The 60th Anniversary of the TV Show Honey West

Today female action heroes are commonplace, but this was not the case in 1965. At that time, they were generally unknown outside of comic books, paperback novels, and old movie serials. When Honey West debuted on September 17, 1965, it was then unique on American television. Quite simply, the character of the title is the first female action hero on American television. Possibly the only female action hero on television in the Anglosphere at the time was Mrs. Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) of the British show The Avengers, who predated the TV show Honey West by about three years.

Honey West starred Anne Francis as Honey West, a female private eye who operated her own detective agency. She was skilled in the use of martial arts, as well as the use of firearms. She also relied on several gadgets, everything from exploding compacts to lipstick tube radio transmitters. She also drove a Shelby Cobra. Her partner at the agency was Sam Bolt (John Ericson). Honey also had a pet ocelot named "Bruce."

Honey West was not an original creation for television, but instead the character had originated in the 1957 novel This Girl for Hire by Gloria and Forest Fickling writing as "G.G. Fickling." As to how Honey West made the transition from the printed page to the television screen, according to Anna Gough-Yates in Action TV: Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks, the popularity of Cathy Gale on The Avengers in the United Kingdom had come to the attention of executives at the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). They decided they wanted their own female action hero. Like Anne Francis, John Ericson was also well-established in his career, having appeared in such movies as Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), as well as guest appearing on a number of TV shows.

Of course, Honey West would make some changes in going from the printed page to the television screen. In the original novels, Honey was constantly losing her clothes. It also seemed as if every man who met her came onto her. Honey West was cleaned up considerably. She kept her clothes on. Honey West was also made more competent for the television series. While in the novels, she was often in need of rescue on the TV series she saved Sam Bolt nearly as often as he saved her.

Indeed, as mentioned above, Honey West was skilled in martial arts and with firearms. Like Cathy Gale in The Avengers before her, Honey went into combat clad in leather. A major change from the novels, in which Honey was more or less a straightforward detective, was the use of the aforementioned gadgets on the show. Honey West used such gadgets as earrings that sprayed tear gas, a lipstick case radio, exploding compacts, a smoke bomb garter, and yet more. In 1965 the spy craze was at its height, so it should come as no surprise that Honey West would incorporate gadgets of the sort seen in James Bond movies and the TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Producer Aaron Spelling's first choice to play Honey West was none other than Honor Blackman, who had left The Avengers in March 1964. It was after Honor Blackman turned the role down that Anne Francis was cast in the part. Anne Francis was already well-known, having appeared in such films as Blackboard Jungle (1955), Forbidden Planet (1956), John Ericson was cast in the role of Sam Bolt, a character who did not appear in the novels.

The character of Honey West would make her first appearance on television not on her own show, but on an episode of the show Burke's Law, "Who Killed the Jackpot?." In the episode, both Amos Burke, a captain in the homicide division of the Los Angeles Police Department, and Honey West find themselves investigating a case in which a banker was found dead atop a cheap hotel. Ultimately, Honey outsmarts even Amos Burke. "Who Killed the Jackpot?" aired on April 21, 1965. The debut episode of Honey West, "The Swinging' Mrs. Jones," debuted on September 17, 1965.

For the most part, Honey West received fair reviews. Variety wrote of the show, "This sliver of a private-eye series has the cool and sexy Anne Francis as a possible saver. . She very nicely underplays her role as a femme gumshoe, but the gimmick of her judo expertise--she bounces Muscle Beach type males off the walls with predictable regularity--shouldn't be overdone." Most critics agreed with Variety's assessment of the show that it was Anne Francis who made the show work. Cleveland Amory of TV Guide was one of the few critics who took issue with Miss Francis, referring to her as "James Blonde" and writing, "The very casting--or miscasting--of Miss Francis to begin with should set your mind at ease: Her unsuitability for the role is proof it's a spoof."

Initially, Honey West did well in the ratings. Its debut episode ranked no. 19 for the week in the Nielsen ratings. Its competition on NBC was certainly weak with regard to the ratings. The World War II drama Convoy came in 95th in the ratings upon its debut. Unfortunately, Honey West's competition on CBS was the phenomenally popular Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. It had come in at no. 3 for the 1964-1965 season. For the 1965-1966 season it would rise to no. 2. Facing such competition, Honey West eventually dropped out of the top forty.

Regardless of its ratings, Honey West did produce merchandise. The AC Gilbert Toy Company manufactured a Honey West action figure along with several accessories for the doll. Ideal put out a Honey West Game. Gold Key published a single issue of a Honey West comic book.

While Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. soundly beat Honey West in the ratings, Anne Francis told author Tom Weaver in They Fought in the Creature Features: Interviews with 23 Classic Horror, Science Fiction, and Serial Stars, "Cancellation had nothing to do with the ratings--it was doing very well. But ABC was able to buy The Avengers for a lot less than it cost to produce Honey West. Once they found that this genre would work, they dropped Honey West and bought over The Avengers, which did very well here."

While Honey West lasted only one season, it would be remembered. Anne Francis was nominated for both the Emmy Award for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for Honey West and won the Golden Globe for Best TV Star--Female for the series. In the Nineties, it was among the first shows aired on TV Land. It would later air on MeTV and Decades. The show was released on DVD in 2006.

Honey West would have a lasting impact. Emma Peel made her first appearance on The Avengers on September 28, 1965, in the United Kingdom, only eleven days after Honey West had first appeared on American television. Mrs. Peel first appeared on American television when The Avengers made its debut in the US on March 28, 1966. Both Honey West and Mrs. Peel would lead to further female action heroes on American television, including Batgirl, the television version of Wonder Woman, Xena: Warrior Princess, and yet more. Honey West was also only the second female professional detective on television after the 1957-1958 syndicated show Decoy starring Beverly Garland as undercover police officer Casey Jones and American television's first female private eye. Honey West was then the forerunner of Charlie's Angels, Laura Holt on Remington Steele, Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, and every other female detective to appear on television ever since. It may have only lasted one season, but the influence of Honey West lasts to this day.