Honey West: The Complete Series (Fullscreen B&W)

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Honey West (Anne Francis), sensual and glamorous female private eye, was something of a trendsetter, she was one of televisions first liberated females. In an era when actresses were restrained to sedate housewives and girlfriend roles, this series marked an exceptional and original departure. In 1965 the character was introduced to television audiences in a Burke s Law episode, Who Killed the Jackpot? and true to form, Honey outwitted the suave detective played by Gene Barry. Producer Aaron Spelling spun the character off into a separate thirty-minute series which premiered in the fall of 1965. Honey West was the first dramatic TV show with a female star in an action-adventure role. In the show, Honey inherited her spying business from her late father, a top private eye. She also got his partner in the deal, rough and handsome Sam Bolt, played by John Ericson. There was a strong attraction between the partners, but Honey West s only true love was the thrill of adventure - and her pet ocelot, Bruce. In addition to being television s first modern, independent, self-sufficient woman, Honey frequently engaged in fight scenes and shootouts. She was expert at judo and held a black belt in karate. She is also the first character, male or female, on U.S. television to use martial arts as self-defense. A la James Bond, she also owned an arsenal of weapons filled with scientific gadgets including an exploding compact, a garter belt gas mask, teargas earrings and a lipstick microphone. Although short-lived, this series broke the mold and paved the way for future female action heroines such as The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Bionic Woman, and Alias."A girl s place is in the home." Someone forgot to tell Honey West (Anne Francis), a "private eye-ful" unlike any character American television had ever seen. Created in the 1950s by Skip and Gloria Fickling for a series of steamy pulp fictions, Honey was introduced on TV in an episode of Burke s Law, in which she matched wits with Gene Barry s playboy chief of homicide (that would have been a nice extra in this set). A woman of exotic charms, Honey was seriously sexy, glamorously outfitted, proficient in karate and judo, and kept a pet ocelot. Who wouldn t want to see her in her own weekly series? Honey ran her late father s Los Angeles detective agency with hot-headed Sam (John Ericson), a former junior partner, who provided her with such Bondian gadgets as tear gas earrings and an radio transmitter disguised as a martini olive. The first episode, "The Swingin Mrs. Jones" establishes the show s cool vibe and cult appeal. Honey sets herself up at a resort as "blackmail bait." And over the course of the 30 episodes, it only gets hotter, as Honey pursues a gang of thieves that includes a Honey look-alike (and is fronted by Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flintstone!), solves the mystery of a kidnapped rock and roll musician (Bobby Sherman), protects a woman receiving death threats, and foils an insurance fraud scam (in the award-winning episode, "The Grey Lady," written by future Columbo collaborators William Link and Richard Levinson). Along the way, she inevitably runs afoul of the police ("When your father was head of the agency, I never had any trouble") or enrages Sam with her impulsive actions. The cleverly plotted half hour black-and-white episodes feature witty dialogue, jazzy scores (dig the accordion!), and great action (Honey is a knockout in more ways than one). By 1965, when Honey West premiered, spies and detectives rivaled cowboys in popularity. Honey was the first female detective to front her own series, and certainly the first detective to be spied luxuriating in a bubble bath. Honey West only ran one season. For this, we can reportedly blame the top-rated Gomer Pyle and the arrival on the same network of The Avengers, with Diana Rigg s Emma Peel. But Honey West still delivers retro kicks. As one high society hostess remarks to Honey in one episode, "You re welcome at any party of mine." --Donald Liebenson

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