Revisiting the Original: THE GREEN HORNET by Tony Piazza
Van Williams and Bruce Lee in character.
I never got to work on a superhero film; I guess unlike Metropolis and Gotham City, San Francisco wasn’t worth saving. Although James Bond did save Silicon Valley once!
Van as Britt Reed, owner of The Daily Sentinel.
The closest I ever got to a superhero was working with an actor who was briefly “The Green Hornet” on television back in the sixties.
Lee and Williams, production photo.
Van Williams (The Green Hornet/ Britt Reed) was a guest star on “The Streets of San Francisco” and another of those normal guys that was always a pleasure to meet in the entertainment industry. He was also an actual crime fighter in the real world- working for the Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles County-going after real criminals without his stunt double!
Myself and Van Williams on location for “The Streets of San Francisco.”
He was a pleasure to talk to and I remember that part of our discussion revolved around the (then) recent death of his former partner in the show- Bruce Lee (Kato). Speculation abounded in the press about Lee’s “mysterious death”. Williams said there was no mystery at all, but simply a brain hemorrhage brought on as a result of some past martial arts injury- certainly not murder as the papers were suggesting. How people love mysteries! I remember him mentioning that he enjoyed his work with the Sheriff’s department and talked a great deal about it…and of course about his first love, acting.
His show, “The Green Hornet” was not as campy as the then popular “Batman”, and only lasted two seasons (1966-1967).
Recent publication on The Green Hornet’s History.
Here is some further information regarding The Green Hornet which began as a very popular radio show in the 1930s, two movie serials in the 1940s, and then graduated to television in the 1960s (1966-1967) running alongside Adam West’s “Batman” on the A.B.C. network.
Movie Serial from the 1940s.
It was the brainchild by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, the same two who created the highly successful Lone Ranger series. The Green Hornet was Britt Reid, a publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day who goes out disguised in his “Green Hornet” identity at night to fight crime. He was accompanied by his Asian valet Kato, who acted as chauffer and drove their car, a technological wonder equipped with an arsenal of advanced technology, called the “Black Beauty”.
1960s Black Beauty.
Sadly I had high expectations for the recent film release of “The Green Hornet,” but was extremely disappointed. It was quite evident neither the star, Seth Rogen, nor anyone connected with that production had a glimmer of an idea what “The Green Hornet” was all about. I’ve never saw such a disregard of the original source material! The Sting of the hornet in this case was what I felt after putting down my hard earned cash at the box office. It was even worse…they charged me ten dollars extra because it was in 3-D…a bad movie looks the same in 3D as it does in two dimensions. The only character that had personality in the film was the car…yes, it was that bad!
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Tony Piazza is the author of the 1930s Hollywood murder mystery novel, “Anything Short of Murder,” which had its roots on the TCM fan website. His next novel, “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon” was released early 2012, and in July of 2013, Tom Logan again was on the case in, “A Murder Amongst Angels.” Two more novels followed, “Murder is Such Sweet Revenge (2015),” and in October of 2017, his latest, “Murder Will Out” – all available on the Amazon website. A new Tom Logan novel is presently in the works. He was an actor/extra during the 1970s and worked with such legends as Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Karl Malden. His non-fiction e-book “Bullitt Points” is an in-depth look at the making of “Bullitt” from a person who was there. Look for it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites. All profits go to the Boys Republic charity.
Tony Piazza is a member of three prestigious writer’s organizations: Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the SLO NightWriters. He was also past president of his local chapter of Sisters in Crime.
My earlier bestselling novels, “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon,” “Anything Short of Murder,” “A Murder Amongst Angels,” and “Murder is Such Sweet Revenge” now joins “Murder Will Out” on Amazon’s Kindle at a new, low price of $2.99. Now you can have hours of adventure, thrills, mystery, and romance for the price of a cup of coffee- and just as stimulating! Look for it on Amazon. Print versions have also been reduced.
Find them all on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever fine books are sold. Also available for $2.99 on Kindle.
Also look for “Murder Will Out” in print, e-book, and soon audiobook!
I liked the Green Hornet a lot. I think it was a bit mishandled as a show though. There was more that could have been done with it especially considering the charisma of the two stars.
In some respects it seemed to work out better for Lee’s career at least. Considering the popularity of Asian martial arts movies now, he was in many respects ahead of his time. And you can’t help but wonder what might have been if he had been able to expand his career from the martial arts and into broader material as I believe he was on the verge of doing when he died.
I actually liked the remake, but I can also see how some people might not. It would have been interesting how it might have turned out if Stephen Chow was involved with the project as he was supposed to be originally.
With Batman as the alternative on television at the time, Green Hornet’s less campy approach was refreshing to me. Yes, I believe more could have been done, but I think that the show not coming up to what the network perceived as a “Batman hit” may have had something to do with it. A series needs time to reach its apex and the network cut it off far too soon for it to do so. I still cannot warm up to the new film. Cato, the car, and the end credits were the only good things about the production. The story was wrong and meandering, and the lead actor was not up to the role. He seemed like he had no concept of the character to the point of almost mocking it. It seemed more of a parody. I don’t mean to come on so strong about it, but this was one film that I really wanted to succeed because I like the hornet so much having listened to it on radio (Radio Spirit releases, of course). Thanks again Laura for your great insights.
I think one reason I had patience with the movie was that I was viewing this literally as two guys starting out in their crime fighting endeavors (and occassionally screwing up). Both a little lost, trying to find a path. (The television show started as Reed and Cato had their act down). Reed especially jumped into the whole thing really with no clue on what should be done. They were sort of feeling their way along. There’d have to be an evolution. I found that take kind of neat. But I definitely think it would have been better served if perhaps as Cato had, Reed had a bit more natural ability. Or if they had shown them both getting more sophisticated in their crime fighting technique (I think they tried to do this but it wasn’t as clear as it should have been). Some of the scenes certainly could have been tweaked. And I thought the plot involving the dad’s involvement with the villian was a bit weak. Maybe a better plot with the villian would have allowed them to do a better job with the character development. Nice nod to Van Williams and Bruce Lee though with their pictures. And the end was a clever nod to that one episodes of the show.
I’ll have to try to see if I can track down some of the radio shows. I’ve never heard them.
Cheers!
Remember the great serials that ran on tv in the 1950’s – The Fighting Devil Dogs (with the “Lighning”); Daredevils of the Red Circle. An earlier generation of kids saw them on Saturday mornings in movie theaters. “Saturday Morning Heroes” BTW the Lighning was the inspiration for Darth Vador in Star Wars. George Lucas must have seen them.
I do James. In fact, when I wrote “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon” I had those in mind- hence even the title. I loved the serials- my favorite was Commander Cody and King of the Rocketmen. Captain Marvel was great too. I liked them all. Republic Studios were the premier producer of those chapter plays…although Monogram and others took a stab at them as well. Thanks for commenting, James.
I do James. In fact, when I wrote “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon” I had those in mind- hence even the title. I loved the serials- my favorite was Commander Cody and King of the Rocketmen. Captain Marvel was great too. I liked them all. Republic Studios were the premier producer of those chapter plays…although Monogram and others took a stab at them as well. Thanks for commenting, James.