Product Description
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Honey West (Anne Francis), and glamorous female private
eye, was something of a trendsetter, she was one of television's
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 ing business from her late her, 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 ,
tear 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.
.com
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"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 her's Los Angeles detective agency with hot-headed Sam
(John Ericson), a former junior partner, who provided her with
such Bondian gadgets as tear 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 kipped 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 ("When your her 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