The Green Hornet (1940) User Reviews

Good compared to many other serials.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 28 November 2020]

In 1936, 'The Green Hornet' was created for the radio. Only four years later, Universal Studios made the first movie serial version of the crime fighter and I saw it mostly in order to see pre-stardom Alan Ladd before his break out films of 1942 (such as "The Glass Key" and "This Gun for Hire")....but ended up enjoying the serial in its own right.

Now I should stop for a moment to talk about serials. These installment films were very popular in the 1930s-50s and normally had to do with crime fighting, such as the Batman, Spy Smasher, Captain Marvel and other serials. A few were westerns or sci-fi. If you see them today, you'll notice a few things about all of them....death-defying escapes that are often utterly ridiculous and a lot of repetition. Audiences of the day didn't mind seeing the heroes appear to die at the end of one chapter...only to see that they actually survived miraculously (sometimes with film footage that completely contradicts what you saw the previous week). And, seeing the inconsistencies wasn't easy in the day because folks were never intended to see them all in one sitting! And, as far as repetition goes, this is because each episode needed to summarize each week in case a viewer missed a chapter or to jog their memories. They were never intended as high art and they were usually made by second and third-tier studios, such as Monogram, Republic or Universal.

When the story begins, police officials meet with Britt Reid (Gordon Jones), the publisher of 'The Daily Sentinel'...the town's newspaper. They are concerned about organized crime and Britt seems to care little about their concerns. Of course, he is the hero of the tale...so you know that he's only pretending to be a lazy jerk. In reality, his way of dealing with it is to don the guise of the Green Hornet, accompanied by his man-servant Kato* (Keye Luke)...and his hot rod car.

Soon you learn that one of the activities of this organized crime ring is graft in public works projects. The mobsters use substandard equipment in building dams and other dangerous projects...and when one of the workers threatens to go to the police, he dies in an 'accident'! So, Britt is out to get the goods on these gang activities as well as figure out who's behind this evil. And, it turns out that there's one big baddie...and his 12 evil disciples...and they are up to all sorts of crimes in addition to the dam project.

Because this is a serial, you really cannot compare it to a normal film. Sure, it's cheesy at times...but all serials are...so I cannot deduct points for this. And, compared to other serials, it's a pretty good and exciting one. Decent action and worth seeing.

*In the serial, Kato is a Korean by birth. However, on the radio he was originally Japanese. Why the change? Well, although the USA and Japan were not yet at war against each other, tensions between the two nations over the Japanese invasion of China made having Kato being Japanese a public relations problem...so they changed him to Korean.

another rich super hero

[gawlinskie · 7/10 · 22 June 2006]

"It's gone... like a spook! I've never seen a car move so fast." The two police officers who are constantly chasing the Green Hornet's car say that in almost every episode. Britt Reid (the Green Hornet) is a rich guy who like Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) has a secret identity that he uses to fight crime.

This serial is a lot of fun and like most serials ends each episode with an exciting cliff hanger. It suffers from the defects typical of serials of this era but also has the charm that is also typical of them.

Those of us who remember the Abbott and Costello Show will enjoy seeing Gordon Jones as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet. He was Officer Mike. Although Keye Luke (Kato) is no Bruce Lee he plays the part well. Those who enjoyed David Carradine as Caine in Kung Fu will enjoy seeing how Master Po (the blind monk who called Caine "grasshopper") looked as a young man.

Don't expect a sophisticated plot or deep character development. The dialog is corny but there is plenty of action and lots of fun.

Britt Reid Gets A Terrific "Buzz" Out Of Fighting Crime

[xyzkozak · 6/10 · 14 December 2014]

Let me tell ya - In spite of its many-many flaws, its b-grade visual effects, its laughable dialogue, etc., etc., etc. - This vintage, b&w serial from 1940 (presented in 13 thrill-packed episodes) was still definitely about 10 times more entertaining and exciting to watch than was the likes of (that doofus) Seth Rogen's disgustingly dismal and completely contemptible feature film adaptation of the Green Hornet character in 2011.

I really liked Gordon Jones as the Britt Reid/Green Hornet character. It certainly didn't matter to me that this character had no superpowers to speak of. I found that the Hornet's bare-knuckle brawling with the bad guys was satisfactory enough for me.

*Note* - Prior to becoming an actor, Gordon Jones (a real beefy dude) was a promising football player known as "Bull" Jones. Jones was 29 years old when he played the Green Hornet character. He died in 1963, at the age of 52.

The Lone Ranger's great-nephew replaced Silver with a Black Beauty.

[horn-5 · 10 December 2005]

The character of The Green Hornet first appeared on WXYZ radio, Detroit, Michigan on January 31, 1936, and was created by station program manager/co-owner George W. Trendle (who also created The Lone Ranger) and, was like that station's Lone Ranger, primarily written by Fran Striker, at least in the early years of both programs. And Trendle's creation from the word go, but Striker was the one who came up with the gas gun and "Black Beauty."

Trendle created Britt Reid/The Green Hornet as the son of Dan Reid, the boy who called The Lone Ranger uncle. (Actually, Dan Reid was a Junior as his father was Dan Reid the first, a Texas Ranger Captain who was killed in the ambush at Bryant's Gap, by the Butch Cavendish gang, along with the rest of his Texas Ranger troop, with the sole exception of his younger brother John Reid, who became The Lone Ranger. Dang right, The Lone Ranger had a name.)

The Green Hornet, like his predecessor kinsman, fought crime wearing a mask; he carried a gas gun while Uncle Lone had a six-shooter and silver bullets; he drove the fastest car on radio, "Black Beauty", while his great-uncle rode Silver, the fastest (and whitest) horse on radio. The latter had Tonto, a native-American (and Indian on the radio) who had saved his life when his band of Texas Rangers were ambushed...while the Hornet's sidekick was Kato, a Filipino who doubled as his valet, and was a college graduate who knew all the secrets of Oriental in-fighting, a master chemist and he could drive "Black Beauty" anywhere, anytime at any speed. (One of the great non-true urban myths has it that Kato was introduced on the program as being Japanese, and had to change his country-of-origin in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Not so. Kato was Filipino from day one in 1936 on the radio program. But it has been told so much---it started as an WWII joke with comedians---that only those who were there in 1936 or take the time to research the radio program and its scripts know it isn't true. Surprised somebody hasn't posted that myth on the IMDb site, somewhere.)

And, while The Lone Ranger had the "William Tell Overture" as the opening-and-closing theme music, the Green Hornet opened (and roared through his crime-fighting duties)with "Flight of the Bumble Bee" as the main piece of music. And over the Lone Ranger theme music, a voice intoned: "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!" And over "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" a voice said: "With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the underworld, risking his life that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of The Green Hornet." Granted, a bit wordy but it served the purpose. And, the follow-up intro to The Lone Ranger was more than a bit wordy as Fred Foy would add: "With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains.......37 more words....followed by.. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again.!

For their 1940-41 serial schedule, Universal Pictures Corporation announced to their exhibitors that their four serials would include..."The Lone Ranger -The greatest serial property in show business history!" (They sure did---in trade ads and on the inside front cover of the press book of "The Phantom Creeps" You can look it up. We don't have to...it's on our desk) Well, the description blurb was true---Republic had already cleaned up on The Lone Ranger in 1938 and 1939---but WXYZ, Trendle and Universal couldn't agree on the terms. meaning Trendle wanted more money than Universal wanted to pay. Pity. A Universal Lone Ranger serial would have made an interesting companion to Republic's two offerings. And don't knock Universal for promising something they couldn't deliver; in the same 1940-41 schedule Republic announced a Superman serial. That fell through, also, but Republic made up for that, in spades, with "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" in 1941. (Republic used the intended Superman script, anyway...as "The Mysterious Dr. Satan" with "The Copperhead" character filling in for old Supe.)

But Universal did acquire the rights to make two serials based on Trendle's "Green Hornet" character and, relative to serials---which should only be judged by other serials and not every genre and budget that comes down the pike---both are easily in our top-third.

This one was Universal's 45th sound-era serial and they slipped it in between "The Phantom Creeps" and "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe."

Edit: Despite what the cowardly "reviewer", who will not respond to e-mails, says in his snarly, mad-dog attack review, in which he put my name in the subject line I stand by every comment I made. But his attack is typical of the snit-fits he tosses out on the Contributor's Help Board. Edit: It appears the attacker has just corrected his incorrect assertion, with a slithering and cheap "for what it's worth" squirm. Now, take my name out of your slanderous subject line.

Corrections to Leslie Howard Adams

[tbrittreid · 7/10 · 12 January 2006]

This is not so much a user comment but corrections to Leslie Howard Adams's commentary, as they do need to be made.

1): "John Reid...became The Lone Ranger. Dang right The Lone Ranger had a name." As long as George Trendle and Fran Striker were in control, first names for the Lone Ranger and his ill-fated brother were never given (they sold that property to Jack Wrather in 1955). In the 1960s, both a "Houston Chronicle" (TX) newspaper obituary for Striker and a Gold Key comics adaptation of the origin called THE SURVIVING BROTHER Dan. "John" and "Dan," as are now so familiar--and I therefore do not fault Mr. Adams significantly for accepting them--do not appear to predate the 1970s, perhaps beginning in the awful 1981 big-budget movie version.

2): "One of the great non-true urban myths has it that Kato was introduced on the program as Japanese, and had to change his country-of-origin in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Not so. Kato was Filipino from day one in 1936 on the radio program....Surprised that somebody hasn't posted that myth on the IMDb site, somewhere." It is an incontestable fact that Kato WAS initially described as Japanese on the radio show, as I have audio recordings of early episodes to prove it. What IS widely believed but untrue is the part that has the change being made as of Monday December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. Jim Harmon in his book, "The Great Radio Heroes" (Doubleday, 1967, p.223--and I have photocopies of the pages of the entire Green Hornet chapter right in front of me) wrote, "It's a good story that Kato became Filipino the day after Pearl Harbor. Even some of the people on the show tell it. It isn't true, however. Kato was described as being a Filipino of Japanese ancestry as far back as 1940." This has apparently been misconstrued by many as saying he was NEVER indicated to be Japanese. These people presumably had it related to them second-hand as it is simply not open to that misinterpretation; Harmon is saying nothing about the character's status prior to 1940. The odd result is that one urban legend has been replaced, at least in some minds, by another. I repeat, my audio recordings prove conclusively that early on, Kato was said to be a Japanese (Harmon's intent, incidentally, seems to have been to suggest that the change was made by increments, first adding Filipino to the already existing Japanese, then SUBSEQUENTLY dropping the public-relations-wise problematical original; however, none of my original episode recordings give this dual ethnicity, just one, the other, or nothing more specific than "Oriental" if even that). For Mr.Adams's information, this so-called urban legend HAS been on this title's "Trivia" page for some time, and I recently modified it to remove the "Pearl Harbor" myth-information and add the note that this serial got there first in 1939--note the opening credits' copyright notice--and made him "a Korean."

If Mr. Adams wants to dispute any of this, I invite him to start a thread on this title's message boards, as THIS is not the appropriate venue, but his comments needed to be addressed where they were made.

I update to make an admission: Filipino was indeed said at least a few times in 1940 (and presumably consistently from then on), although these were just passing references in dialogue, not as part the standard opening, where it appears to have been very rarely heard (for whatever that distinction might be worth, if anything). In the only episode recording I have in which this occurs, it is clearly not the intro originally heard on the episode: It also says "...public enemies who try and destroy our America," even though this change--from "...even the G-Men cannot reach," at FBI objection--had yet to be introduced; the intro is read by a different announcer/narrator than the one heard throughout the remainder of the episode, further corroborating the switch. Just to make the information here completely accurate (I am as ready to correct myself as I am anyone else).

A Great Radio Suspense Serial

[caseynicholson · 7/10 · 18 September 2016]

I recently watched the 1940 serial edition of "The Green Hornet". As someone who has not watched very many serial movies, I found this film series to be fun and extremely well made for its day. The movie is about four and a half hours long, but is divided into thirteen chapters, each twenty minutes in length. I myself watched a chapter every few days over the course of a month or so.

"The Green Hornet" tells the story of the eponymous radio suspense character from the 1930's who is essentially a mild mannered newspaper editor who takes it upon himself to fight crime in disguise. The character is not exactly a vigilante, at least not in the violent sense, as the Hornet is constantly portrayed as a hero rather than an antihero. Still, his standing outside the law causes him to have run ins with both crooks and the police.

There is definitely a vibe to this film that fits into a "noir" genre, as the plot centers on an elaborate scandal. However, the film maintains a lighthearted vibe overall, as this is ultimately a superhero series, so to speak, rather than the kind of existentialist commentary one might expect from film noir.

The best thing this serial has going for it is its elaborate settings and fight scenes. Railroad scenes, flight scenes, train wrecks, auto wrecks, plane wrecks, flooded mines--this one has it all. And of course, each chapter ends with a cliffhanger made to keep you on the edge of your seat.

All that said, I've given this movie 7/10 stars. It's certainly well made and a delight for its day and age, and for its genre. However, it is quite a long series and by the end you're kind of ready for it to be over with. Still, the final chapter is perhaps the best of the series, and makes it all worth the watch.

"There is danger in The Hornet visiting the zoo"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 7/10 · 16 January 2022]

A young newspaper editor Britt Reid uses 'The Sentinel' to help fight crime in his city and as his secret alter ego The Green Hornet ('the modern Robin Hood'!) specifically tackles a twelve person syndicate responsible for many crimes, aided by his faithful aide Kato. Also in the mix are his efficient secretary Leonore Case (played by cute Anne Nagel) and his ace reporters big Michael Axford and wiry Jasper Jenks. It's an entertaining serial in thirteen lively chapters with constant thrills and spills. Gordon Jones as The Hornet and the great Keye Luke as Kato make a watchable team as they dash around the city in their souped-up car, the Black Beauty. There was a sequel titled 'The Green Hornet Strikes Again!' in the same year.

Intelligent script, believable hero, good acting performances

[opsbooks · 7/10 · 22 November 2021]

This was my first taste of serials in several decades. Having never seen or heard other versions of 'The Green Hornet', I was impressed with the story and scripts, while the acting performances were measured and believable. My partner (who'd never seen a serial) managed to sit through the entire story, and she's not easily impressed. When watching serials one has to make allowances for the duplicate material. Information on this version of 'Black Beauty' is difficult to find. I'm surprised no one has come up with one in either real life or model form. Recommended to all; now I must watch the sequel.

This "Sting" is no Con Job! The Hornet's flight from Star Radio attraction to Top Flight Serial was strictly a Bee Line!!

[redryan64 · 8/10 · 1 January 2008]

It should not have been surprising to the World that the dynamic, young Publisher of The Daily Sentinel, Mr. Britt Reid, would become that double-agent of crime fighting, The Green Hornet. You see, Britt Reid had a Great, great, great Uncle, John Reed. Uncle John had been a Texas Ranger and the only one to survive as a group of those Lawmen were ambushed by the gang of cut-throats and their leader, Butch Cavendish.

Do you give up? Of course you don't, for everybody in 3 or 4 generations knows of the exploits of "the masked rider of the Plains" and his Indian companion, Tonto. This is just too easy, so there's no prize! I bet ya'll knowed it was the Lone Ranger all along! So being that there's those "Champion of the People" gene in his lineage it followed that in the mid-Twentieth Century, when the Nation was being plagued with Organized Crime and free-lancing Bank Robbers & Stick-up men that somebody in the family would assume an identity of a Masked Man to strike back at the Underworld in an extra-legal manner.

"THE GREEN HORNET" was born on the Radio. It was in the fertile Studios of WXYZ Radio in Detroit that Mr. Britt Reed and alter-ego, The Green Hornet, first HEARD the light of day. (Remember, this is Radio and only the mind can see!) Soon, the whole Green Hornet ensemble was present and prepared for action. There was Kato, Valet to Mr. Reed but secretly the Hornet's partner in crime-fighting, expert driver of the super-auto, the Black Beauty. Kato is as well, a great inventor and scientist-innovator in that he is responsible for the powerful sedan's make-up underneath the hood, as well as its futuristic design.

Kato was also responsible for the "Hornet's Sting" a sort of stun gun-type weapon. But Kato could and did deliver a stun of his own; via his mastery of the Martial Arts, being Jiu-jitsu, Judo, Karate, Aikido and other related disciplines.

So, let's imagine. This is 1940 and Universal Pictures, one of the 3 Hollywood Studios that regularly turned out the Serials as a part of their films, was looking for new properties suitable for adaptation to a Screen Chapter-play. And from out of the airwaves, presto! There's The Green Hornet, already known and quite popular! It has made its theme music, Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" into a well known household tune.

Universal wasted no time in putting the project on their production schedule. For the leads they cast a slender and youthful Gordon Jones as Britt Reed/The Green Hornet, Keye Luke portrayed his partner Kato, Anne Nagel as his Secretary and Confidant Miss Lenore Case (just "Casey" for short), Wade Boteler as retired Cop turned Reporter Mike Axford, Selmer Jackson as the District Attorney, Stanley Andrews as the Police Commissioner; also Cy Kendall, Joseph Crehan, Walter McGrail, Gene Rizzi, John Kelly and a cast of thousands! (Well a lot more anywho!) They did one more thing with the cast. As the sound of voice was the story telling medium on the Radio, a popular leading character's voice was as well known as the face of a Movie Star. So the Universal production team decided to give us the "real" voice of The Green Hornet from the Radio. Actor Al Hodge* dubbed in his voice to speak any of the lines that Gordon Jones spoke when he was decked out in the Hornet's garb. It was a very neat and effective dramatic device.

As for the story and plot of THE GREEN HORNET serial, the usual subjects of international espionage agents and Renegade Super Scientists were jettisoned away from the first Hornet Screen appearance. Instead The Green Hornet, Kato and company concentrated on Organized Crime and their involvement with rackets in the building of sub-standard buildings, collapsing public works, intimidation and extortion. All of these are real-life type problems being dealt with then, now and as long as Man walks the face of our home, Planet Earth.

NOTE: * Actor Al Hodge not only got to be well known as the Radio Voice of the Green Hornet/Britt Reed; but also during the period of 1949-55, he was famous World-Wide as Television's CAPTAIN VIDEO.

Addendum: 1/07/2008. Oh, by the way, we did forget to mention that a condensed feature version of this Universal Serial was released to TV and to video in 1990. There still may be some of those VHS Casettes floating around out there.

Smashing The Rackets, Superhero Style

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 5 December 2008]

Through thirteen chapters in this serial The Green Hornet manages to discover and eliminate a number of various criminal enterprises that are plaguing his city. Playing The Green Hornet in this version is a younger and leaner Gordon Jones who was best known for being Mike the Cop on the Abbott and Costello show. Keye Luke plays his sidekick and chauffeur Kato who because of the impending war was changed from Japanese to Korean for this serial.

Not that this serial is all that much better though it is a cut above most of them, but one of the things that struck me was that each chapter stood more on its own than you would normally have. The premise here is that the various rackets are controlled by a city syndicate of twelve and the Green Hornet as himself and in his real identity of Britt Reid, millionaire publisher of a crusading newspaper the Sentinel, systematically exposes each racket in each chapter and eliminates the head through death or imprisonment.

The obvious comparison is to Batman, but The Green Hornet relies a whole lot less on gadgetry than most superheroes. His car, 'the Black Beauty' is really a souped up hotrod, nothing unique about it in any other way. He's not got the variety of gadgets that Batman or most of his other peers seem to have.

He even has a gas gun that shoots small gas pellets and when they hit the target they merely disable. Fran Striker who created The Green Hornet also created the Lone Ranger and the Ranger's creed was always to shoot to wound. Modern technology has given the Green Hornet a weapon that will do nothing else. In fact The Green Hornet is the grand nephew of The Lone Ranger.

A cut above maybe, but The Green Hornet is as dated as all those other serials that the Saturday afternoon kids used to enjoy.

Fun, Escapist, and True to the Original.

[flapdoodle64 · 8/10 · 11 February 2008]

'The Green Hornet' is, overall, a pretty good serial. Certainly it is a darn sight better than the superhero movies made since about, say, 2005, when suddenly Batman was willing to confess his true identity to a deputy DA just because he has the hots for her, or since 2006, when we learned that Superman was a dead-beat dad and a stalker (and don't get me started on the Fantastic Four or 'Spider-Man 3': blech!). 'The Green Hornet' features a hero unencumbered by ridiculous modern angst and subplots, who is good in a fight, yet is only able to perform feats that actual human beings could conceivably perform.

This serial has a good plot, or rather a series of good plots, that are much more grounded in reality than most other serials. It does not involve super-powers, magic, outer space, or super-villains. It's about crime. I myself enjoy the demented hallucinations of 'Flash Gordon' or 'Atom Man Vs. Superman' as much as the next person, but I like crime stories too.

This serial has decent fight scenes, not dazzling like 'Spy Smasher,' but nothing like the painfully ridiculous fights in Columbia's two horrible Batman serials. The cliff hangers are generally good, with the average amount of 'cheating' to resolve some of them. There is a good sequence with the Hornet jumping from his car onto a moving train, and who doesn't like that? To predict if you are going to like this serial, a lot depends on if you like the Green Hornet as a hero. This serial is very faithful to the original radio show, even to the extent that whenever actor Gordon Jones puts on the Green Hornet mask, his voice is dubbed in by Al Hodge, who played the Hornet on radio and later went on to be the best Captain Video on TV.

I like the Green Hornet because he has a super cool gas gun to knock out crooks (the special effect for this action works well here) and has a super cool souped-up car to chase crooks. Also, instead of wearing tights, he wears a suit and a hat, which looks a lot classier and certainly less sissy than superhero tights.

But now a word about Kato: in this version of Green Hornet, Kato is the one who invents the super cool gas gun and high powered engine that powers the super cool car. In real life, a guy that smart would have patented those things and gotten rich from them. Or if he got into the crime fighting business, he might have kept the gas gun and super motor secret so as to avoid them falling into the wrong hands, but certainly he would have invented other things and gotten rich from them.

Also, besides being a scientific genius, Kato is the one who knows martial arts. The Green Hornet is pretty good in a fight, but a Judo expert would outfight him every time.

What I am getting at is that Kato should have been the main hero, and the Hornet should have been his sidekick. My guess as to why the Hornet was dominant is that is something to do with the fact that Kato was not a Caucasian and Hollywood has been known to, from time to time, exhibit a little institutional racism.

To the credit of the writers, however, at least Kato was portrayed as smart, tough and valiant, rather than being a subhuman idiot or a satanic sadist (many non-Caucasians were represented thusly by Hollywood at the time). There are several instances in this serial when Kato saves the Hornet's butt.

Keye Luke, who played Kato in this and the 2nd Green Hornet serial, was a good actor who, while he never became a household name, worked steadily on a multitude of roles for about 50 years. He played Number One Son in many Charlie Chan movies, and had small to medium-sized roles in scores of other films. He was a constant guest star in TV shows of the 1960's, ranging from 'My Three Sons' to 'Star Trek.' But my favorite role of Keye Luke's was his excellent portrayal of Master Po, the all-seeing yet blind teacher from TV's 'Kung Fu.' IMO, he was the coolest person on the show. Strangely, the original concept for 'Kung Fu' would have had Bruce Lee playing the hero. Unfortunately some twit in Hollywood decided to hire David Carradine, who was pretty good, but still Lee would have been cooler. Bruce Lee, of course, besides being a martial arts movie superstar, played Kato in the underrated TV version of the Green Hornet.

Very poor serial.

[wkozak221 · 5/10 · 25 January 2021]

I watched this serial. I was disappointed. The story was ok. However, Jones was stiff. Keye Luke had nothing to do except drive the car. Could have been better.

Kato's Heritage

[DrGrood · 19 October 2006]

Mr. Watson is correct. Green Hornet radio programs aired up to at least 1938 and earlier which still exist describe Britt Reid's chauffeur as his "Japanese valet." When international tensions subsequently increased, in 1939 or 40, the announcer's line was changed so the phrase became "trusted valet," which Kato remained throughout the majority of the the war years. In wartime programs his nationality was simply not mentioned in the show's opening or anywhere else during the program. After the war, in 1945, the opening was changed again, and announcers begin to refer to Kato as Britt Reid's "Filipino valet," and that is how openings were recorded till the end of the series. So the change didn't happen overnight, but in fact took at least five years, and the "Pearl Harbor" comment is an oversimplification, but the general idea is correct. The idea that this is all an urban legend arises mainly from the posting on urban legend website snopes.com, which is wrong about a lot of other things too and apparently more interested in perpetuating legends than publishing facts. Also, later syndications of Green Hornet radio programs consisted primarily of later broadcasts which would have for the most part included the description of Kato as Filipino. It is also correct that in the movie serials Kato, played by Keye Luke, is identified as Korean, and in the first serial Britt Reid and Kato discuss how they first met -- Britt saved Kato's life in Shanghai. In comic books published by NOW in the 1980s and authorized by the Green Hornet Inc., the situation is rectified and Kato's Japanese heritage fully acknowledged. Perhaps the truth of it all is that Mr. Reid told people his friend was something other than Japanese during the war to protect him from being taken to an interment camp.

Quality will out...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 7 June 2010]

THE GREEN HORNET was certainly one of the better radio shows (I've listened to scores of episodes and have yet to be disappointed by a single one), and a television series that I've always felt was ahead of its time; sandwiched in between were two outstanding movie serials (not to mention comic books). The level of control exercised by George Trendle no doubt accounts for much of the artistic success of THE GREEN HORNET: there's a consistency throughout that's sadly missing from the exploits of most other masked heroes (including another favorite, The Shadow, who overshadowed the competition in the pulps, but whose ventures outside the pages of the magazine that gave him life left more than a little to be desired). In terms of craftsmanship, this first serial is topnotch. The attention to detail is nothing less than truly amazing. One interesting aspect of this serial is the way radio star Al Hodges dubbed the voice of on-screen star Gordon Jones (a way, of sorts, to maintain continuity with the radio show). (Which leads to one of only two quibbles I have with the serial: a villain in chapter four, overhearing Britt Reid speak, comments that he recognizes Reid's voice- the voice of The Green Hornet- which is supplied, in this case, by a different actor, and therefore patently impossible.) (The other quibble comes when, at the end of chapter six, the Hornet is apparently shot as he tries to exit a second-storey window and drops FACE FIRST to the pavement far below. He gets to his feet in the next chapter, no worse for wear, and in the very next scene is seated calmly at a desk, taking care of business. No mention is made of the wound. One can only speculate that a bulletproof vest was involved, but such body armor isn't even mentioned.) All things considered, one could do worse than THE GREEN HORNET- but not many were ever done better.

First movie version

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 3 April 2023]

The Green Hornet started as a radio show on January 31, 1936 on WXYZ, the same Detroit station that aired Challenge of the Yukon and The Lone Ranger, a show that this is connected to, as The Green Hornet is newspaperman Britt Reid, the son of Dan Reid Jr., who is the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

It was so successful that starting on April 12, 1938, it was syndicated by the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network, and then NBC Blue and its successors, the Blue Network and ABC. The show ran the whole way until September 8, 1950 and then came back for a short run from September 10 to December 5, 1952.

Created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, The Green Hornet was so popular that he got this thirteen-episode serial, which was followed by a fifteen-episode sequel, The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

Britt Reid (Gordon Jones with Al Hodge as the voice of the Green Hornet; he also did the voice on the radio) is the publisher of The Sentinel newspaper by day and The Green Hornet by night, along with his Korean valet - and also the inventor of his Black Beauty car and gas gun - Kato. For this serial, Kato would be no longer Japanese, due to World War II, and is instead a Korean man that Britt saved from the Japanese. He's played by Keye Luke, who was Charlie Chan's number one son and in everything from Kung Fu to Gremlins.

Directed by Ford Beebe (The Invisible Man Returns, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe) and Ray Taylor (Outlaw Country, Frontier Revenge) and written by George H. Plympton (Blackhawk: Fearless Champion of Freedom), Basil Dickey (The Crimson Ghost) and Morrison Wood, this serial finds the Green Hornet and Kato stopping faulty bridge and tunnel construction, insurance fraud, bus and truck sabotage, dry cleaning and zoo extortion, election fraud, gun running and the attempted bombing of the offices of The Sentinel, all commanded by the evil mastermind known as The Chief.

It's really interesting to see this character before the TV show that most discovered him from, but I've always loved the radio show and this even gets the buzzing noise and theme song right.

One Of The Best Movie Serials Ever Made

[AllNewSux · 9/10 · 28 April 2017]

While I consider the 3 Flash Gordon movie serials to be the best serials ever made, The Green Hornet would fall in line right behind them. Serials are the episodic precursors to TV shows, but typically they will carry over a plot line over the course of 12-15 episodes. This serial kind of follows that format, but instead of having one long story there are half a dozen or so stories all connecting to the same criminals in the end. The acting for the most part is top notch and the characters the actors play are interesting without being unbelievably eccentric. One unfortunate issue with the portrayal of female characters in old movies and serials is how they are dismissed by their male counterparts. However, in this series the woman is 100% correct and the men who look at the Green Hornet as a criminal are the ones who look foolish.

The Hornet is a fantastic vigilante character who appeared on the radio in 1936 and clearly was influential to many comic book heroes particularly Batman. Like any serial the first 2 episodes are a bit slower because they have to try to introduce all the characters, but once you make it past them it's non stop action and intrigue. The fights between the real actors can come across as a bit funny, but when the stuntmen do the fighting it's awesome and pretty acrobatic. While not a special effects driven series, the effects for the Green Hornet's iconic gas gun are done quite well. Stock footage is also utilized to perfection to make the serial feel even more big budget than it ever could be. You might think the endless Rimsky Korsakov music would get annoying, but it really doesn't. Just like some 13 year old in the theater in 1940, every time "Flight Of The Bumblebee" would play my adrenaline would spike and I'd want to cheer out loud for our heroes! However despite the appeal to kids, I would definitely call this one of the more intelligent movie serials out there and while at first you'll wonder why Britt or Kato do this or that don't worry...it all comes together in the end. Looking at this more seriously, you also see the Green Hornet grow as a hero. At first he seems a bit gullible and easy to escape from, but as the series progresses we see a stronger hero from who crime can not escape. Whether you're a fan of old movie serials or classic vigilante heroes like the Shadow, Batman or the Green Hornet I'd encourage you to go out and see this masterpiece right now...it doesn't get much better than this!

A nuch-better than average serial

[shakspryn · 8/10 · 6 March 2022]

For a number of reasons, this serial is excellent. Those reasons include: Credible, down-to-earth plots by the villains. Here, we don't get any crazed would-be world conquerors or spies who want to control some new discovery that will give them power to rule the world. These villains are gangsters who are trying to control the city through criminal rackets.

There isn't an over-emphasis on fist-fights, which we see way, way too much in so many serials. In too many serials, it seems like half of the episodes are taken up by fistfights between the hero and four or five thugs. This gets really, really boring! In the Green Hornet there are some fistfights, too, but they don't dominate the action. This is very refreshing.

The hero is charming and often shows a wry sense of humor when, in his non-Hornet persona, he deals with other people.

I've alluded to this before, but again, it's such a pleasure to watch a serial in which there is no weird science fiction angle: no radical new invention, none of that stuff.

On the slightly negative side, the ongoing woman character in the story seems bland and not very interesting to me. She's not a memorable standout and doesn't get much to do. But that aside, this is a very watchable serial.

The Screen Version of the Popular Radio Program on the Newsman Turned Masked Hero

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 18 April 2024]

The war in Europe and Asia at the turn of the New Year in 1940 forced Hollywood studios to make changes in a few of their scripts. In the new serial, January 1940's "The Green Hornet: The Tunnel of Terror," the hero's assistant, Kato, was originally from Japan, which had been engaged in a savage invasion of China in the late 1930s. The film's producers decided to change the Japanese roots of Kato's radio origin to Korean.

Kato's importance to his employer, newspaper publisher Britt Reid, who was the Green Hornet in disguise, was far more than simply as his valet. Kato was responsible for several complex inventions, including a gas gun and a super-fast bullet-proof car, "the Black Beauty." Kato's innovations were heavily relied upon in Reid's quest to stamp out a powerful criminal organization in the city. In the original 1936 radio series, "Green Hornet," Kato meets Reid for the first time in his Japanese homeland while the newspaper owner was traveling around the Far East. By 1939, when the Japanese presence in China was brutally apparent, the radio show dropped any mention of Kato's background. The 13-chapter film series changed Kato's lineage, describing him as a Korean. A year later, he was discussed in passing as a Filipino. Kato's character was played by Chinese-born American actor Keye Luke, who throughout the series saves Reid's life on several occasions.

"Green Hornet" was different from other serials of the era, with an emphasis on realistic crimes such as car theft, insurance fraud, protection rackets, and graft in construction projects. These more common racketeering schemes set "Green Hornet" apart from the espionage, exotic adventure and science-fiction themes seen in other serials at the time. "Green Hornet" has Reid (Gordon Jones) inheriting his father's newspaper, assuming a publisher and editor role. Reid departs from his father's passion of exposing the truth through print. The paper's abrupt change drew harsh criticism from city leaders who wanted the publication to continue Reid's late father's crusade against corruption by way of scathing editorials. Britt, however, has a different tactic: using his reporters' inside information to physically confront the criminals while hiding behind a mask. Reid and Kato leave a trail of blood so that law enforcement can investigate the bad guys at the scene of the crime, even though police initially suspect the Hornet as the perpetrator.

If the similarities between the "Green Hornet" and the 'Lone Ranger' seem apparent, it's because the writer of the 1933 radio ranger series, Fran Striker, patterned the urban crime-fighter after the Western hero. The Lone Ranger is partnered with Tonto (Kato with Reid), his horse Silver substitutes for The Black Beauty car, his six-shooter revolver for the gas gun, and the William Tell Overture (Gioachino Rossini-composer) theme song for the Hornet's The Flight of the Bumblebee (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsako-composer). Each of the "Green Hornet's" episodes contained stories on different crimes the unnamed gang planned and carried out, only to be thwarted by the masked duo. Written by George H. Plympton and Basil Dickey and directed by Ford Beebe, the film serial was so successful Universal Pictures followed it up with a 15-chapter series, 'The Green Hornet Strikes Again!' Michel Gondry directed an updated feature film of the Green Hornet in 2011, which was preceded by the 1966/1967 short-lived TV series with Bruce Lee as Kato. Lee expanded Kato's martial arts skills, helping launch the actor's movie career in Hong Kong and the United States.

A memorable film serial plot and excellent production elements.

[oscar-35 · 21 September 2018]

*Spoiler/plot- The Green Hornet, 1940. A new young newspaper owner and playboy become the papers editor and seems to have changed from his father's older strident style. But secretly, the new owner is a crime fighter that uses the news to fight crime.

*Special Stars- Gordon Jones, Wade Boteler, Keye Luke, Anne Nagel, Stanley Andrews.

*Theme- The newspaper media use to fight and support good citizenship and fairness.

*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W, Theatrical serial. Brit Read voice as the Green Hornet was dubbed by another actor once the mask was in place. Kato was played by Mr. Key Luke and was supposed to be Korean butler to get away from Japanese WW2 stereotype problems. The Black Beauty was a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr 3-passenger Coupe with fender skirts. 13 episodes.

*Emotion- A memorable film serial plot and excellent production elements for the viewer. The acting and direction of the plot builds tension, suspense, and wonder on how the film will turn out. This is an excellent film of the time and still manages to entertain even today.