Honey West: The Complete Series (4pc) (Full B&W)

This 1965 series is noted as groundbreaking in pop culture history because it was the first to feature a female private detective (or as the Ideal board game called her, a "girl private eye"). Tough and independent yet sultry and willowy, Honey apparently inherited her father's detective agency, has a pet ocelot named Bruce and works with a hunky partner, Sam Bolt, whom I surmise from the dialogue in one episode was a marine and from a ridiculous robe he wears in another, a boxer.

Sam's character is standard rough-and-tumble ladies' man issue for the genre and is frequently irritated by Honey's more impulsive decisions. Of course, they have a bickering yet cute relationship that bubbles with over and undertones.

The stories themselves are also garden variety for the period, but nicely written (some by "Columbo" creators Richard Levinson and William Link) and well paced within a tidy 30 minutes that never gets padded nor rushed. It's too bad that TV drama no longer seems to utilize that time frame.

Producer Aaron Spelling reportedly launched Honey West in response to seeing The Avengers before it was imported to the U.S. with its iconic Emma Peel character, which ultimately eclipsed this series. The idea of a beautiful, strong female lead who does karate and has some cat suits in her wardrobe is the main similarity, though. Honey's show does not have the surreal, sometimes fantastic approach of the British series, nor does it have the unflappable, relentlessly affable John Steed.

What it does have is the extraordinarily comely Anne Francis, still every bit as memorable as she was in that classic Twilight Zone episode, "The After Hours." She is an excellent choice for a TV character that must have been a bit of a jolt to some viewers in 1965 who were used to Jane Wyatt and Donna Reed. Francis straddles the then-precarious line of being emancipated and in control and yet approachable and disarming. John Ericson, who Disney fans might recognize as the German colonel in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" or Barbara Eden's love interest in "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao," is suitably granite-jawed as Bolt, the kind of private eye that might have stepped off a paperback novel cover.

The lead actors seem to have the most fun playing undercover characters. Honey occasionally is "forced for investigative reasons" to don skimpy outfits - a standout being a tigerish car hop. Some of her outfits seem sexist by today's standards, but it's interesting to note that, in the somewhat more enlightened 1970s, Sgt. Pepper Anderson frequently posed as a hooker on "Police Woman" as a way to get Angie Dickinson into tight fits. It's TV, I guess.

Baby boomers like me will love spotting actors in guest roles throughout the series, many of whom went on to more prominence, including soon-to-be teen idol Bobby Sherman (who sings "Walking with My Baby"), pre-Marcia Marcia Marcia Maureen McCormick, "Hill Street Blues'" James B. Sikking, Miss America host Bert Parks, Joe Don "Walking Tall" Baker, Wayne "M*A*S*H" Rogers and Dick Clark.

It's also a treasure trove of great character actors, like Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber of "The Andy Griffith Show), Eleanor Audley (of "Green Acres," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella" and The Haunted Mansion) and Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone).

And speaking of "The Flintstones," you can hear Anne Francis herself promote that show in a promo on disc four in which she hawks the ABC lineup for Dallas/Fort Worth Channel 8. It's one of a collection of commercials included on each disc that really sets the tone of the period, with excellent prints of spots for everything from Sweeta, Dippity-Do and Seven Seas dressings to High Sierra After Shave and White Rain hairspray, plus stars like George Burns for El Producto cigars and Edie Adams for Muriel cigars.

Another trivia note for animation fans: the "Honey West" theme title sequence, a still photo montage with groovy graphics, was produced by Format Productions, the company that also produced 1961's "The Alvin Show."

There is also a nice little set of photo galleries, but sadly, no commentaries. That would make this set totally perfect, but other than that, it's the cat's meow.

From producer Aaron Spelling, this highly enjoyable series came out just as the TV landscape was heading into a more fantasy-based type of series (BATMAN, BEWITCHED, etc) and consequently didn't last more than a season. That's a shame because it incredibly enjoyable. There a decided camp appeal to the proceedings and Anne Francis as the delightful title character is a joy to watch.

The packaging for this four disc set is attractive and the bonus features even offer us vintage commercials from the period.

If you enjoy Emma Peel you should definetly check out HONEY WEST!

Every time a semi-intelligent, capable heroine appears on a hit TV show, we're told that now all those old cliched women's roles are passe, compared to Heroine X.

But Honey West was truly one of the groundbreaking TV heroines, way back in the mid 1960s when women were still classified either as housewives or girlfriends, and a sexy woman was usually an evil one. "Honey West: The Complete Series" ended up being a pretty solid, unique detective show, with a heroine who definitely broke the mold -- both back in the sixties, and in the current day.

Honey West (Anne Francis) inherited a detective agency from her father, and instead of living off other people's work she dove into it, along with her long-suffering (and very hot) partner Sam Bolt (John Ericson).

As the series opens, Honey attempts to nab a criminal for a client -- the baddies get lonely, wealthy widows and wives into sexual situations, photograph them, and then blackmail them for ridiculous amounts of money. To make herself a target, Honey stays at a luxurious resort and pretends to be the neglected wife of a senator... while Sam pretends to join the blackmailing gang. Of course, it doesn't take long for the bad guys to start catching onto them.

And as the series goes on, Honey and Sam have some interesting problems to deal with, both for themselves and for law and justice and all that -- firebugs, kidnapped pop singers, stolen designer dresses, a horrendously spoiled little girl, a jade owl, jewel thieves, gypsies, a mobster's ex, an amnesiac with way too much money, loads of counterfeiting, psychics, embezzlement, and lots and lots of assorted thieves. There's even one thief who impersonates the one and only Honey West. Now that's personal.

In many ways, Honey West was a heroine ahead of her time -- she was a smart, self-sufficient heroine who was perfectly okay with being feminine, rather than having to be one of the boys. She did martial arts (we even see her practicing at home), wore glamorous gowns, took professional calls from the tub, had a pet ocelot, and had a vaguely James-Bondian array of magical technology (like a garter that turns into a gas mask, or a watch that served as a microphone). Oh, and her partner happened to be not only a technical wiz, but also quite tough and handsome.

It's a testament to Anne Francis that she can make this character seem semi-realistic and likable (although Honey's rotten money sense helps) rather than utterly nauseating. Francis -- best known as the daughter from "Forbidden Planet" -- brings a jaunty, sharp-edged energy to Honey, and handles her groundbreaking character without any visible strain. Though Ericson is technically the sidekick, he's more of an equal partner -- handsome, capable, and with a sharp tongue whenever Honey enmeshes them in another weird problem.

The mysteries themselves are pretty solid, classic material -- blackmail, theft, kidnapping and drug-running are the major culprits, although occasionally they become a little too wacky to be believed. They're handled with a deft mingling of the gritty (car chases, truckstop brawls) and the refined (Honey's luxurious apartment), and the mysteries take us to lots of mansions, ransacked offices, museums, boats, woodland cabins and occasionally a catwalk. And of course, lots of disguises and fun gadgets too.

And it's peppered with lots of intriguing twists in the detective work, clashes with the Californian cops, mild comic relief ("Finders keepers?" Honey muses after rescuing stolen designer dresses), and plenty of table-busting action. Ericson does most of the punching and wrestling, but Honey gets her fair share also (not always convincingly), and she adds some clever twists during the action scenes. For example, one episode has two attack dogs homing in on Honey's distinctive perfume -- until she splashes the bottle all over their master. Guess what happens.

"Honey West: The Complete Series" has aged quite well since the 1960s -- it may be in black and white, but the solid mysteries and excellent heroine keep it fresh. Nice vintage crime series.

excellent quality, fully restore, Anne Francis at her best,and Amazon delivery on time...... thanks you

VCI have packaged a 4 disc set of the 60s era female private eye show HONEY WEST. The 4 discs fit nicely into a regular slim DVD case, and the extras particularly the vintage commercials have a truly nostalgic energy about them.(If only modern advertising was as mellow as these oldies) As for the show Anne Francis plays a level headed girl who inherits her fathers P.I. biz. Her and her man friday sidekick, bicker, blast and finesse their way through a variety of sticky situations that usually either begin or end with some chase usually by car. The B/W image looked very good on my old 4x3 TV I quickly found myself caught up in Honey's world. It is interesting to watch how television has progressed and Honey is assuredly one of the first female action role models on TV. Entertaining for fans who caught it back when, and a nice blast of retro media for the newer generations.