We must be the same ages (67), I also was 8 in 1965. Born on Christmas 1956 ( 2 months early celebrated entry !) the same year she was in that other male heart trob Sci-Fi first time Sx classic Forbidden Planet, as Altera, ithose 2 mini dresses !!
I was 6 yrs. old in 65 and this was my first real look at what sexy looked like. That long black dress she wore and her beautiful blonde hair was striking and certainly enough to get my attention . I became a fan
Ace in the Hole, with Kirk Douglas, is another good one for camera work....especially the final scene. I have no idea how it got passed tha movie censors of the time. It's pretty graphic.
Also "Summer Holiday" (1948), "Portrait of Jennie" (1948 - uncredited), "So Young, So Bad" (1950), "Lydia Bailey" (1952), "A Lion Is In The Streets" (1953), "Susan Slept Here" (1954), "Rogue Cop" (1954), "Bad Day At Black Rock" (1955), "Battle Cry" (1955), "Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "The Rack" (1956), "The Hired Gun" (1957), "The Crowded Sky" (1960), "Girl of the Night" (1960), "Brainstorm" (1965), and "Funny Girl" (1968). I'll leave it to someone else to add the pertinent made-for-TV movies.......
I loved it too, as a 14-year-old. TV was so good in those days! Around the same time there was Hennessy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Get Smart, and later The Avengers and Star Trek. The fabulous Sixties!
Thank you for bringing this back ~ Honey West was the first woman crime detective I ever watched. That was a long time ago ~ thanks for the memories 👏👏💖💋
I had a Honey West doll too!!! Wish I could find another one for my classics shelf. She wore the black cat suit with the little ankle boots n had a trench coat n the Ocelot, Bruce. Her car was AWESOME DELUXE!!! I believe it was a Jaguar!!! It was it in the Ferrari bracket!? I had a Datsun 240 Z in 1978 n a Porsche 911 in 1990's. Sports car fanatic!!! Honey West was a TOTAL Classic, n the show is STILL excellent!!!
Me and my besties were notorious nuts for Man from UNCLE in junior high! Sadly, the couple of times I've tried to watch it nowadays, it seemed awful! Just stupid. Honey has aged better, IMO.
Thanks for this. I loved the character. She and Emma Peel were the perfect rebuke to feminists who claim that guys like me don't like strong female characters.
Also a reminder that there were strong female action heroes with large and in charge personas long before Uhura or Police Woman or the "liberationsploitation" shows of the 70s and 80s. Remember Victoria Barkley.
@@Historian212 Barbara Stanwyck was fall of 65. This was piloted in 64 for Burkes Law..shown in Apr 1965, series in Sept 65 a year before Star Trek. Honor Blackmon was kicking butt in 1962/63. Barbara Stanwick was a tough police detective Lieutenant recurring guest role on the Untouchables in the late 50s early 60s. She also played tough a recurring guest wagon master on Wagon Train. Honey West were popular novels in the 50s. Uhura was created because NBC wrote a memo after the two pilots asking for more black and asian actors on the bridge and women in command or tactical stations....just not that actress in The Cage (because they knew). Yes Gene lied about that in his later memories.
@@Historian212 police woman was the 70s..."the long before" just morphed in to the femsploitation era reference. The 70s decade later Aaron Spelling would do Charlie's Angels
I even had s Honey West doll with the catsuit n snkle boots n Ocelot n sports car,!!! Wish I could find another vintage Honey West doll!!!! I also had 2 Twiggy dolls n the mist Awesome Twiggy magnetic paper doll with tons of outfits n accessories!!! I am STILL sn accessory fanatic!!! Thanks for walking me down 8 yr old memory lane,!!! Show is STILL excellent 👍,!!!!
this blonde was the best female detective in tv. realistic, athletic, strong and beautiful. girls like wonderwoman or advengers look so so thin and weak comparing to her.
Anne was a "solid and sexy" gal and she did a lot of her own stunts. I loved this series and I remember my sister had the Honey West doll. Strange thing , that doll .... Francis actually looked more like the Barbie from that era , her own doll looked nothing like her !!!
I like that she isn't super-powered, and the villains aren't dumb. She's cool and savvy, but in a grounded way that leaves room for real suspense. The bit where the villain reveals he knows karate is actually scary.
@@valgardener7656 u r right. but i dont understand why since anne francise there was no other female detective look and act like her. wile anne convince that her phisical strengh can be real, all the other women dont. just compare emma peel thin weak arms and legs to anne solid muscles...who would win??
@@1959viko Silly question. These are fictional characters. As with all such questions (Gandalf vs. Yoda, Hulk vs. Superman, etc.) the answer is "whomever the writer wants to win".
I haven't seen this show since it first aired, but when I heard the theme music, my memory kicked in saying, "Wait -- isn't this different?" Now I'm going to have to find S1E1 to find out how it wound up sounding!
Originally, producer Aaron Spelling featured Anne as "Honey West" in the last "BURKE'S LAW" episode of the second season {"Who Killed the Jackpot?", April 21, 1965}, because, as he recalled in his autobiography, *"{W}e didn't have time to make a pilot. We met with ABC to tell them our idea about this sexy female private detective, and I had [costume desitner] Nolan Miller draw sketches of this very slinky, beautiful Honey for them. In one, she carried a whip and the other she was sitting with a tiger. 'And that', I said, 'is the show'. Like James Bond, it was based pn a series of books [by Skip & Gloria Fickling] and ABC bought it immediately."* After that, Spelling produced a formal pilot episode......but it was decided the series' premiere would be a different one {"The Swingin' Mrs. Jones", September 17, 1965}- and "The Gray Lady" (as this episode was finally titled) was "held" until telecast in a slightly different form on December 10, 1965.
Not just slightly different. In the first three scenes, Abbott, the thief answers the door of Nicole's hotel room and tells a hotel porter that he is Nicole's fiancé and to bring room service later. Honey references this meal when she appears. None of this is in the version that aired in December 1965. Later, while Lt. Keith is investigating the theft, the porter enters with the meal. The scene ends with Keith pondering the food. I wondered what the significance of this was until I saw this version. Instead of a mere tableau, we have the porter asking Nicole where her fiancé is. The porter is still clueless. In the next scene, between Honey and Sam, when she convinces him to take the case, there is a lot of backstory about how Sam used to work with Honey's father, before he left the firm to Honey. Not in the aired version. In fact, the scene is shot completely differently from the way it was done in the aired version. And so on, there are many differences between these two versions of the same episodes. Not least is the different framing of each scene and the music which is jazzy but less sultry than the music that became the "Honey West" theme music.
Spelling was trying to produce a similar appeal that The Avengers found in the UK with Honor Blackmon. After a year of getting trounced by Gomer Pyle on CBS, they realized it was far cheaper to just buy rights to air The Avengers...who had just recast with Dianna Rigg. This was the end of B&W and film noir shows looked dated. Networks wanted more comic banter and antics in COLOR.
I loved Honey West in her white Jaguar XKE. She and Marilyn Monroe had the same taste in cars. Unfortunately, when Ford started sponsoring the show, Anne's car was replaced with a Cobra. Weirdly tho, Ford would end up in control of Jaguar a couple of decades later.
Interesting that it has a completely different score, not the Joseph Mullendore music, which was catchier especially during the scene where honey climbs down the side of the building.
FYI. They used a stunt MAN for Honey's double. It's obvious during the fight scenes. Notice that she gets taller in the faraway shots and smaller in the close ups.
Even though it's the time of the rise of British Rock combos in reality Jazz was very ubiquitous and recognized by everybody in the know from; Lenny Bernstein to Lenny Bruce, from André Previn to Henery Mancini and Michel Legrand from Antonio Carlos Jobim, and fading Aristocracy like Pannonica von Kroningwater to the French New Wave Directors jazz was everywhere in pop culture from 1955 through most of the decade till mid 70s. PS all the great brilliantly written jazzy incidental music you're hearing was played in real time by union musicians making great music and being paid very well...
When ABC axed Honey West, she almost survived and relocated to the UK. The British producer, Lou Grade liked the show, but didn't like that it was filmed in black and white. Grade filmed his shows in colour, specifically because American Tv made the switch in 1958 and the UK had said they were going to follow in 1960, although continual dissatisfaction with the quality saw that delayed until 1967. He had two ideas on the table to bring West to the UK. In the first, he was going to buy the rights to the ABC show and relocate her to London, filming of course in colour. But that was quickly shelved in favour of a plan to write her into a newly commissioned show where she would be head hunted by a Geneva based UN crime fighting organisation. With a five year old daughter, it quickly became apparent Anne Francis wasn't keen on the idea of moving to the UK so the idea never really gained traction. The Geneva based show was made in 1968 as The Champions.
ABC dropped West to save money by airing The Avengers on syndication, realizing it had similar appeal. It was slotted against Gomer Pyle and the 50s film noir style was getting dated. Perry Mason and Burke's Law ended about this time too.
Or they didn't encounter her...she was first, before them, in live action. Batman was parodying Honey West with the rope climb...as she did it often and Batman TV show was being written as this was airing...produced a few months prior Really popular novels in the 50s. However ABC Aaron Spelling realized the series had the same basic appeal as Honor Blackmon on the Avengers, and suggested they replace her with a more M Appeal actress...then they just syndicated The Avengers from ABC, Assoc British Corp.
that would be funny.. maybe someone can edit something in.. and thet cross paths? SUPERCUT Every Window Cameo in Batman (1966-1968) th-cam.com/video/WmyCgHyiNcE/w-d-xo.html
@@STho205Batman lampoon of 1943 serial, The Avengers had been running in the UK for several years & Blackman only appeared in last 2 seasons b4 ABC brought Rigg b&w series to US. West 1st appeared in Burke's Law, Spelling wanted Blackman for the role but she had moved on to movies & refused him.
@@unowen-nh9ov Avengers had only run one season before the original lead quit. 1962, 2nd season Honor Blackmon (Mrs Cathy Gale) was hired...pushing Steed to the principal. So 1962 for leather clad kick ass woman detective/spy costar in UK. You'd already met some in The Untouchables, Burkes Law, Hawaiian Eye and other shows in the US 1959 to 65. Agent 99 in 1965 Girl from UNCLE Agent 22 1966 Several female spies and agents in the previous seasons of Man from UNCLE. Natasha Fatale 1959 to 64 (Animated comedy Bullwinkle) Jade (Jonny Quest) 1964 Cinnamon Carter 1966, MI, Desilu Studios Uhura was a product of the time. A popular trope, but in all the episodes she mostly got the phone or said "Captain I'm Frightened". Mirror Mirror was her only really tough woman episode, and she had a few brief "oh you didn't" quick scenes. Peggy on Mannix in 68- got more adventure sleuthing and intrigue episodes than Uhura. She was a costar too....not end credits.
It was not on the DVD for this series, and it is illuminating in that it explains a few things that were, well, inexplicable in the version that aired. It is also clear that several scenes were shot two different ways, and probably at the same time; that is, I cannot imagine that the same cast was reassembled just to reshoot scenes. The aired version must have been edited using outtakes from the filming of this original version, which, I must say, I like better than the aired, canonical version. Notably, Sam is an employee of Honey, not the full partner that he seems to be in regular episodes of the series. Some scenes appear to have been completely reshot like the scene in their office. Honey's hair and gown are different in the two versions. Sam is wearing a different outfit here from the one he wears in the aired version, but it is the same outfit he wears in the next scene in both versions.
@@Twentythousandlps Nancy Kovack was married to Zubin Mehta? Found out only days ago that Kathie Browne was married to Darren MacGavin and a few months prior that Nancy Olson was married to Alan Jay Lerner! This is all too much!
Jennifer Garner of ALIAS has HONEY WEST to thank for ALL her badass swagger that she presented on the small screen to prepare the way for Slayers, Bionic Women, Mod Squads, Agent 99, Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, the Charmed Ones and even Xena's neck pinch, lol. LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!! Watched RERUNS back in the day when I was a kid. This show is even BETTER in 2024. Honey West is an ADULT WOMAN who is PROUDLY sexy, stylish, strong, independent, smart, street savvy, willing to fight, studied in martial arts, skilled with guns, knows how to talk to sexist jerks and not desperate for anyone's approval/love. She isn't needy for a relationship, a sense of security nor is she feeling the biological urge to have kids. Honey is a sassy, sophisticated, private dick with ovaries of steel and a wild fierce pussy for a pet who is obviously her Spirit Animal. Ocelots for Emotional Support Pet of the Century! Thank you for posting. Watching this made me got to AMAZON to immediately buy the complete series on DVD. So worth it. They truly do NOT make entertainment like they used to. I'm done waiting/wishing for something good. Now I watch TH-cam and my own private video library cultivated mostly from thrift shops, Dollar Stores, garage sales and Ebay to get QUALITY vintage, award winning shows, CDs and movies for basically nothing. Meanwhile Hollywood and mortar & brick stores no longer sell, don't mass produce nor allow streaming of some of the best films and shows ever. Whole archives, media libraries and filmographies are just dying--- never to be seen or heard of again. It's truly sad.
Did you know that the blonde playing Babs Ivar is none other than Pat "The Hip Hypnotist" Collins? I don't know who the brunette nurse is, though. I wish I did.
I like the show I like the woman detective thing it was pretty much ahead of its time when you think about it. My only question though is is that cat of hers... It comes off more like a wildcat of something like those early hybrid ossi cats
This was a unique show for its time not only by having a female lead, but one who got "dirty." Unlike most of the other female dramas for the next ten years, Honey West would get hit over the head, punched, tied up, and expected to get out of it herself.
Anne Francis was always good. Although this show has all the old-fashioned tropes of the time, it's still fun watch. Herb Tarlek's dad is also at the beginning. What more could you ask for?
a male thief that ask a female detective to turn on the light ... - very fishy - why she obliged ? It wasn't his #LASTrequest - she could just throw him another time for being so rude - but she told her stupid detective to look for tuxedo - NOT A TALL MAN IN HIS 40es. Who made her, who wrote this stupid flick ...
Thank you for the upload. I tried to watch it. I didn't like Anne Francis back then and my tastes haven't changed. I do appreciate the chance to confirm that fact. Lol.
Francis had looong career, eventually made it to Golden Girls, she & her co-star came from movies & had worked together previously but were not front-rank 🌟s (he eventually appeared in Playgirl).
Yes, beauty marks were quite popular for a time. I believe some women drew them on even if they did not have an imperfection to camouflage. Perhaps they didn't have terrific cosmetic procedures to remove moles without ugly scars, or perhaps the procedures were far too expensive. How intelligent for someone to give women a way to use a flaw as an asset, rather than scarring their face or breaking the family budget. That's my theory of the case.
A successful TV show needs talented plot writers. It all starts with the writers. Then the directors. Talentless writers and talentless direction equals one season and out.. no matter how pretty the lead actors are. Call me crazy but this low budget excursion might have been a hit if it didn't take itself so seriously. It could have been a "Get Smart" without the laugh track or even an "Avengers". Anne Francis could have stumbled and bumbled her way into saving the day like a female version of the Pink Panther.. Even way back when this show first came out it was somehow difficult to sit through. Almost cringe worthy.
Female lead still rare on network television (1 reason original Star Trek pilot refused), they couldn't have made her a buffoon, 99 was the straight man on Get Smart.
![1963 12-25 Captain Newman M.D. [with Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lxkx7aiMj8s/mqdefault.jpg)
This was the coolest show for an eight year old boy tired of the news. My twin sister liked it, also.
We must be the same ages (67), I also was 8 in 1965. Born on Christmas 1956 ( 2 months early celebrated entry !) the same year she was in that other male heart trob Sci-Fi first time Sx classic Forbidden Planet, as Altera, ithose 2 mini dresses !!
I was 6 yrs. old in 65 and this was my first real look at what sexy looked like. That long black dress she wore and her beautiful blonde hair was striking and certainly enough to get my attention . I became a fan
The show only was cancelled because abc cheaper out and put Britain's the avengers on its place
@@CrystalClearNewsThanks. I always wondered at this show's brevity.
I was crazy about this show growing up. Still looks pretty good after all these years.
!
The 19"
Black and White TV
On a metal rack stand.
Classic 1960's.
These and TV antennaes on roofs
Before cable TV
The camera work in this is insane for the time. That director wasn't going for Emmy, they were going for an Oscar.
Lll
Ace in the Hole, with Kirk Douglas, is another good one for camera work....especially the final scene.
I have no idea how it got passed tha movie censors of the time. It's pretty graphic.
Agreed. That opening scene would be worthy of Orson Welles 😊
@@jamesstuart3346 That's actually a much better example
Exactly
Loved her in Forbidden Planet!
Also "Summer Holiday" (1948), "Portrait of Jennie" (1948 - uncredited), "So Young, So Bad" (1950), "Lydia Bailey" (1952), "A Lion Is In The Streets" (1953), "Susan Slept Here" (1954), "Rogue Cop" (1954), "Bad Day At Black Rock" (1955), "Battle Cry" (1955), "Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "The Rack" (1956), "The Hired Gun" (1957), "The Crowded Sky" (1960), "Girl of the Night" (1960), "Brainstorm" (1965), and "Funny Girl" (1968).
I'll leave it to someone else to add the pertinent made-for-TV movies.......
I loved Ann Francis. Beautiful lady. This looks very good. Bert Parks to boot. Ann beautiful legs,
My favorite TV series as a 9 year old child! Aired at 8 P.M. and half hour show!😊
I loved it too, as a 14-year-old. TV was so good in those days! Around the same time there was Hennessy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Get Smart, and later The Avengers and Star Trek. The fabulous Sixties!
A spin off series from Burke's Law. I loved both shows back in the day.
Thank you for bringing this back ~ Honey West was the first woman crime detective I ever watched. That was a long time ago ~ thanks for the memories 👏👏💖💋
"Honey West" and "The Addams Family" were my favorite Friday night shows.
It's a shame this was never aired, it's a great episode! I really wish they had put it on the Honey West DVD!
It played in Season 1 episode 13 as The Gray Lady.
She'll always be Marsha to me, I wonder what happened to the thimble and the mannequin.
I knew I knew her but it didn’t click.
One of my faves I wanted to grow up to be just like her.
I Love this show I was 13
Love the fashions so classy
Oh, how I love Honey West! 💋
Loved this show as a child, love Honey and her ocelot.
A new kind of cat woman!!
I watched this show. I think it was on for a season or two. I even had a Honey West doll.
One season only. 1965-1966. 31 episodes.
I had a Honey West doll too!!! Wish I could find another one for my classics shelf. She wore the black cat suit with the little ankle boots n had a
trench coat n the Ocelot, Bruce. Her car was AWESOME DELUXE!!! I believe it was a Jaguar!!! It was it in the Ferrari bracket!? I had a Datsun 240 Z in 1978 n a Porsche 911 in 1990's. Sports car fanatic!!! Honey West was a TOTAL Classic, n the show is STILL excellent!!!
This series was way ahead of it's time.
No, it was very much of its time. Along with Emma Peel, Catwoman, and several others.
But this was 1st network series named for female lead.
@@unowen-nh9ov ❤️👍
I loved this show. She had a leopard or something, and a sports car.
It was an Ocelot and she drove a Shelby AC Cobra.
And a maiden aunt, played by Irene Hervey.
@@gregoryleewalker looks like an XKE
I used to watch this show. I was 10. It was ok but I loved 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' Spy shows were big back then.
Open Channel D...my all time favorite show!
Me and my besties were notorious nuts for Man from UNCLE in junior high! Sadly, the couple of times I've tried to watch it nowadays, it seemed awful! Just stupid. Honey has aged better, IMO.
After 007.
I like the tracking shots provided by a stationary TV set.
"Nice couple."
"Of what?" 😄
Thanks for this. I loved the character. She and Emma Peel were the perfect rebuke to feminists who claim that guys like me don't like strong female characters.
Also a reminder that there were strong female action heroes with large and in charge personas long before Uhura or Police Woman or the "liberationsploitation" shows of the 70s and 80s.
Remember Victoria Barkley.
don't quite follow the "feminists who claim" part, but sure Harrison Butker would be put out of the mood by Honey.
@@STho205Long before Uhura? Wrong. Star Trek premiered in 1966.
@@Historian212 Barbara Stanwyck was fall of 65. This was piloted in 64 for Burkes Law..shown in Apr 1965, series in Sept 65 a year before Star Trek. Honor Blackmon was kicking butt in 1962/63.
Barbara Stanwick was a tough police detective Lieutenant recurring guest role on the Untouchables in the late 50s early 60s. She also played tough a recurring guest wagon master on Wagon Train.
Honey West were popular novels in the 50s.
Uhura was created because NBC wrote a memo after the two pilots asking for more black and asian actors on the bridge and women in command or tactical stations....just not that actress in The Cage (because they knew).
Yes Gene lied about that in his later memories.
@@Historian212 police woman was the 70s..."the long before" just morphed in to the femsploitation era reference.
The 70s decade later Aaron Spelling would do Charlie's Angels
I even had s Honey West doll with the catsuit n snkle boots n Ocelot n sports car,!!! Wish I could find another vintage Honey West doll!!!! I also had 2 Twiggy dolls n the mist Awesome Twiggy magnetic paper doll with tons of outfits n accessories!!! I am STILL sn accessory fanatic!!! Thanks for walking me down 8 yr old memory lane,!!! Show is STILL excellent 👍,!!!!
I see a couple on Ebay for around 100 dollars. No Ocelot , though.
Hope you can air some more Honey West ?
Target practice 🤔 no eyes and ears protection 😌
this blonde was the best female detective in tv. realistic, athletic, strong and beautiful. girls like wonderwoman or advengers look so so thin and weak comparing to her.
Anne was a "solid and sexy" gal and she did a lot of her own stunts. I loved this series and I remember my sister had the Honey West doll. Strange thing , that doll .... Francis actually looked more like the Barbie from that era , her own doll looked nothing like her !!!
I like that she isn't super-powered, and the villains aren't dumb. She's cool and savvy, but in a grounded way that leaves room for real suspense. The bit where the villain reveals he knows karate is actually scary.
@@valgardener7656 u r right. but i dont understand why since anne francise there was no other female detective look and act like her. wile anne convince that her phisical strengh can be real, all the other women dont. just compare emma peel thin weak arms and legs to anne solid muscles...who would win??
@@1959viko Silly question. These are fictional characters. As with all such questions (Gandalf vs. Yoda, Hulk vs. Superman, etc.) the answer is "whomever the writer wants to win".
Whole point of Mrs. Peel was she was equal to a man, she was trained & in fact rescued Steed on occasion.
i loved this show
Honey has a cool secret passageway leading to her office. Not sure if that continued on the weekly series after this pilot?
"EPILOGUE" I didn't know this was Quinn Martin Production...
Love this! Also got the DVD set so many thanks!!
then please - put it on emule & soon
They sure improved the theme song and visuals after this pilot!
I haven't seen this show since it first aired, but when I heard the theme music, my memory kicked in saying, "Wait -- isn't this different?" Now I'm going to have to find S1E1 to find out how it wound up sounding!
americas answer to steed and mrs peel
No, they actually just brought them over, Rigg was nominated twice for Emmy & 2nd season shot in colour b4 it was even being broadcast that way in UK.
Thanks for posting !
"Brother, if I were you, I'd start smiling VERY candidly!" I can hear and see Honey West saying that while watching the crook on television.
Aaron Spelling sure knew how to cast women. He understood that men like looking at slightly fierce beautiful women.
You mean crazy looking?
Originally, producer Aaron Spelling featured Anne as "Honey West" in the last "BURKE'S LAW" episode of the second season {"Who Killed the Jackpot?", April 21, 1965}, because, as he recalled in his autobiography, *"{W}e didn't have time to make a pilot. We met with ABC to tell them our idea about this sexy female private detective, and I had [costume desitner] Nolan Miller draw sketches of this very slinky, beautiful Honey for them. In one, she carried a whip and the other she was sitting with a tiger. 'And that', I said, 'is the show'. Like James Bond, it was based pn a series of books [by Skip & Gloria Fickling] and ABC bought it immediately."*
After that, Spelling produced a formal pilot episode......but it was decided the series' premiere would be a different one {"The Swingin' Mrs. Jones", September 17, 1965}- and "The Gray Lady" (as this episode was finally titled) was "held" until telecast in a slightly different form on December 10, 1965.
Not just slightly different. In the first three scenes, Abbott, the thief answers the door of Nicole's hotel room and tells a hotel porter that he is Nicole's fiancé and to bring room service later. Honey references this meal when she appears. None of this is in the version that aired in December 1965. Later, while Lt. Keith is investigating the theft, the porter enters with the meal. The scene ends with Keith pondering the food. I wondered what the significance of this was until I saw this version. Instead of a mere tableau, we have the porter asking Nicole where her fiancé is. The porter is still clueless. In the next scene, between Honey and Sam, when she convinces him to take the case, there is a lot of backstory about how Sam used to work with Honey's father, before he left the firm to Honey. Not in the aired version. In fact, the scene is shot completely differently from the way it was done in the aired version. And so on, there are many differences between these two versions of the same episodes. Not least is the different framing of each scene and the music which is jazzy but less sultry than the music that became the "Honey West" theme music.
And Pete Rugolo gave way to Joseph Mullendore in writing the theme and score, wtih a new title sequence created by Herb Klynn's Format Productions.
Skip & Gloria Fickling were contestants on You Bet Your Life and said they wrote many Honey West novels.
Even after the series was cancelled in 1966.
Spelling was trying to produce a similar appeal that The Avengers found in the UK with Honor Blackmon. After a year of getting trounced by Gomer Pyle on CBS, they realized it was far cheaper to just buy rights to air The Avengers...who had just recast with Dianna Rigg.
This was the end of B&W and film noir shows looked dated. Networks wanted more comic banter and antics in COLOR.
I loved Honey West in her white Jaguar XKE. She and Marilyn Monroe had the same taste in cars. Unfortunately, when Ford started sponsoring the show, Anne's car was replaced with a Cobra. Weirdly tho, Ford would end up in control of Jaguar a couple of decades later.
first place I ever saw a Cobra
They're British, actually, Shelby put Ford V8 in AC roadster, also Rover, Alpine, Morgan.
Brilliant, thanks for uploading :)
Wow. Love this. Wish I had this on dvd. Better then the intro off Burke’s law.
Interesting that it has a completely different score, not the Joseph Mullendore music, which was catchier especially during the scene where honey climbs down the side of the building.
What a gem! Thanks for posting. I see Cesar’s Danica from the shirt-lived ABC WWII series “Garrison’s Gorillas” 1967-68.
Very clever about the robber changing his coat and appearance. Funny about the TV set. So old fashion but supposedly an update.
Actually the robber changing clothes, etc. reminded me of the opening scene in The Pink Panther when Capuccine did that.
thanks this is great
FYI. They used a stunt MAN for Honey's double. It's obvious during the fight scenes. Notice that she gets taller in the faraway shots and smaller in the close ups.
Even though it's the time of the rise of British Rock combos in reality Jazz was very ubiquitous and recognized by everybody in the know from; Lenny Bernstein to Lenny Bruce, from André Previn to Henery Mancini and Michel Legrand from Antonio Carlos Jobim, and fading Aristocracy like Pannonica von Kroningwater to the French New Wave Directors jazz was everywhere in pop culture from 1955 through most of the decade till mid 70s. PS all the great brilliantly written jazzy incidental music you're hearing was played in real time by union musicians making great music and being paid very well...
When ABC axed Honey West, she almost survived and relocated to the UK. The British producer, Lou Grade liked the show, but didn't like that it was filmed in black and white. Grade filmed his shows in colour, specifically because American Tv made the switch in 1958 and the UK had said they were going to follow in 1960, although continual dissatisfaction with the quality saw that delayed until 1967. He had two ideas on the table to bring West to the UK. In the first, he was going to buy the rights to the ABC show and relocate her to London, filming of course in colour. But that was quickly shelved in favour of a plan to write her into a newly commissioned show where she would be head hunted by a Geneva based UN crime fighting organisation. With a five year old daughter, it quickly became apparent Anne Francis wasn't keen on the idea of moving to the UK so the idea never really gained traction. The Geneva based show was made in 1968 as The Champions.
ABC dropped West to save money by airing The Avengers on syndication, realizing it had similar appeal.
It was slotted against Gomer Pyle and the 50s film noir style was getting dated. Perry Mason and Burke's Law ended about this time too.
.... He's back ... Fabulous!
I'm surprised Honey didn't run into Batman and Robin while going down the side of that hotel.
I was thinking more Spiderman.
Or they didn't encounter her...she was first, before them, in live action. Batman was parodying Honey West with the rope climb...as she did it often and Batman TV show was being written as this was airing...produced a few months prior
Really popular novels in the 50s. However ABC Aaron Spelling realized the series had the same basic appeal as Honor Blackmon on the Avengers, and suggested they replace her with a more M Appeal actress...then they just syndicated The Avengers from ABC, Assoc British Corp.
that would be funny.. maybe someone can edit something in.. and thet cross paths? SUPERCUT Every Window Cameo in Batman (1966-1968) th-cam.com/video/WmyCgHyiNcE/w-d-xo.html
@@STho205Batman lampoon of 1943 serial, The Avengers had been running in the UK for several years & Blackman only appeared in last 2 seasons b4 ABC brought Rigg b&w series to US. West 1st appeared in Burke's Law, Spelling wanted Blackman for the role but she had moved on to movies & refused him.
@@unowen-nh9ov Avengers had only run one season before the original lead quit. 1962, 2nd season Honor Blackmon (Mrs Cathy Gale) was hired...pushing Steed to the principal. So 1962 for leather clad kick ass woman detective/spy costar in UK.
You'd already met some in The Untouchables, Burkes Law, Hawaiian Eye and other shows in the US 1959 to 65.
Agent 99 in 1965
Girl from UNCLE Agent 22 1966
Several female spies and agents in the previous seasons of Man from UNCLE.
Natasha Fatale 1959 to 64 (Animated comedy Bullwinkle)
Jade (Jonny Quest) 1964
Cinnamon Carter 1966, MI, Desilu Studios
Uhura was a product of the time. A popular trope, but in all the episodes she mostly got the phone or said "Captain I'm Frightened". Mirror Mirror was her only really tough woman episode, and she had a few brief "oh you didn't" quick scenes.
Peggy on Mannix in 68- got more adventure sleuthing and intrigue episodes than Uhura. She was a costar too....not end credits.
It was not on the DVD for this series, and it is illuminating in that it explains a few things that were, well, inexplicable in the version that aired. It is also clear that several scenes were shot two different ways, and probably at the same time; that is, I cannot imagine that the same cast was reassembled just to reshoot scenes. The aired version must have been edited using outtakes from the filming of this original version, which, I must say, I like better than the aired, canonical version. Notably, Sam is an employee of Honey, not the full partner that he seems to be in regular episodes of the series. Some scenes appear to have been completely reshot like the scene in their office. Honey's hair and gown are different in the two versions. Sam is wearing a different outfit here from the one he wears in the aired version, but it is the same outfit he wears in the next scene in both versions.
Interesting. Makes me want to pull out my DVD series and watch the episode on TV while I also play this version on my tablet.
Before Charlie's Angels, there was Honey West. A shame that series didn't last long on ABC.
@@luisreyes1963 Apparently, ABC decided that it would be cheaper to import the British show "The Avengers" which is it was and so they did.
@@neildickson5394 You will also need a DVD set of "Burke's Law" which features the "back door" pilot for "Honey West" in season two.
@@karltork6040 Yes it was. I haven't watched my Honey West set lately, but I'm pretty sure the Burke's Law episodes are included.
In some ways it was ahead of its time..
Nancy Kovack!
Also Kevin McCarthy.
Anne Francis
Aka Mrs. Zubin Mehta
@@Twentythousandlps Nancy Kovack was married to Zubin Mehta? Found out only days ago that Kathie Browne was married to Darren MacGavin and a few months prior that Nancy Olson was married to Alan Jay Lerner! This is all too much!
@@SOLE2SOUL The Mehtas have been married for 55 years.
Mrs. Peel>>>> AMERICAN STYLE 👍
This looks familiar i have all 39 episodes of honey west. A great show
Appreciated.
Whoa!!!!!❤
Go west young man, go Honey West!
Brad Pitt’s character in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” had her poster hanging in his trailer!
The precurser to "Moonlighting" with Sybil Sheppard introducing Bruce Willis?
that was what i was thinking too.
When I was 11, I couldn't make my mind up of who I was in love with, Helen Crump or Honey West.
Ahh, a strong woman who is passionate about catching the bad guys. This would be a good series to reincarnate.
If they had given it a moment's notice, Arena would have looked at this as a possible pilot for "The Girl From UNCLE."
Nice!
Watched this as a kid and wanted to be her!
Nancy Kovack is still alive 89 currently.
Im surprised that we can't hear it.
Jennifer Garner of ALIAS has HONEY WEST to thank for ALL her badass swagger that she presented on the small screen to prepare the way for Slayers, Bionic Women, Mod Squads, Agent 99, Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, the Charmed Ones and even Xena's neck pinch, lol. LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!! Watched RERUNS back in the day when I was a kid. This show is even BETTER in 2024. Honey West is an ADULT WOMAN who is PROUDLY sexy, stylish, strong, independent, smart, street savvy, willing to fight, studied in martial arts, skilled with guns, knows how to talk to sexist jerks and not desperate for anyone's approval/love. She isn't needy for a relationship, a sense of security nor is she feeling the biological urge to have kids. Honey is a sassy, sophisticated, private dick with ovaries of steel and a wild fierce pussy for a pet who is obviously her Spirit Animal. Ocelots for Emotional Support Pet of the Century!
Thank you for posting. Watching this made me got to AMAZON to immediately buy the complete series on DVD. So worth it. They truly do NOT make entertainment like they used to. I'm done waiting/wishing for something good. Now I watch TH-cam and my own private video library cultivated mostly from thrift shops, Dollar Stores, garage sales and Ebay to get QUALITY vintage, award winning shows, CDs and movies for basically nothing. Meanwhile Hollywood and mortar & brick stores no longer sell, don't mass produce nor allow streaming of some of the best films and shows ever. Whole archives, media libraries and filmographies are just dying--- never to be seen or heard of again. It's truly sad.
Who is the nurse in this show, what a dish!
Girl from uncle type or the avengers!
A bit of Honor Blackman around the edges? Not quite Emma Peele.
BRUCE! :)
He's an Ocelot. 🐈
My favorite character as a kid!
When the bad guy exited through the service entrance, why wasn't Sam tipped off by the music cue?
Did you know that the blonde playing Babs Ivar is none other than Pat "The Hip Hypnotist" Collins? I don't know who the brunette nurse is, though. I wish I did.
I like the show I like the woman detective thing it was pretty much ahead of its time when you think about it. My only question though is is that cat of hers... It comes off more like a wildcat of something like those early hybrid ossi cats
Nancy was luscious.
Is this available on the DVD set?
Cesar DeNova the Casanova.
This was a unique show for its time not only by having a female lead, but one who got "dirty." Unlike most of the other female dramas for the next ten years, Honey West would get hit over the head, punched, tied up, and expected to get out of it herself.
Action scenes choreographed by gene lebell.
Love Kevin McCarthy in it.
Such a BABE!
Both Anne Francis and Nancy Kovack.
That’s Bob Crane at 24 seconds holding a camera. Anyone familiar with Bob Crane’s behind the camera work might find this funny and disturbing
Guess what this 13 year old was thinking.
Bruce the ocelot didn't look friendly
Anne Francis was always good. Although this show has all the old-fashioned tropes of the time, it's still fun watch. Herb Tarlek's dad is also at the beginning. What more could you ask for?
PETA Would never stand for this
Because they didn't exist until 1980.
@@unowen-nh9ov hey I fucking know that. Joke joke ok wake up
@@unowen-nh9ov How can you think that someone would believe that PETA was around in 1953? Good God dude wakey wakey. I was making a joke.
PETA. People eating tasty animals.
@@anthonynelson9136 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ah... back when men knew how to wear a single-breasted tuxedo... with a BOW TIE, AND a CUMMERBUND...
I'm a better shot & much much classier, groovier clothes.
It was pretty obvious the husband was working with the thief when he refused West's help. I feel bad for the thief, he didn't seem to want her killed.
a male thief that ask a female detective to turn on the light ... - very fishy
- why she obliged ? It wasn't his #LASTrequest - she could just throw him another time for being so rude - but she told her stupid detective to look for tuxedo - NOT A TALL MAN IN HIS 40es. Who made her, who wrote this stupid flick ...
These aren't real people, they don't have emotions, there's no one to feel bad for.
@@JimBalter He was talking about the character, not the actors.
Female rights to the rescue
They were 1950s novels.
Hollywood were making movies about true life WWI female spies in the '30's.
This is what the editors used in the cutting room. The digital monitor running shows them what to cut and leave on the cutting room floor.
I'm afraid Nancy Kovak made Honey West look like an aged dwarf.
Anne Francis was 35 Nancy Kovack was 30 in 1965.
Lll
Nancy Kovack with worst fake French accent ever!
Thank you for the upload. I tried to watch it. I didn't like Anne Francis back then and my tastes haven't changed. I do appreciate the chance to confirm that fact. Lol.
I don't see how anyone could dislike Francis...to each his own I guess.
As a little girl I told my mom I wanted to be Honey West❤
Francis had looong career, eventually made it to Golden Girls, she & her co-star came from movies & had worked together previously but were not front-rank 🌟s (he eventually appeared in Playgirl).
In the postnuptial she would have to agree on mole removal. It’s extremely distracting and unflattering
I don't know why they call them beauty marks.
Yes, beauty marks were quite popular for a time. I believe some women drew them on even if they did not have an imperfection to camouflage. Perhaps they didn't have terrific cosmetic procedures to remove moles without ugly scars, or perhaps the procedures were far too expensive. How intelligent for someone to give women a way to use a flaw as an asset, rather than scarring their face or breaking the family budget. That's my theory of the case.
@@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288 I’ll take the scar🤣🤣
Few people, men or women, even today would want a scar on their face.
@@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288 not a saber cut by any means🤣
A successful TV show needs talented plot writers. It all starts with the writers. Then the directors. Talentless writers and talentless direction equals one season and out.. no matter how pretty the lead actors are. Call me crazy but this low budget excursion might have been a hit if it didn't take itself so seriously. It could have been a "Get Smart" without the laugh track or even an "Avengers". Anne Francis could have stumbled and bumbled her way into saving the day like a female version of the Pink Panther.. Even way back when this show first came out it was somehow difficult to sit through. Almost cringe worthy.
Speak for yourself!
Female lead still rare on network television (1 reason original Star Trek pilot refused), they couldn't have made her a buffoon, 99 was the straight man on Get Smart.