I have childhood fragments of a ( not terribly traumatic) show that I have no idea how to go about researching. I don't believe this was a movie but a series, and I know it from a teacher wheeling a TV into a room and playing either a cable feed or VHS tape. This would have been early 1980s probably pre-1983.
I recall a show with a boarding school for genius kids who solved mysteries and/or fought crime. There was a team of them of mixed ages, mostly white I believe they had a token African-American kid. One kid I believe wore glasses, which we know indicates he must have been Very Smart Indeed.
I recall these kids having what seemed unusually large beds in a housing situation with a pretty awesome timbered roof/attic area, and I recall there being some form of "secret" compartment behind one or more headboards where at least one kid kept crimefighting gear Batcave style.
To the best of my recollection, the kids weren't superheroes of any sort, they were just smart and foiled crime Scooby-Doo style. Maybe they were in an orphanage?! I recall no plots, but I feel like this was a series I only saw one or two episodes of, not a movie.
Any help is welcome. This has bothered me for years.
Thanks Chris! Could it be THE RED HAND GANG?
Could it be "The Bloodhound Gang" from the PBS edutainment series 3-2-1 Contact? (Yes, the band Bloodhound Gang named themselves after this series.)
It's a movie and not a series, but this sounds like one of my favs — The Double McGuffin (1979)
https://youtu.be/4r15ptBkw0s
bdwilcox – The Bloodhound Gang crossed my mind as well, but I remember them as being working-class street kids, not students at a gifted school. That wouldn’t necessarily rule them out, though. It’s been so long since I watched that show as a kid, that I don’t recall all of the details.
I also remember one of the gang also played one of the Warriors in that movie.
Thanks so much for posting my (not actual) Trauma & for the answers. I tend to think zombiefreak got it right with The Double McGuffin, largely because of the secret compartment in the globe. IIRC they had secret compartments all over their living area.
It's possible I misremembered the movie as a series because if I saw it in school it was probably broken across more than one day/class.
Thanks again, I can use that chunk of my brain for something else now!
That's great Chris! So glad you found it!
And Thanks so much ZombieFreak! I never heard of that one. Excellent work!
I'm glad you found your answer. The other TV show you might be thinking of with the kids solving crimes is "Powerhouse," which featured a multiracial cast of kids who solved crimes. One of them was a brainy kid who wore glasses.
As far as The Warriors, Marcelino Sanchez (the guy who played Rembrandt the graffiti artist) was on The Bloodhound Gang.