Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 17, 1965, to April 8, 1966, as an entry in the 1965–1966 television season. Based upon a series of novels that had launched in 1957, the series starred Anne Francis as female private detectiveHoney West and John Ericson as her partner Sam Bolt. It was the first network TV series whose title was the name of a female lead character (the syndicated Annie Oakley had a similar distinction in its category a decade earlier).
Thirty half-hour episodes were produced. Historians today sometimes call the show "ground-breaking" due its portrayal of the female lead.
The Honey West character was created by Gloria and Forrest E. "Skip" Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling" in the late 1950s. Skip had been a United States Army Air Forcesair gunner during World War II, then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve after the war, when he was called back into active service during the Korean War.[1] The G.G. represented the initials of his wife, Gloria Gautraud, whom he married in 1949, with initials used so the sex of the author would remain vague. Though Gloria said that most of the writing was done by Forrest, Forrest said Gloria's ideas were used to make a plausible female character, with Gloria also providing Honey's dress sense. Forrest told the Los Angeles Times, "I first thought of Marilyn Monroe, and then I thought of [fictional detective] Mike Hammer and decided to put the two together ... We thought the most used name for someone you really like is Honey. And she lives in the West, so there was her name."[2]
West was one of the first female "private eyes" to appear on television. Francis first played West in the second-season episode of Burke's Law, entitled "Who Killed the Jackpot?", broadcast on April 21, 1965, which led to this series being commissioned as a spin-off. West drove a Jaguar convertible in the Burke's Law episode and was twice referred to as the "private eyeful". She carried a gun and was trained in martial arts. Honey West was intended to be the American equivalent of characters Cathy Gale and Emma Peel in the British series The Avengers.
Producer Aaron Spelling's first choice for the role of Honey was Honor Blackman, whom he had seen in England playing Cathy Gale on The Avengers and as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Blackman turned down the role.[3] Anne Francis' fashions in the Honey role were by Nolan Miller,[4] and her action scenes choreographed by Gene LeBell.[5] The series was developed for television by Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov, writers of several Burke's Law episodes.
Synopsis
As in the Burke's Law episode introducing her, West has a partner and man-Friday, Sam Bolt (John Ericson), who communicates with Honey via a radio hidden in her lipstick case. In the television series, she keeps a pet ocelot named Bruce. (In "The Fun-Fun Killer", which originally aired on March 4, 1966, the series Daktari, set in Africa, is showing on Honey's TV and Honey asks, "Oh Bruce, why do we always have to watch your show?")
Honey's alluring feline qualities were reflected in her animal-print wardrobe and apartment decor. For sneaking around at night and engaging in energetic fight scenes, she wears a black fabric bodystocking reminiscent of Emma Peel's leather jumpsuit. Like Peel's Lotus Elan sports car, Honey's similar-looking AC Cobra convertible emphasized her independence and vitality. Although the racy content of the novels was excised for television, West often went on solo undercover missions that required a provocative or revealing outfit.
She uses a number of James Bond–like gimmicks: a high-tech surveillance van, an exploding compact, a garter-belt gas mask, and tear-gas earrings. West is a black-belt in judo, as is Sam, who is an ex-Marine.
Some episodes of this series, including the final one, were scripted by Richard Levinson and William Link, who would later be affiliated with such noted series as Columbo and Murder, She Wrote.[6] Episode 3, "The Abominable Snowman", has a plot where cocaine is being smuggled inside snow globes, and is one of the earliest references in popular TV culture to cocaine as "snow".
A wheelchair-bound paraplegic may be behind the murder of his own nurse.
19
"It's Earlier Than You Think"
James H. Brown
Marc Brandel
January 21, 1966 (1966-01-21)
6446
A newspaper with a front page story about Lincoln's assassination, a murder victim's cryptic statement, and three men claiming to be the dead man's brother draw Honey into her most baffling case yet.
A thief recruits Honey and Sam to put back the money he stole from his own department store. Note: The scene of Honey posing as a mannequin was inspired by The Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours", which starred Anne Francis.
21
"Like Visions and Omens and All That Jazz"
John Florea
Tony Barrett
February 4, 1966 (1966-02-04)
6448
A psychic's predictions endanger the life of a young heiress.
22
"Don't Look Now, But Isn't That Me"
James H. Brown
Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov
February 11, 1966 (1966-02-11)
6444
A woman disguised as Honey frames her for a series of robberies. Note: Anne Francis plays both Honey West and the impostor, Pandora.
23
"Come to Me, My Litigation Baby"
Thomas Carr
Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov
February 18, 1966 (1966-02-18)
6450
A gang of criminals are committing insurance fraud by faking accidents.
24
"Slay, Gypsy, Slay"
James H. Brown
Tony Barrett
February 25, 1966 (1966-02-25)
6454
When a rich man is kidnapped by a band of gypsies, things are not what they appear to be.
25
"The Fun-Fun Killer"
Murray Golden
Arthur Weingarten
March 4, 1966 (1966-03-04)
6458
The owner of a toy factory, and a researcher at the factory's testing lab have both been murdered by a life-sized robot.
Aunt Meg can't understand why thieves stole a can of chicken gumbo that she just bought at the supermarket.
27
"Little Green Robin Hood"
Sidney Miller
Ken Kolb
March 18, 1966 (1966-03-18)
6456
A man suffers from delusions about being Robin Hood.
28
"Just the Bear Facts, Ma'am"
James H. Brown
Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov
March 25, 1966 (1966-03-25)
6462
Honey and Sam look into criminal activity on a movie set where they're working as stunt doubles.
29
"There's a Long, Long, Fuse A'Burning"
Thomas Carr
Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov
April 1, 1966 (1966-04-01)
6468
An ex-convict realizes criminals are framing him for robberies by setting off explosives.
30
"An Eerie, Airy, Thing"
James H. Brown
Richard Levinson & William Link
April 8, 1966 (1966-04-08)
6466
George Forbes is discovered on the ledge of a hotel, calling out for his wife, Diana. Trouble is, she's been murdered.
Reception
Honey West was cancelled after just one season. This came down to two factors: competition from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and financial considerations. ABC executives reportedly decided it would be cheaper to import The Avengers and air it in the same time slot rather than produce Honey West at a significantly steeper price.[7] Nonetheless, Francis received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Best Actress Emmy for her performance, winning for the former.
The series was rerun in the late 1990s as part of TV Land's inaugural lineup, and occasionally aired on Decades, now Catchy TV.
Home media
In 2006, Delta Home Entertainment released the entire series on Region 0 DVD in the UK.[8]
VCI Entertainment issued a North American Region 1 DVD release of the series in September 2008.[9]
Print adaptations
Gold Key Comics issued a one-shot comic book adaptation of the television series in 1966, scripted by Paul S. Newman, with artwork by Jack Sparling. Overlook Press published Honey West - This Girl For Hire, a novel, in 2005. From 2010-2013, Moonstone (comics) produced Honey West comics, a hardcover novel, and a two paperbacks. BearManor Media, in 2011, published a profusely illustrated 228-page tribute to the series, examining it in detail with interviews of the surviving cast members, and listings of websites, addresses, bibliographies, episode synopses, and an appendix.[10]
References
^Niebuhr, Gary Warren (2005). "Honey West: A fresh look". Mysteryfile.com. Steve Lewis. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
