Harry Kane and The Secret of Terror Castle

In the late summer of 2004, I was able to purchase some pieces from the Harry Kane collection. I first viewed some of these pieces in the late summer of 2003 and was immediately struck by one drawing in particular that was taken from The Secret of Terror Castle. I stared at this sketch several times to make sure that I was seeing it right. Was it possible? Was Kane's intention really to draw a picture of Hitchcock in the first illustration of Terror Castle? Of course, it was easy to see what had happened.

Kane realized that the most powerful scene in the early pages of Terror Castle was the scene in which Jupiter Jones does an impersonation of Alfred Hitchcock. It's a scene that is remembered worldwide as the scene whereby the Three Investigators get permission from Alfred Hitchcock to find a haunted house for him. Kane thus drew a rendition of that scene. Sadly, it would not make it into the final book. The editor (Walter Retan) made a note on the sketch pointing out the logistical nightmare associated with illustrating Hitchcock. Apparently, Hitchcock required that all likenesses of him be approved, and Retan did not want to slow down production of the book just to get Hitchcock's approval. Therefore, the illustration was changed, at Retan's suggestion, to the familiar scene where Jupiter impersonates Hitchcock at the studio gate.

The original picture itself it quite interesting. First, there's the rendition of Jupiter and Pete, which is consistent with the other illustrations in the first two books. It's strange to see both boys carrying hats in this drawing, since hats do not appear in any drawings of the boys elsewhere. We can probably attribute the hats to the fact that the boys were formally dressed when they went to see Hitchcock.

Obviously, this sketch has a unique place in the Three Investigators history as the preliminary first sketch of the first scene in the first book of the series. That, coupled with the nature of the drawing itself, makes it a greatly appreciated piece for me.

You can view a photo of the entire drawing below by clicking on the thumbnail. Also, you can see close-ups of the notes from Retan and the actual drawing itself.