The Hardy Boys

r3nu4l

So how many of you read 'The Hardy Boys' by 'Franklin W. Dixon' when you were younger?

i used to love these books and devoured them any time I got one. Luckily for me, my uncles had a load of them in the early 70s and I inherited them later

One thing that struck me though. Those boys were knocked unconscious an awful lot. I hope they got brain scans to check for permanent damage!!

Do they still produce these books? Do kids/teenagers these days read them? I remember thinking on reading my first book...'I'll never go back to the Famous Five again'

John

I think I read most, if not all, of them. I don't know why, you read one of them and you know the plot of them all. Boys take on case, their dad takes on a case, it turns out to be the same case and they catch the smugglers.

MissRibena

I read these when I was a kid too. They were hugely popular in the Saturday morning library scrum. I agree with John that they were all the same, but a lot of the (granted not-very-high-brow) books I read as a kid were like this; Famous Five, Sweet Valley High (the shame!).

They tried to jazz them up at one stage by putting in 'interactive' multiple choice endings. At least I think they did because nobody else seems to remember them.

Amazotheamazing

Used to love them, I'm sure I read every one I could get my hands on but I doubt I read them all, I was always coming across new ones. Great reads, was hurt slightly when I found out there was no Franklin W. Dixon (which was only a few years ago, I must be very naive)

John

I didn't know until recently that he didn't exist either. Did anyone else read The Three Investigators? When I had exhausted The Hardy Boys (oo-er!) I moved on to them. Never was tempted by Nancy Drew though, I'm not a girl.

r3nu4l

Ah I was the same, I only found out years later that there was no FWD I did also read the Three Investigator's though and absolutely loved those books too

Similarly, I never copped that "Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators" didn't actually mean he wrote them.

Are any of these books still in print?

skelliser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcR-DQpuorE

it had to be done!

Corkfeen

Went through hardy boys and nancy drew as a kid but sure can barely remember anything about them now.:D

Red Hand

r3nu4l wrote: »

Ah I was the same, I only found out years later that there was no FWD I did also read the Three Investigator's though and absolutely loved those books too

Similarly, I never copped that "Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators" didn't actually mean he wrote them.

Are any of these books still in print?

I preffered The Three Investigators over the Hardy boys. Actually, there was a revival back in the late 90s with the Three Investigators portrayed as late teenagers...still decent books, though they were written in the 90s too, unlike the earlier ones.

LiamMc

Corkfeen wrote: »

Went through hardy boys and nancy drew as a kid but sure can barely remember anything about them now.:D

Were The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew related?

Was it North or South California their town 'Bayport'(?) was in?

By reading those books I improved my vocabulary with words like 'carport' and 'burly'.

Jacksquat

I read as many as the Hardy Boys and 3 Investigators as I could find. I remember how much I wanted a hidden headquarters like in the junkyard. I still do!!:p

BossArky

I grew up reading the Hardy Boys too. 2 books that stick in my mind are the Submarine Caper and the BlackWing(or Wig?) Puzzle.

Further info here.

Gryzor

First books i ever read. Got through about 20 of them. The name of the first one i read has always stuck with me, "The ghost at skeleton rock".

baalthor

Didn't they have a best friend called Chet Atkins - he was um "big boned" if I remember correctly and served as comic relief ?

I heard they made a newer version recently with the Hardys serving in some kind of special forces unit :eek:

r3nu4l

Jacksquat wrote: »

I read as many as the Hardy Boys and 3 Investigators as I could find. I remember how much I wanted a hidden headquarters like in the junkyard. I still do!!:p

Oh yeah, I'd have killed for a place like that and probably still would!

baalthor wrote: »

Didn't they have a best friend called Chet Atkins - he was um "big boned" if I remember correctly and served as comic relief ?

Yeah, Chet was 'chunky' alright He definitely was comic relief at it's finest.

sceptre

I've got to confess that I didn't realise there wasn't a Franklin W. Dixon till I read it lately somewhere. I only read the very odd Hardy boys book as a munchkin though, they weren't really my thing (and as I recall, the local library didn't have very many).

Read quite a few of the Three Investigators books though and quite liked them. Wasn't under any illusions that Alfred Hitchcock was writing them though.

uiscebeatha

The friend was Chet Morton (maybe Morten?), not Atkins. His sister Iola was Joe's gf. I remember the newer books too, after Iola got blown up by some terrorists they got involved with some Special Intelligence type people, the contact was "The gray man". I can't believe I remember all this.

scriba

I only read a few Hardy Boys, and while I liked them, they weren't a patch on the Three Investigators: Jupitus Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews (Records and Research!). They had the use of a Rolls, and a junkyard HQ - magic. I still have a few of them knocking around, I think I'll go read one.

Does anyone remember the mystery of the stuttering Parrot? to-to-to-be or not to be... and that's a lead pipe cinch.

Overature

I read them in my early teens a few years ago, i gause you never think of of the little details when your that age

Richard Roma

Their typical move in a fight was to punch the assialant in his Solar Plexus. They punched many a man in his Solar Plexus

Calina

Chet Atkins is a guitarist :-) Or was. I think he's dead now.

Chet's sister was Joe's girlfriend I seem to recall.

I used to get the odd one of these sent over from family in America. That and a series called Trixie Beldon. What I loved about them was how exotic they were to a kid in 1980s Ireland. I mean the thought that teenagers would have their own cars, and stuff. America was so far away...doesn't seem that way now with the internet and cable television.

Had forgotten about the Three Investigators. I may need to hit eBay.

aidanki

bringing up an old thread here here are these still in print, or downloadable even, haven't seen one for sale in about 10yrs


the casefiles were well written and refelected 21st century references to email and internet

and nancy drew was a fine piece of stuff

r3nu4l

aidanki wrote: »

bringing up an old thread here here are these still in print, or downloadable even, haven't seen one for sale in about 10yrs

EBay is probably your best bet.