RETRO TV REVIEW: The Green Hornet S1E1: “The Silent Gun”

Although The Green Hornet is respected as a classic staple of superhero TV shows, it was a show I never grew up with and only had vague memories about coming in. That’s not to say that the show doesn’t deserve its reputation, not least because it rocketed martial arts legend Bruce Lee to stardom in the West. Also, the design of the Black Beauty car is iconic, and it still remains one of the great cars of TV history. At the same time, the character of Britt Reid never seemed to receive his due over time, not helped by a poor film adaptation. Because of that, it seemed a good time to revisit the first episode of this show and see how well it holds up today.

As it happens, it holds up decently well, if not perfectly so. The basic concept of the first episode comes across as somewhat silly by modern standards and it hasn’t aged particularly well. The plot revolves around a silent gun, which leaves no sound and makes no flash, which turns up in a series of murders. Nowadays, this kind of plot would come across as ridiculous, especially with the existence of silencers. Still, for its time, it sets up the adventure reasonably well even if the MacGuffin is a bit laughable to a modern audience.

However, “The Silent Gun” is an engaging episode despite the idea, largely because the cast are able to make the drama convincing. The execution of the story is effective enough to forgive the holes within the story as well. The focus of the episode is on Britt Reid, the Green Hornet, as he solves the mystery of where the silent gun is and how he overcomes the criminals who have stolen it. The story also does well at building up a good sense of initial dread and a real threat, especially through the use of the episode’s secondary characters. At the same time, much of the strength of the episode is in the way it leans into the main series concept, the idea of a pulp superhero who pretends to be a master criminal as a way of foiling crimes. This leads Britt to thinking ahead of his enemies, keeping a step ahead of the law (who don’t know the Hornet is a hero) as well as the villains of the piece.

Where the TV series works where later adaptations haven’t come down to the character of Britt Reid, the Green Hornet. As Britt Reid, he’s a newspaper publisher who’s trying to honor the memory of his dead father, a point that is subtly established through offhand dialogue. As the Green Hornet, he is trying to do justice by standing outside the law, presenting the impression of a criminal who acts by his own brand of morality. He pretends to be self-interested, but the Green Hornet’s “code of honor” gives Britt some room to do heroic things even as a criminal. It’s never quite clear what Britt’s angle is at any given moment, but he always has a plan and thinks ahead at every turn. This makes the Hornet an interesting persona that is entertaining to watch. Modern versions of the Green Hornet haven’t often given us this Britt Reid, and this may be at least part of the reason why those versions didn’t catch on.

The cast of this show is another reason why The Green Hornet remains memorable after all these years. Van Williams commands attention as the Green Hornet, his personality shining through even beneath the mask and the hat. As Britt Reid, he seems like a playboy and an executive, downplaying the intensity he has in costume. As the Hornet, Williams has the stature and the presence of a superhero, managing to hold his own quite nicely even against legends like Bruce Lee. Disappointingly, Lee doesn’t have many actual lines in this episode because the Hornet is very much the focus. Still, what lines he does get he delivers well, and his martial arts scenes are second to none. Lloyd Bochner is a name that I didn’t initially place, though he seemed strangely familiar. Then I remembered that Bochner played Mr. Chambers in the classic Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man”, one of my all-time favorite episodes of that series. Bochner shows some good range, occupying the role of the gangster like it was a natural fit. There’s a seediness to Bochner’s portrayal that sells the role beautifully. Moreover, he has the presence to stand well against Van Williams, and the showdown between the two is deliciously satisfying to watch on screen. The remaining characters are good, but serviceable in their roles, and they regrettably don’t get much to do in this episode beyond their story roles, though they may have improved later. Still, it’s a good and engaging cast in the time we share with them, and I came away wanting to get to know them more.

“The Silent Gun” is perhaps not the best way to start a live-action superhero series, but the show makes excellent use of the tools that it has, including perhaps the greatest martial arts master in cinema. It does do many things right; the episode introduces the hero and his background, allows the hero to reveal himself through his interactions with the villains and the plot, and it doesn’t ask much of the viewer in return. The main issue with this episode is the dated plot idea and the fact that major characters, including Kato, don’t get to do much. But enough of the good in this show shines through that makes me want to continue with the show. It’s regrettable that The Green Hornet only got a single season, but like other classic shows like Firefly, it has a large cultural impact in the one season that it gets. In the end, here’s not much more one could ask of any show than that.

Score: 4/5

Writers: Ken Pettus, George W. Tremble

Director: Leslie H. Martinson

Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Wende Wagner, Walter Brooke, Mike Axford, Lloyd Bochner, Lloyd Gough, Charles Francisco, Kelly Jean Peters

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Steve Sellers

Steve Sellers had been a fan of superheroes ever since Superman: The Movie. But it took the JSA, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, Twilight Zone, and Chris Claremont's legendary run on the X-Men to make him a writer and a longtime fan of comics, fantasy, and science fiction. Steve is the co-creator of WHITE DRUID & MICHAEL NERO and GUARDIANS OF ELAYIM for Omen Comics, and he is also the creator of BLITZ and SHOCKWAVE for Revelation Comics (an imprint of Omen Comics).