Wonder Woman

I saw this movie when I was a kid and was very disappointed that Cathy Lee Crosby looked nothing like Diana Prince, not even the costume! But I did like her portrayal of the Amazon Princess. She was strong, warm and really endearing. And I really liked the rivalry storyline between Diana and her "corrupted" sister who was lured by the things she could get for herself now that she was away from Paradise Island. That was very interesting because it wasn't resolved, her sister denounced how she was raised and Diana kept firm to her own beliefs. They agreed to disagree and there was still a mutual sisterly respect in the end. A little bit of depth in an otherwise shallow attempt at a pilot with a charming lead actress.

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.

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.

So this was a different take on the Wonder Woman mythos, opting to go with a blonde version of the Amazonian Goddess. This may have been because Cathy Lee Cosby might not have wanted to die her hair for the part or don a wig. Whatever the case may be she does an amiable job as Diana Prince and I would've watched a series with her as Wonder Woman, it's a shame the script wasn't too brilliant, it was your average fair for '74. Also, gone is the iconic and eye-popping costume to be replaced with a modified track suit.

I like Warner's and McEveety's decision to use Crosby since she was a major athlete at the time she could easily cope with the action scenes... which reduced the need to bring in a stuntman in a wig. She's also a pretty decent actor and fit this version of the character well. It would have been nice to have the fight scenes choreographed a little better and speeded up a tad, a few special effects wouldn't have gone amiss to show her strength, as was the case with the later series.

As for the other actors, there wasn't anything too spectacular about them. Even though I do like Montalban a lot, he is very underused here. In fact, I think that can be said of most, though, Andrew Prime does have a bit more power behind his performance. This could all be down to McEveety's direction, who doesn't give us anything particularly new here,

Though Black sticks to the origin pretty well, things start to get messy once we're off Themyscara. We see Diana Prince working as a Secretary for Steve Trevor, though secretly she's the one they send in to get the job done. So she's undercover in her own business. What I found really great and funny was the fact that Everybody else appeared to know Diana Prince was Wonder Woman; this says a lot for her company - the only spies who didn't know her secret. Even with this unintentional humour, Black does add some intentional humour to the story by incorporating a burro to bring the top secret plans to Abner Smith. This is one well- trained Ass... The other thing wrong with the script is the villains' names. I, for one, do not find either Abner Smith or George Calvin particularly frightening or awe inspiring. Calvin is a psychotic and cold blooded killer so it would have been nice for him to be given a more fearsome name or nick-name. This is based on a comic after all and in the 70's they were filled with evil doers with weird pseudonyms. The Joker wouldn't have been the same if he was called Melvin Phillips...

I think that if this had a better writer and director then the end product could have been so much better than this. It might even have made a decent television series; though I'm glad it didn't as it probably would have meant we would have missed Lynda Carter in the role that is so iconic to her. Though, as it stands it's not too bad and is okay for kids though with what's available today it looks and feels really dated, so they might baulk at watching it. This is worth a watch if you're looking at Wonder Woman throughout the ages, which I'm doing. Or, if you were a kid in the 70's and you want a little nostalgia. Apart from that, I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.

As the previous reviewer has commented, fans of the "Wonder Woman" comic and the later effort by Lynda Carter will overall be very disappointed. Indeed, this is not the Wonder Woman we are used to (different 70's style "no cleavage" costume, blond hair) but Cathy Lee Crosby is indeed a wonder to behold. Having moved on from semi-pro tennis player with little acting experience, she holds her own well against foe Ricardo Montalban (although this "foe" has to be one of the most charming, non-threatening villains ever portrayed in a Super Hero film). Notable appearance by original "Price Is Right" gal Anitra Ford as a fellow Paradise Island "lady gone bad." Quirky highlights include a "James Bond" type arsenal of bracelets, a "hidden" not-so-magic lasso, and, low and behold, Wonder Woman actually checking in to a hotel (perhaps someone would notice she's really Diana Price?). And who could ever forget Artie Butler's catchy theme that sounds like it uses a Dentist's drill as the main instrument. Believe it or not, I do enjoy this TV Movie as an "alternative" Wonder Woman, but I'm just glad that ABC gave the Super Heroine another chance after this failed Pilot. The world may have never met Lynda Carter.