"Charlie's Angels" Charlie's Angels (1976)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Ivan Goff (creator)
Ben Roberts (creator)

TV Series:

"Charlie's Angels" (1976)

Original Air Date:

21 March 1976 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Action

Plot:

The pilot for the 1976-1981 TV series focuses on the Angels' very first case. When a wealthy winegrower disappears...

Plot Keywords:

Woman Detective | Detective | TV Series Pilot | Female | Hidden Character

Cast

Kate Jackson	...	Sabrina Duncan
Farrah Fawcett	...	Jill Munroe (as Farrah Fawcett-Majors)
Jaclyn Smith	...	Kelly Garrett
Diana Muldaur	...	Rachel LeMaire
David Doyle	...	John Bosley
Bo Hopkins	...	Beau Creel
John Lehne	...	Henry Bancroft
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Aram Kolegian
Grant Owens	...	Wilder
Ken Sansom	...	Hotel Clerk
Ron Stein	...	Hicks
Russ Grieve	...	Sheriff Hopkins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Ogden Stiers	...	Scott Woodville

Runtime:

60 min | 74 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels' (2004) (TV)

The One that started it all

Hard to believe now that this middling TV Movie/Pilot, with a needlessly convoluted plot, would spark a phenomenon. Caught this on Starz Mystery Channel on satellite.

Seeing it for the first time in nearly 30 years, a few retrospective thoughts:

1. Interesting that Jaclyn Smith was front and center for the first act since she had the least amount of acting experience going in. Apparently, Kate Jackson (who was promised the lead) switched roles with her. Farrah is the 3rd banana here - history changed that.

2. It isn't surprising that the David Ogden Stiers character was dropped after the pilot. Originally added so that there would be a man who could "bail out" the Angels, he was really too stuffy for the show's fluff. David Doyle hit the notes perfectly.

3. I liked the jazzier sounding "main theme" as played in the movie. The rest of the score is typical 70's TV waka waka electronics.

4. Aside from a brief shot of Jacklyn Smith in a bikini and the requisite "Charlie Girl" snippets, there was little of the cheesy T&A exploitation that the show became known for (particularly in its first season).

And to think that this was hot stuff at the time. sigh.