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Honey West
"Try to get HONEY WEST in here if you can. Based on the character from a series of fairly risque paperbacks and spun off into her own show after a guest-starring role on BURKE'S LAW, Honey (Anne Francis) was something of a trendsetter, one of television's first liberated females. "Despite fairly healthy ratings, ABC canceled the show after
one season. Their rationale was that they had just acquired the American
rights to THE AVENGERS and that one sexy,karate-kicking female per network
was all their viewers would believe. Hey, it was the Sixties."
Honey
West
was a sly mixture of 'Man From Uncle' and '77 Sunset Strip' from the
Four-Star studios, with episodes produced by a young Aaron Spelling
and written by TV's finest writers, William Link and Richard Levinson
('Rockford Files', 'Columbo', 'Murder She Wrote').
"Honey West' has
its tongue planted firmly in cheek, but was out of step by 1965 - Warner
Brothers' private eye shows had fallen out of favor for more gimmicky
shows like 'Lost in Space' and 'Batman'.
Anne Francis really
delivered as the high-kicking PI.
She was so effective because she never overplayed the character, as
was the style of the day. This actress displayed an unmatched, unmistakable
aura of cool that captivated the boys and started little girls of the
Sixties thinking about what they might want to be when they grew up.
Even when the stories
fell flat, those great Four-Star (from Warner Brothers) shows from the
Sixties were entertaining to watch - top notch production values, attention
to stylistic detail, superior art direction, music and main titles gave
new meaning to style over substance as it applied to television.
Honey
West was first featured on an episode of 'Burke's Law', also
a Four-Star Studios show.
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TV on DVD
Honey West was one of television's first liberated gals - she called her own shots and she was her own boss. |
Honey
(Anne Francis) inherited her spying business from her dad, a top private
eye. She also got his partner in the deal, rough and tumble (of course,
handsome) Sam Bolt, played by John Ericson. There was a simmering attraction
between the partners, but Honey West's only true love was adventure
- and her pet ocelot, Bruce.
Honey
West was a judo/karate master that tooled around town in a cool little
white sportscar like a super-sixties Barbie doll, complete with scarves,
sunglasses and leopard-print coats (costumes by Nolan Miller, later
of 'Dynasty' fame). She even had her own mobile spy unit disguised as
a TV repair truck and high-tech mini-cameras and microphones (thirty
years early!). Don't break up with this chick!
Even
though Honey was more than a match for her many opponents, her most
deadly foe turned out to be 'Gomer Pyle' over on CBS - he proved fatal
to her ratings.
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