Velvet (film)

Velvet is a 1984 American action/drama TV film for the ABC Network directed by Richard Lang, starring Leah Ayres, Shari Belafonte and Mary-Margaret Humes. The film was inspired by the American TV series Charlie’s Angels[1]. The screenplay was written by Ned Wynn. The film portrays a team of unlikely female secret agents as they disguise themselves as aerobics instructors to close in on a group of criminals.

Velvet
Velvet Media Impression Oct 2020
GenreAction
Drama
Written byNed Wynn
Directed byRichard Lang
StarringLeah Ayres
Shari Belafonte
Mary-Margaret Humes
Music byDominic Frontiere
Country of originUS
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersDouglas S. Cramer
Aaron Spelling
David Florimbi (associate producer)
E. Duke Vincent (supervising producer)
Running time100 minutes
Production companyAaron Spelling Productions
DistributorABC
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMono
Original releaseAugust 27, 1984 (1984-08-27)

Velvet was produced by Douglas S. Cramer and Aaron Spelling,  who has been described as “the most prolific producer in TV history.” [2] Spelling is known for Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000), Charmed (1998-2006) and many other television programs from the 1970s to 2000's. “[Charlie’s Angels] was created by Aaron Spelling”,[3] which is the inspiration of Velvet. Charlie’s Angels introduced a new idea of characterization for female characters with independence: “Charlie’s Angels presented women as far more tough than did shows of the past.” [3] Nevertheless, it was still tainted by the unrealistic depiction of picture perfect women that were tough, but also still had overly exaggerated stereotypical obsession with themselves: “Charlie’s Angels is a show that focuses on beautiful women who are more interested in wearing designer clothes than in solving crimes.” [3] Velvet’s screenplay aimed to further relay the idea of tough female characters in an action genre, with less emphasis on the stereotypes of self-obsessed women.[3]

Plot

A group of four female government secret agents disguise themselves as aerobics instructors at a global aerobic center franchise. Their disguise is in order to entrap a group of criminals that have kidnapped a defensive specialist and his son. They aim to prevent the sale of the abducted father and his son to the highest bidder.[4]

Cast
Leah Ayres, 2017

Casting

Leah Ayres' career debuted daytime television series The Edge of Night in the early part of the 1980s. Shortly after, she was cast as one of the lead roles in Velvet, a beautiful, secret government agent tasked to camouflage herself as an aerobics instructor.

Shari Belafonte joined the cast after her 1982 debut in If You Could See What I Hear, after mostly a modelling-based career. Her success as a model assisted in her casting in Velvet, as the four female secret agents were described as "unrealistically attractive."[5]

Similarly, Mary-Margaret Humes was cast after winning beauty contest Miss Florida USA in 1975.

The casting decisions made reflected the common theme in Charlie's Angels, of very attractive female protagonists. [3]

Velvet was Sheree J. Wilson's television debut.

Production

Velvet initially premiered in English on August 27, 1984 in color for the ABC Network in the United States. It was later released in Germany on November 11, 1995 as ‘Frauen wie Samt und Stahl’ which translates to ‘Women like Velvet and Steel.’ In French, it is referred to as 'Espionnes de Charme' which translates to 'Charming Spies.' Also released in Spanish, it was named 'Cuatro Chicas en Acción', meaning 'Four girls in Action.'

The original running time was 100 minutes. Much of the film was shot at the Westin Bonaventure, a luxury hotel in Los Angeles, California: “a stunning image against the skyline of downtown Los Angeles.” [6] The Westin Bonaventure is most famous as a filming location for films Interstellar (2014) and Heat (1995.)

John Corry for The New York Times, likened Velvet as a classic Californian-context film: “everything shines with a Southern California, capped-teeth roseate glow.” [1] The production company responsible for Velvet was Aaron Spelling Productions.

The music in the film composed by Dominic Frontiere (The Outer Limits, The Rat Patrol) erred a suggestive tone: “The music on the soundtrack…tells us that tampering with the national defense may not be nice, but sexism is unforgiveable.” [1]

Reception

Critical response

The film received a varying degree of critical response. The average rating for the film on IMDb is 5.7/10.

"This made-for-television movie combines the worst Charlie's Angels episodes with just enough Wonder Woman thrown in to make this one of the worst TV movies of all time."[7]

Bok for Variety Magazine noted; “The biggest drawback of the pilot was that the physical stunts performed by the four athletic women seemed too obviously the work of stuntpeople…” [5]

The film was said to have had characteristics recognizable as Aaron Spelling's producing style: “[Velvet] had the usual liberal dollops of slickness and posh locations that Aaron Spelling is noted for.” [5]

However, consequently, this didn't appear to bode well for Spelling, as Velvet was described as one of his weaker films: “The ‘Spelling’ veneer always suggests a fighting chance to get at least a moderate audience reaction, but in this instance, ABC passed on Velvet.” [5]

Accolades

As Velvet took upon inspiration from the unique independent portrayal of women in Charlie’s Angels in the 1970’s, John Corry for The New York Times noted “Velvet is almost interesting here; it is showing us the ideal American woman.” [1] However, some noted that it didn’t comparatively stand up to the success of Charlie’s Angels: “With overtones of Charlie’s Angels… it did not generate undue enthusiasm for the project.” [5] TennaVision for IMDb said: "It [sic] basically a grade "Z" Charlie's Angels , Wonder Woman Rip Off, which, by comparison "Velvet" makes those shows seem Shakespearian."[8]

Screenwriter Ned Wynn's work was compared positively to his successful father: “…surprisingly well written: affluence, the sixties, drugs, sex, alcoholism like his father’s, done with wry humor now well in control.” [9]

Television films for ABC Network

Velvet was released as a TV movie exclusively for the ABC Network in 1984. It followed the weekly anthology series of ‘ABC Movie of the Week’ which ran from 1969 to 1975. It encouraged the saga of movies that were named 'made-for-television.' These films typically had significantly lower budgets than blockbuster films, however notable directors and producers often jumped aboard these projects to boost their appeal. Great filmmaker Stanley Kubrick directed the film Room 237, which was named in the top 10 best television movies by Rotten Tomatoes for ScreenRant. [10] Part of Velvet’s appeal was that it was easily accessible on its airing on the ABC; audiences did not have to attend a cinema to see the film.

References
  1. Corry, John (1984). "TV Review; ABC's 'Velvet', Aerobics and Spying". The New York Times: 17.
  2. Anonymous (2017). "Aaron Spelling". Adweek. 58(31): 34.
  3. Inness, Sherrie A. (1999). Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 31–49.
  4. "The Internet Movie Database". IMDb.
  5. Bok (September 5, 1984). "Television Reviews: Velvet". Variety. p. 64.
  6. NorthStar Travel Media (1984). "The Westin Bonaventure". Meetings & Conventions: 52.
  7. "User-submitted review of "Velvet"". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  8. "User-submitted review of "Velvet"". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  9. Callenbach, Ernest (1991). "We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills: Growing up Crazy in Hollywood by Ned Wynn". Film Quarterly: 33.
  10. "The 10 Best TV Movies of All Time, According To Rotten Tomatoes". ScreenRant. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.