Dragnet (1954)

Director:

Jack Webb

Writer:

Richard L. Breen (screenplay)
(more)

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:

Detective | Murder | Grand Jury | Sequel | Fifth Amendment

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
Herb Vigran	...	Mr. Archer
Virginia Christine	...	Mrs. Caldwell
Guy Hamilton	...	Walker Scott
Ramsay Williams	...	Wesley Cannon (as Ramsey Williams)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clarence Cassell	...	Walter Lewis
Aubrey Lee Dale
Meg Myles	...	Bosomy girl in agency
Leonard Shoemaker
James Anderson	...	Fred Kemp (uncredited)
Art Aragon	...	Art Aragon (uncredited)
Harry Bartell	...	Lt. Tec Stevens (uncredited)
William Boyett	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Thad Brown	...	Himself (uncredited)
Bill Brundige	...	Sgt. Hank Wild (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	...	Card Player at Bridge Club (uncredited)
Fred Dale	...	Sgt William Tilden (uncredited)
Jean Dean	...	Pat, the secretary (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Deputy District Attorney's Aide (uncredited)
Ross Elliott	...	Intelligence Officer (uncredited)
Herbert Ellis	...	Booking Sergeant (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Harper Goff	...	Employee, Melrose Bridge Club (uncredited)
Robert Griffin	...	Special Agent (uncredited)
James E. Hamilton	...	Intelligence Division Sergeant (uncredited)
Charles Hibbs	...	Ken, the stenotypist (uncredited)
Bert Holland	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Gayle Kellogg	...	Officer Keeler (uncredited)
Eddy King	...	Eddy King (uncredited)
Ken Osborne	...	Thief (uncredited)
W.H. Parker	...	Himself (uncredited)
Dick Paxton	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Ken Peters	...	Officer Gene James (uncredited)
Ray Saunders	...	Card Player at Bridge Club (uncredited)
George Sawaya	...	McQueen (uncredited)
Jack Sterling	...	Card Player at Bridge Club (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	District Attorney S. Ernest Roll (uncredited)
Hal Taggart	...	Detective Escorting Mrs. Davitt to Headquarters (uncredited)
Dub Taylor	...	Miller Starkie (uncredited)
Harlan Warde	...	Interne (uncredited)
Roy Whaley	...	Sgt. Jack McCreadie (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Webb

Writing credits
Richard L. Breen		(screenplay)
Harry Essex		screenplay (uncredited)
Jack Webb		screenplay (uncredited)
Jack Webb		television series (uncredited)

Produced by
Stanley D. Meyer	....	producer

Original Music by
Walter Schumann

Cinematography by
Edward Colman

Film Editing by
Robert M. Leeds

Art Direction by
Feild M. Gray

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oren Haglund	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Leslie G. Hewitt	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard L. Wilson	....	chief set electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ted Kring	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Walter Schumann	....	conductor
Nathan Scott	....	orchestrator

Other crew
James E. Hamilton	....	police technical advisor
W.H. Parker	....	police technical advisor
Marty Wynn	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Mark VII Ltd.

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video

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:

Veteran Western sidekick Dub "Cannonball" Taylor appears briefly as Miller Starkie, the murder victim.

Quotes:

Max Troy: This gonna take long?
Sgt. Joe Friday: You've got the time.
Max Troy: Mine's worth money, yours isn't!
Sgt. Joe Friday: Send in a bill.
Max Troy: I asked you a question!
Sgt. Joe Friday: You're here to answer 'em, not ask 'em!
Max Troy: Now, listen to me, Cop. I pay your salary.
Sgt. Joe Friday: All right, sit down. I'm gonna earn it.
Max Troy: You already have, the kind of money you make. What do they pay you to carry that badge around, 40 cents an hour?
Sgt. Joe Friday: You sit down! That badge pays 464 dollars a month. That's what the job's worth. I knew that when I hired on. $67.40 comes out with withholding. I give $27.84 for pension and 12 bucks for widows and orphans. That leaves me with $356.76. That badge is worth a dollar 82 an hour so Mister, better settle back into that chair because I'm about to blow about 20 bucks of it right now.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Dragnet (Danger Ahead)

Excellent movie adaption of TV series.

This is the 1954 film version of the 1951-59 original TV series. This time it's in color, but it's not exactly the same as the show. We know who the killer is at the beginning, so it's not even a surprise. They didn't even say what happened to him in the end (you know, when they show the criminal in handcuffs, with the narrator telling what the judgement was) because he died (which they still did on the show, they'd say the suspect was deceased instead). Despite that, it's an excellent film, and well worth seeing if you're a fan. Joe still has Frank Smith as his partner, well acted by Ben Alexander and the performance by Jack Webb is classic. Track this one down for sure.