Wonder Woman

When I first saw this film, I was like many others and wanted to see Wonder Woman in her traditional garb and as a brunette. What we got was Cathy Lee Crosby, in her pre-That's Incredible! days. She wasn't the super heroine I had heard about, what she was was a "Girl From Uncle" rip-off.

Also of note, this was made during the period when D.C. Comics, the publisher of the "Wonder Woman" comic book had taken away her powers and made her into a non-super powered woman with the explanation that all the amazons had left Paradise Island for another dimension to replenish their immortality, leaving Diana behind. Within a year, the Amazons returned to Earth and Diana had regained her powers.

I actually sat through this movie waiting for the real WONDER WOMAN to pop out at any second. She never did?!! At first, I hated this horrible-not-even-close version... But about 3 years later I read how they were trying to market towards the working women's lib instead of the "superhero" fanatics. So, I pondered on that for a while thinking that yes, it was & sometimes still is a male dominated world. On that note, I sat through the movie again... but, again, it wasn't good. It didn't suck! But it's not the Wonder Woman we all know, love, & at one time or another pretended to be. Or pretended to be Superman with Wonder Woman. If I sat through a film called "The Wonder's of a Woman" then I may have given the film a chance...But thats not what it is. This is Diana Price who is from Paradise Island. She is smarter, she is keen, & she is a knockout. But where is the leaps, the strength, the spinning around letting your hair fall gracefully down her back & then changing to the stunning costume (& always hoping she would wear the cape or the swimsuit!) Nope, not in this movie! She changes at the hotel! Sorry, don't think so!(4) Z.

I can remember watching this as a 12 year old and being quite exited by seeing Wonder Woman on TV. In fact, this was more like a spy thriller than a Super Heroine film. Cathy Lee's costume certainly was more modest than Lynda Carters. Also, Diana Prince seemed equally as strong as Wonder Woman, despatching the villains with ease, although Wonder Woman only just escaped when trapped in a room with slime dripping down the walls (never quite sure what that was supposed to do). There was added interest with Anitra Ford playing the role of an amazon 'gone bad'. I always thought it might have added a bit to the film when the two fought toward the end of the film if she had defeated Wonder Woman before handing the unconscious Wonder Woman over to the villain. Ricardo Montalban was possibly the most gracious villain of all time and looking back now, the film was a bit 'cheesy'.

This compact 90 minute unsold pilot caused quite a stir when it premiered on ABC in 1974. Even then comic book fans bemoaned the new interpretation of the character. It's not really Wonder Woman but, a modernized and scrubbed down version of a short lived incarnation of her from then current issues of the Wonder Woman comic book. In this version, after a short origin sequence, Wonder Woman, as Diana Prince, secret government agent, under Steve Trevor, is given the job of recovering a set of code books in the hands of a blackmailer.

The movie is entertaining. It's structured like an old time movie serial, each act has a cliffhanger ending with some new threat to Diana, who only appears in "costume" near the end. Not the traditional uniform, but a rather mod looking red, white and blue outfit, with a hidden golden lasso.

Providing menace is ace henchman, George. As played by Andrew Prine, who appears to be having a lot of fun, George's wish to kill the Amazon Princess is matched only by his desire to make love to her. (Don't worry, it's not a deep as it sounds).

Abner Smith, portrayed by a very charming Ricardo Montalban is George's boss and a great foil for Cathy Lee Crosby, who is over her head in this role, but tries hard.

As a side note, try counting the number of times, someone uses a telephone during the film.

A new drinking game could come out of this film!

When this first aired, I didn't like it. It wasn't the Wonder Woman I had seen in the comics. Not even close. A few more viewings over the years didn't change that opinion. But now, after a long break and forty years after its premiere, I can be a bit more objective and less hard-nosed. It really wasn't as bad as I used to think.

A lot of people preferred the Lynda Carter version, but seriously, aside from being somewhat more faithful to the comic, it wasn't that much better. That was just as campy, if not more. Nor was it completely faithful. The familiar twirling costume change was unique to that show, just a shortcut to avoid showing the character having to find a place to change or stash her clothes and costume. Early episodes didn't even have the "explosion," just a fade between wardrobe. And seriously, how many times can one watch Six Million Dollar Man-style leaps, which were also not from the comic? This Wonder Woman seemed to use her wits to get out of jams more than the better-known one did.

I did get a little bored with the constant parade of perils in this movie. Seems she was under attack every ten minutes. Just in time for a commercial break, of course. These Amazons were also annoying. Every time they spoke to each other, they were spouting stilted fortune cookie platitudes rather than sounding like actual dialog.

Ricardo Montalban as Abner Smith was probably the best part of the movie. Suave, classy, charismatic, charming and quite possibly the most honorable, least violent villain in TV history. Definitely not the clichéd murderous adversary trying to kill the hero by whatever means necessary. He never even lost his temper and yelled at his henchmen no matter how many times they disobeyed orders or failed. This was a proto-Roarke, a wise, imaginative, level-headed boss who was intelligent and anticipated almost every contingency. (The white suit didn't hurt, either, although even Mr. Roarke sometimes displayed a darker side not seen here.) And he never lost his composure even in the face of defeat and incarceration. He would have been splendid as her arch-enemy had this series been ordered, that rarest of animals, the likable villain that one could almost root for. Not to be confused with anti-heroes who were flawed but had good intentions. This was a selfish person who maintained his dignity, civility, principles and manners even toward his foes.