There is some confusion on the database about this production. It is listed twice, as separate episodes of the "Mickey Mouse Club"; once as "The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm" (1956) and again as "The Mystery of Ghost Farm" (????). Both are incorrectly classified as TV Episodes and both refer to the same thing, a 15-episode serial that was first shown as a part of the MMC's 1957-58 season, the same concept as serials like "Spin and Marty", "Annette", and "Corky and White Shadow". This was the club's third and final season. It had been cut back to just a half hour running time so these 12 minute serials took up even more of the show's format.
As in the first "The Hardy Boys" serial ("The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure") (1955), "Ghost Farm" is based on characters from Franklin W. Dixon's books: teen brother detectives Frank and Joe Hardy (Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk) who try to solve the mystery of a haunted farm where the farmer has died and left no one to care for his livestock. The animals are mostly old and sick as the farmer had run a sort of shelter for discarded farm animals, including a very mean Billy Goat named "Billy". Frank and Joe discover a plan to destroy the animals and try to prevent this from happening.
A ghost assists the boys as they work to prevent the acceptance of a false inheritance claim by a relative of the farmer. Iola Morton (Carole Ann Campbell) has a thing for Joe who is not yet interested in the attentions of girls.
The "Ghost Farm" mystery was not as good as the earlier "Applegate's Treasure" but was still very entertaining. The abandoned house was not particularly spooky and the ghost was obviously sympathetic and therefore not particularly scary.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
As in the first "The Hardy Boys" serial ("The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure") (1955), "Ghost Farm" is based on characters from Franklin W. Dixon's books: teen brother detectives Frank and Joe Hardy (Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk) who try to solve the mystery of a haunted farm where the farmer has died and left no one to care for his livestock. The animals are mostly old and sick as the farmer had run a sort of shelter for discarded farm animals, including a very mean Billy Goat named "Billy". Frank and Joe discover a plan to destroy the animals and try to prevent this from happening.
A ghost assists the boys as they work to prevent the acceptance of a false inheritance claim by a relative of the farmer. Iola Morton (Carole Ann Campbell) has a thing for Joe who is not yet interested in the attentions of girls.
The "Ghost Farm" mystery was not as good as the earlier "Applegate's Treasure" but was still very entertaining. The abandoned house was not particularly spooky and the ghost was obviously sympathetic and therefore not particularly scary.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.