The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ('70s) - General Discussion

[Jan Spears]

I couldn't find a standalone topic dealing with The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries series from the 1970s so I thought I would create one!

I watched "The Mystery of Pirate's Cove" this weekend. (This was the first Nancy Drew episode of Season 1 and the second episode of the season after the Hardy Boys adventure, "The Mystery of the Haunted House".) In "Pirate's Cove," Nancy and her friends George and Ned see a light shining out of a long-abandoned lighthouse. Is the lighthouse haunted? Or is something else afoot?

The two best things this nifty little detective story has going for it are (1) Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy, and (2) the strong sense of atmosphere that comes from this episode having been filmed in and around an actual lighthouse. In her debut as Nancy, Martin is very believable as the smart, resourceful detective who knows that something isn't quite right at the lighthouse even though everyone around her is trying to convince her otherwise. The location shooting at a lighthouse (both inside and outside) on the Pacific coast adds to the atmosphere as do the shots of the immensity of the Pacific in the background.

On the down side, some of the supporting characters are off-model when compared to their characterizations in the books (as they were up to that point.) Ned in particular is different from his book counterpart and exists mostly to make Nancy look good in comparison.

Looking forward to the Season 2 two-parter, "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula". I watch it every Halloween season!

[Jan Spears]

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula: Part 1 (Original Air Date: September 11, 1977)

Summary: Frank and Joe Hardy head to Europe in search of their missing father, Fenton. They soon encounter Nancy Drew, who is working with Fenton Hardy to investigate a recent series of art thefts. All roads lead to Transylvania, where a televised music festival will be taking place at the historical Dracula's castle. (Headlining the festival is rock star "Allison Troy" [Paul Williams]. Also performing at the Dracula festival are The Circus, led by Elton John's songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, as "Tim".) Once Frank, Joe, Nancy and Nancy's friend, Bess, arrive at the castle/festival, a strange series of events occurs. Is Dracula the culprit?

This two-part Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew team-up kicked off Season Two of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. I remember watching this two-parter when I was young, and I was so impressed that it was being filmed in Transylvania. Watching this episode as an adult, I have to laugh at my younger self because "Dracula's castle" and "Transylvania" were clearly sets on the Universal Studio lot, where ABC filmed both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series.

That being said, there's a lot of old-fashioned 70s television goodness to enjoy in the first part of this two-parter. The episode isn't scary but the Dracula's castle sets, with their secret passageways, are fun in a Scooby Doo kind of way. A televised rock festival with Paul Williams as the headliner is amusing given that 1977 was the year punk rock was at its highwater mark. But the 'Dracula's Festival' concept provides the perfect excuse for Shaun Cassidy (as Joe) to get up on stage to sing some of his then-popular songs. Parker Stevenson (as Frank) and Pamela Sue Martin (as Nancy) have good chemistry with one another, and Nancy is in full action mode here. Action Nancy is the always the best Nancy.

Finally, I have to mention the numerous shots of "Dracula," which consist of close-ups of his (admittedly cool) boots while he walks menacingly through the castle. Given the overabundance of boot shots, someone involved in the production may have had a footwear fetish!

Review of Part 2 to come . . . 

[Egg McMuffin]

17 hours ago, Jan Spears said:

This two-part Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew team-up kicked off Season Two of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. 

The beginning of the end of Pamela Sue Martin’s tenure on the show. She quit the show midseason because the show cut down on the number of solo Nancy Drew episodes in favor of team-up shows, and that violated her contract. They brought in another actress to finish up the last few team-up episodes, and then the character was dropped for the last season.

[Jan Spears]

5 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

The beginning of the end of Pamela Sue Martin’s tenure on the show. She quit the show midseason because the show cut down on the number of solo Nancy Drew episodes in favor of team-up shows, and that violated her contract. They brought in another actress to finish up the last few team-up episodes, and then the character was dropped for the last season.

The handwriting was on the wall in the season opener when Pamela Sue Martin didn't appear in the stylized opening credits along with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson. Instead, she was first billed as a guest star at the start of the episode itself. 

Martin recovered nicely, though, as she started shooting the pilot for Dynasty in 1980. She would play the part of Fallon Carrington for the first four seasons of the show (1981-84) and, in another instance of her good timing, left the show before it became a caricature of itself. Better to leave a little before it leaves you . . . 

[Jan Spears]

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula: Part 2 (Original Air Date: September 18, 1977)

Summary: As the televised rock festival continues at Dracula's castle, "vampiric attacks" begin occurring in the nearby town. While sleeping in her room at the local inn, Nancy is forced to fend off an attack by a vampire bat.

Part 1 of this two-parter was heavy on set-up but this second part is all action. Nancy battling the vampire bat is a highlight although it must be said that the bat itself isn't that far removed from the ones you would have seen on Dark Shadows ten years earlier. (Speaking of Dark Shadows, one of the extras dancing at the festival is dressed as the Barnabas Collins who began showing his actual age during the 1967 storyline. One ABC show saluting another, I suppose.)

Otherwise, every old-time vampire movie cliche is trotted out - a coffin, wreaths of garlic, angry townspeople, a sinister, caped figure casting shadows around town, a secret room at the castle. And it all works!

The ending scared me when I saw it as a kid although now it brings a smile to my face.

Finally, the close-ups of Dracula's boots while he walks around the castle and the town continue unabated in this episode. It would make for a great drinking game - drink every time there's a close-up of Dracula's cool boots!

[Jan Spears]

The Hardy Boys - The House on Possessed Hill (Original Air Date: January 22, 1978)

Summary: Joe comes to the aid of a mysterious young woman (played by a very young Melanie Griffith) who leads him to an abandoned old house (in actuality, the house from Psycho). Once there, he discovers that the young woman has a strong affinity for the supernatural and believes the house is alive. Frank and Joe have to figure out why the young woman is drawn to the house. Is it truly alive and trying to claim her? Or is something else at work?

This is a nifty ‘dark, old house’ episode from Season 2. The house is wonderfully atmospheric and there are numerous supernatural occurrences (or are there?). Frank and Joe are forced to work with an atypical ‘client’ (the Griffith character) who possesses the gift of precognition and believes she can communicate with the house. Normally, I’m not a fan of Melanie Griffith’s breathy, childlike voice but here it actually works for her character, who is supposed to be in a regressive state.

The downside to this episode is that it almost attempts to do too much in 48 minutes. Trying to juggle the female lead’s supernatural gifts and childhood trauma, the mystery of whether the house is actually haunted or not, and a routine Hardy Boys crime investigation leads to a bit of a muddle at points. The crime subplot, in particular, is confusing and I had to think through it because what was depicted and shown didn’t make matters self-evident.

The best part is the ending, which is strongly reminiscent of the ending to The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula – Part 2. That episode suggests that the supernatural is an objectively real phenomenon. In The House on Possessed Hill, there is no dispute on this point – the supernatural nature of the house is shown as being real as the audience sees certain things that the characters don’t. (It also builds on what was implied in the Dracula episode – that Joe has a greater affinity for the supernatural than Frank does.)