Dragnet (1954)

Director:

Jack Webb

Writer:

Richard L. Breen (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

This was the hottest case to hit the department!

Plot:

Two homicide detectives investigate the brutal shotgun murder of a crime syndicate member.

Plot Keywords:

Grand Jury | Detective | Murder | Organized Crime | Police

Cast

Jack Webb	...	Sgt. Joe Friday
Ben Alexander	...	Officer Frank Smith
Richard Boone	...	Capt .James E. Hamilton
Ann Robinson	...	Officer Grace Downey
Stacy Harris	...	Max Edward Troy
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Ethel Starkie
Vic Perrin	...	Adolph Alexander, Asst. Chief Deputy D.A. (as Victor Perrin)
Georgia Ellis	...	Belle Davitt
James Griffith	...	Jesse Quinn
Dick Cathcart	...	Roy Cleaver
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Lee Reinhard
Willard Sage	...	Chester Davitt
Olan Soule	...	Ray Pinker, Forensic Chemist
Dennis Weaver	...	Police Captain R.A. Lohrman
Monte Masters	...	Fabian Gerard

Also Known As:

The Original Dragnet (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17096, General Audience) | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mark VII Ltd.

Trivia:

The movie followed the then current tendency of radio and TV shows to work in the sponsor's products wherever possible. Liggett & Meyers Tobacco was the TV/radio series' main sponsor, and though it is doubtful they had any financial involvement with the movie, packs of their Chesterfield cigarettes can be seen throughout the movie. Every public place in the movie also featured a Chesterfield vending machine.

Quotes:

Sgt. Joe Friday: [as Troy's friend starts to stand up] Unless you're growin', Sit down!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Dragnet (Danger Ahead)

Dragnet-More than Just the Facts Are Needed **1/2

Jack Webb and Ben Alexander, the two television icons of "Dragnet," made this 1954 film. As an inducement to get people to see it, the film was colorized. The television show was black and white.

The story centers on a runner who is rubbed out at the beginning. Unlike the television show, the killers are shown at the beginning so there is no guessing game. More action was needed. This film was made as if it were for television.

There are two very good supporting performances by Virginia Gregg, as the widow of the murder victim. Her scene of utter despair and drunkeness was memorable. When it showed her on one foot, your heart could give out. Also noteworthy was Georgia Ellis' portrayal of the murderer's wife, hard-boiled and abusive to police, she soon changes her ways when her husband is knocked off.

We have the usual elements of police harassment, but this time it's more than justified, a witness who is scared off, thereby making the case harder to get to the guilty.

When the head of the mob falls victim to cancer at the end, we can all say, "He deserved it."

Speaking of the latter dread disease, the film is marred in a way by Joe Friday's (Webb's) chronic smoking. The latter probably led to his early demise from a coronary some years ago.