''Hit Lady'' is a 1974 made-for-TV film that aired on October 8, 1974. Starring

Yvette Mimieux Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Her breakout role was in '' The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career. Early li ...

as artist and assassin Angela de Vries, it was written by Mimieux and directed by

Tracy Keenan Wynn Tracy Keenan Wynn (born February 28, 1945) is an American screenwriter and producer, whose credits include '' The Longest Yard'', ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' (both 1974), and '' The Deep'' (1977). Early and personal life Wynn was ...

Plot

An artist works part-time as a syndicate assassin. She decides to do one last job, killing a labor leader Jeffrey Baine. However she can't go through with the job.

Cast

as Angela de Vries *

Joseph Campanella Joseph Anthony Campanella (November 21, 1924 – May 16, 2018) was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 200 television and film roles from the early 1950s to 2009. Campanella was best remembered for his roles as Joe Turino on ' ...

as Jeffrey Baine *

Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...

as Roarke *

Dack Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in the ...

as Doug Reynolds *

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

as Buddy McCormack *

Roy Jenson Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen, (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007) was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor. Early years Born in Calgary, Alberta, Jenson moved to Los Angeles with his family as ...

as Eddie *

Paul George Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a seven-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of th ...

as Webb *

Del Monroe Del Monroe (April 7, 1932June 5, 2009) was an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Seaman Kowalski in the television series ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', which was broadcast on ABC from September 14 ...

as Hansen

Production

''Hit Lady'' was written by Mimieux, and directed by

Development

By the early 1970s Mimieux was well established as an actor but was unhappy with the roles offered to female actors. "The women they ale screenwriterswrite are all one dimensional," she said. "They have no complexity in their lives. It's all surface. There's nothing to play. They're either sex objects or vanilla pudding."Yvette Mimieux's Right for This Role Los Angeles Times 7 Oct 1974: e17. Mimieux had been writing for several years prior to this film, mostly journalism and short stories. She had the idea for a story about a Pirandello-like theme, "the study of a woman, the difference between what she appears to be and what she is: appearance vs reality." Mimieux says the more she thought about the character "the more I wanted to play her. Here was the kind of nifty, multifaceted part I'd been looking for. So instead of a short story, I wrote it as a film." She wrote a thriller called ''Counterpoint'' about a female killer who used her attractive appearance to get close to her victims. She said the character was "not... a good housewife or sex object. The character I wrote is like an onion, layers upon layers, multi-facted, interesting, desirable, manipulative... It's about what people are saying to each other and what they mean." Mimieux had appeared in two TV movies, ''

Black Noon ''Black Noon'' is a 1971 American horror film, Horror Western (genre), Western television film. It was written and produced by Andrew J. Fenady and directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. The film originally aired on November 5, 1971, as part of CBS's ...

'' and ''

Death Takes a Holiday ''Death Takes a Holiday'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing. It is based on the 1924 Italian play ''La morte in vacanza'' by Alberto Casella (1891–1957), as adapted in English ...

'', so took her script to producers

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

and Leonard Goldberg who submitted it to ABC as a TV movie. The network wanted some changes. "I created a totally amoral creature who killed people like you'd swat a fly, with no remorse, no regret," said Mimieux. "That was a little too strong for the network. So they made me soften her." They also insisted the script be retitled from ''Counterpoint'' to ''Hit Lady''. Tracy Keenan Wynn was the son of

and grandson of Ed Wynn. He had developed a strong reputation as a screenwriter, his credits including ''The Longest Yard'', ''The Glass House'' and ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman''. This allowed him to make his directorial debut with this film. His father Keenan made a cameo appearance as he wanted to be the first actor ever directed by his son. (It would be the only film he ever directed.)

Broadcast and reception

''Hit Lady'' first aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on October 8, 1974 as part of its

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

. It was one of the highest-rated and most talked about TV movies of 1974. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it a "tightly structured, richly textured melodrama". The movie was repeated in June 1975.YVETTE'S 'HIT LADY' TO STRIKE AGAIN Los Angeles Times 15 June 1975: o5.

References

External links

* {{Aaron Spelling 1974 television films 1974 films American television films