The new Green Hornet movie is a goofy superhero send-up. But the franchise has a serious past. Dig into some Hornet history and learn how its heroes went from radio and comics to TV, and finally to Seth Rogen.
The Green Hornet has been an enduring character, but a vague one. Most people can remember the name, but few can manage to remember specifics about the actual character. The current movie, with Seth Rogen as the star and one of the writers, looks a little like an Apatow superhero film. It's shot through with humor and centered around a hilariously incompetent superhero and his long-suffering partner. Earlier Green Hornets were much more serious. Although sidekick Kato has always been long-suffering.
The Green Hornet first appeared in the 1930s in a children's radio program. Britt Reid wasn't a drunken playboy then. He was a respectable, thoughtful newspaper publisher, who was all about public service. At night he used the cover of The Green Hornet, a criminal mastermind, to seek out other criminals and shut them down.
This was well before children's entertainment was meant to entertain kids while simultaneously winking at their parents. The program was dead serious. In "Gas Station Protection Racket" Britt Reid delivers lectures on the reason why protection rackets hurt everyone, no matter who they target. Although the thirties slang and sound effects make for some unintentional comedy now, this was serious Sam Spade with a Mask stuff.
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