The 13-episode Universal serial The Green Hornet is based on the radio series of the same name. Gordon Jones stars as Britt Reid, crusading young publisher of the Daily Sentinel, who matches wits with the underworld by disguising himself as the Green Hornet. So far as police are concerned, the Hornet is himself a criminal; this misunderstanding enables Reid to operate "outside the law" to battle criminals and racketeers. In the course of the serial, Reid and his faithful valet Kato (Keye Luke), the only living person who knows the true identity of the Hornet, take on a crooked insurance racket, an auto-theft ring and a dishonest flying school. Others in the cast include Anne Nagel as Reid's secretary Lenore "Casey" Case, and Wade Boteler as thick-headed detective Michael Axford. A TV version of The Green Hornet appeared in 1966, with Van Williams as Reid and no less than Bruce Lee as Kato. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Harold H. MacArthur - Art Director, Henry MacRae - Associate Producer, Ford I. Beebe - Director, Ray Taylor - Director, Alvin Todd - Editor, Irving Birnbaum - Editor, Jerome Ash - Cinematographer, William Sickner - Cinematographer, Basil Dickey - Screenwriter, George Plympton - Screenwriter
The Green Hornet, secretly newspaper publisher Britt Reid, and his Korean valet Kato stop and expose several seemingly separate crimes. This leads them into continued conflict with The Leader, the criminal mastermind behind The Syndicate and the individual crimes.
Anne Nagel as Lenore "Casey" Case, Reid's secretary
Keye Luke as Kato, who is Korean in this serial rather than the original Japanese nationality of the character. The radio version merely dropped the specific country of origin and eventually changed it to Filipino.
The only listed stuntman for this serial is Dave Sharpe.
Other versions
In 1990, GoodTimes Home Video released a feature film version, re-edited from the last six chapters, under the same title.
Influence
The 1960s Batman television series was created based on the popularity of a re-release of Columbia's Batman serial. The success of both led to the production of a Green Hornet series, which was played as a straight action mystery series, "in the tradition of its former presentations," rather than the camp Batman series. It was not accepted by audiences and lasted only one season. As a result, further serial revivals were not believed to be viable at that time.[1]
