When I was a lad so many years ago I was one who read the Hardy Boys series of books about those young adult detectives Frank and Joe Hardy. I was intrigued to see an independent film based on the stories and more importantly set in the time they were written.
A group of young players shot this around the college campus of where they attended school. The film concerns our young heroes combating a Nazi spy ring in of all places Hollywood where at Swift Laboratories they are developing a secret weapon which could alter the course of World War II.
I can't apply a professional standard to this production. It's in black and white, the cinematography is not the best. But the amateur cast is a winning one. I really did like the performance of the young man who played Chet Morton the Hardy's best friend. In the books Chet is a stout fellow and this young man wasn't. But he's got a great line about him that serves him well as a con man.
Other juvenile series of the time are brought in, the laboratories of scientist Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, and even a long forgotten series about record setting pilot Ted Scott.
Take The Hardy Boys film for what it is, an earnest amateur film. I've seen professional films that rated far worse.
