Forgotten Television: The Green Hornet

Another challenge for the Green Hornet, his aide Kato, and their rolling arsenal, the Black Beauty. On police records a wanted criminal, the Green Hornet is really Britt Reid, owner-publisher of the Daily Sentinel; his dual identity is known only to his secretary, and to the district attorney. And now, to protect the rights and lives of decent citizens, rides The Green Hornet!

Playboy bachelor Britt Reid (Van Williams) is the owner and publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper and general manager of a television station, but unbeknownst to the public, he is also the masked vigilante known as The Green Hornet.  Along with his companion, martial arts expert, Kato (Bruce Lee), the duo fight crime under the guise of being criminals.  Their secret identities are known only to Britt’s secretary, Casey (Wende Wagner) and the District Attorney, Frank P. Scanlan (Walter Brooke).  The pair drive a 1966 Imperial Crown sedan called the Black Beauty, which is “tricked-out” with all manner of weapons and gadgetry making it a rolling arsenal.  The crime-fighting team battles organized crime, murderers, political assassins, corrupt cops, and even a super genius faking an alien invasion of Earth and even fought alongside and against Batman and Robin.

The Green Hornet aired on ABC during the 1966-67 television season with the first episode premiering on September 6, 1966.  The series only lasted one season and ended on March 17, 1967, with a total of 26 episodes.  The characters are based off a radio series from the 1930s and 1950s created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker and had also been adapted into movie serials and other media before the series was produced. The team of George Trendle and Fran Striker also created The Lone Ranger and Britt Reid / Green Hornet, is thought to be related to the Lone Ranger as his grand nephew.  The series was only able to be made due to the success of the Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward which featured a two-part episode that served as the backdoor pilot for this series.  The producers took a straight approach to the series versus the campy over the top style of the Batman show, but the Green Hornet and Kato do appear in a few episodes of Batman setting them in the same universe.  The show introduced Bruce Lee to the American public as well as being the first time, for many Americans, of seeing real martial arts.  This catapulted Lee to stardom after the show was cancelled. A 2011 motion picture was made starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou, but it diverged from the source material too much and was played more for laughs then being a serious movie.

As a kid, I remember watching this show in re-runs along with the 1960s Batman.  Even though Batman is the series more remembered, I actually feel that the Green Hornet was superior and better executed.  The corny and campy style of Batman, even as a kid, removed some of the suspense and believability from the show, but The Green Hornet kept it grounded and based more in reality.  That is not to say there weren’t issues with the writing and storytelling and a bit over acting from some of the “supervillains”, but the fight scenes were better choreographed and executed and overall, I just enjoyed the Green Hornet experience over Batman. Van Williams has dashing good looks and a charismatic personality.  It is easy to see him as the rich playboy bachelor.  We can’t talk about the series without mentioning the iconic theme song.  The original music used for the radio serial was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee and it became synonymous with the series.  So, when looking for the music for the television series, Bill May arranged a jazz-styled version of the song that set the stage for the action and adventure encapsulated in each episode.