity, suggesting that the Hardy Boys embody wish fulfillment,[3][4] American ideals of boyhood[5] and masculinity,[6] a well-respected father paradoxically argued to be inept in the later books,[7] and the possibility of the triumph of good over evil.
Among the authors who worked on the revised versions were Adams, Svenson, Buechler, Lilo Wuenn, Anne Shultes, Alistair Hunter, Tom Mulvey, Patricia Doll, and Priscilla Baker-Carr.
Grosset & Dunlap filed suit against the Syndicate and Simon & Schuster, citing "breach of contract, copyright infringement, and unfair competition"[33] and requesting $300 million in damages.
[36] The court ruled that Grosset had the rights to publish the original series of both Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys as they were in print in 1980, but did not own characters or trademarks.
[39] The early volumes, largely written by Leslie McFarlane, have been praised for their atmosphere and writing style, qualities often considered lacking in juvenile series books.
"[45] In these early titles, the boys are cynical about human nature, an attitude apparently justified when the police, whom they have repeatedly helped, throw them into jail on slim evidence in The Great Airport Mystery (1930).
[46] The police and authority figures, in general, come off poorly in these books, so much so that at one point Edward Stratemeyer wrote to McFarlane in order to reprimand him for a "grievous lack of respect for officers of the law.
"[47] The Hardys are less affluent than earlier Stratemeyer characters; they eagerly accept cash rewards largely to finance college educations, and, with their parents, strive to please their Aunt Gertrude, because she possesses a small fortune.
The early volumes have been called models of diversity for their day, since among the Hardys' friends are Phil Cohen, who is Jewish, and the Italian immigrant Tony Prito.
[15]African Americans are the targets of much racism, being depicted as unintelligent, lazy, and superstitious,[7] "bumpkin rescuers" at best and "secretive and conspiratorial villains" at worst.
[54] The revision project, which also encompassed the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, was sparked largely by letters that parents had been writing to Grosset & Dunlap since at least 1948, complaining about the prevalence of racial stereotypes in the books.
[59] For this reason, many commentators find the new versions nothing less than "eviscerated",[15] foremost among them being the first Hardy Boys ghostwriter, Leslie McFarlane, who agreed with a reporter's statement that the books had been "gutted.
The brothers were also featured in a few standalone books, such as The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories, and some crossover titles where they teamed up with other characters such as Nancy Drew or Tom Swift.
The Hardys' adventures have also been translated into over twenty-five languages, including Afrikaans, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Icelandic, Hebrew, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Malay, and Italian.
[79] In the late 1950s, Disney contracted with the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Grosset & Dunlap to produce two Hardy Boys TV serials, starring Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk.
[81] The script, written by Jackson Gillis, was based on the first Hardy Boys book, The Tower Treasure, and the serial was aired in 19 episodes of 15 minutes each with production costs of $5,700.
The Stratemeyer Syndicate conducted a survey, which revealed that the decline in sales was due to the perceived high cost of the books and to competition from television.
The pilot, based on The Mystery of the Chinese Junk, was aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on September 8, 1967, and starred Tim Matthieson (later Matheson) as Joe Hardy and Rick Gates as Frank.
[i] The show took note of current concerns; although aimed at a young audience, some plot lines dealt with illegal drugs, and the animated Frank and Joe spoke directly to children about not smoking and the importance of wearing seat belts.
The prime-time series starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy as Frank and Joe Hardy; Pamela Sue Martin and later Janet Louise Johnson played Nancy Drew.
The series featured original plots as well as ones based on Hardy Boys books, among them The Clue of the Screeching Owl, The Disappearing Floor and The Flickering Torch Mystery.
The series received an Emmy nomination and featured a number of guest stars, including Kim Cattrall, Ray Milland, Howard Duff, and Ricky Nelson.
In 1995, another TV adaptation, simply called The Hardy Boys, was produced by Canadian company Nelvana (normally an animation firm), syndicated by New Line Television,[90] and dubbed in French for airing in Quebec and France as well as in the United States.
The show lasted for only one season of 13 episodes due to poor ratings; a series based on Nancy Drew that ran alongside it in syndication suffered the same fate.
[91] Shot in Toronto, Hamilton, and other Southern Ontario locations, the 13 episodes were released on Hulu on December 4, 2020, in the United States and aired on YTV in Canada in 2021.
Several Hardy Boys video games have been released: In 1970 and 1972, Gold Key Comics put out four comic-book issues tied to the 1969/71 television series.
Del Col has been a lifelong fan of the characters and was successful in working with Simon & Schuster to secure the comic book rights and then pitch to publishers.
She is a pitch-perfect modernized femme fatale, who could hold her own up against any present-day Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, or the like.”[96] The Hardy Boys have been called "a cultural touchstone all over the world.
He has systems of information and data-gathering that put the FBI to shame, yet he is always losing his case notes, his ciphers, his microfilm, or some other valuable clue, usually by leaving it in his extra pair of pants, meaning that the Boys have to drive to Canada or Florida or somewhere to retrieve it.
"[j] The Hardy Boys series teaches readers that "although the world can be an out-of-control place, good can triumph over evil, that the worst problems can be solved if we each do our share and our best to help others.
