So splendid and memorable was Lynda Carter's turn as Wonder Woman on television in the 1970's that we often forget she wasn't the first. In 1974 ABC Television did its first pilot for Wonder Woman starring Ricardo Montleban as the mastermind villain "Abner Smith" and Cathy Lee Crosby as the titular heroine. In this particular version she was not as "titular" as what was to come. The ubiquitous Andrew Prine is on board in fine form as "George" a particularly heinous and murderous lout. "Steve Trevor" is played by Kaz Garas, a face I'd seen but a name I was unfamiliar with.
This ain't a terrible movie by any stretch. But it is far removed from the classic version of the character we'd see on screen a year later. Instead of a strikingly beautiful raven-haired Amazon helping the Allies during World War II we have a blond Amazon functioning more as a super spy in the modern world trying to locate and neutralize threats to America's espionage organizations. She's sleek and lovely and as brave as anything. She's able to beat up about any guy or gal she runs across, unless they happen to be an Amazon too. And she dons a costume before it's all over, but mostly she dresses normally, looking exceedingly fetching in evening gowns and street clothes. Her bracelets don't she bullets but seem to be gadgets such as explosives and a makeshift hook which attaches to the "lasso" in her belt.She's much more like the era of Wonder Woman when Diana Prince renounced her Amazonian heritage for a more street-level approach to crimefighting.
There's little to really complain about after seeing this one. I'm pretty lax when it comes to comic book hero interpretations in other media and little bothers me about this one save she doesn't really look much at all like the Wonder Woman I know. Being blonde does create an image problem, but not a critical one. The striking Anitra Ford who plays an "Ahnjayla" an Amazon turned villain is visually quite on for the lead part with a beautiful figure and long dark tresses. I'd heard about this movie decades before I was able to finally see it and heard about its deficiencies. Maybe that's why I find it a surprisingly entertaining outing, offbeat but diverting nonetheless.
Next week Wonder Woman takes on those Nazis and gets a twinkle in her eye.
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Another one that is totally new to me. A very strange take on WW both visually and in storyline. I don't think I have ever seen such a change in an established comic book character on tv\film. Did DC produce a comic book version of this character?
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm aware. I got the feeling watching it this version was likely inspired by the Diana Rigg version of Wonder Woman which Mike Sekowsky developed, but at the time of this show DC was busy getting Wonder Woman back in her old costume and back into the JLA.
DeleteSorry, Cathy, but Lynda's got my vote for the best TV Wonder Woman.
ReplyDeleteThere's no real competition there amigo.
DeleteI remember being quite impressed when I first saw this on TV in the UK in an afternoon showing on ITV on 10th April 1978. I even went so far as to set my Dad's 8mm movie camera up to film 4 minutes of it from the TV screen, which I recently rewatched after an interval of 44 years! By the time of the original UK TV showing, the Lynda Carter TV series had already started to be shown on the BBC (starting with the modern-era season 2), so it was all pretty confusing. I'll look into getting that Warner Archive release.
ReplyDeleteGlad to bring back some good memories. Hope you find a copy.
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