The Lineup

To this day, fifty years later, I can never go by one of those still-standing Gamewells (the old police call boxes which used to stand on seemingly every other street corner in town) without expecting to find Lt. Ben Guthrie or Inspector Matt Greb leaning into it. Perhaps it's the fact that so much of this series was shot on location -- rather than on soundstages -- and perhaps it has to do with the fact that the producers used a great deal of "local talent" (sportscaster Sandy Spillman seemed to spend as much time in uniform here as he did doing the nightly sports roundup); whatever the reason, "The Lineup" managed to weave itself into the fabric of daily San Francisco life in that era. If you lived here, you grew used to seeing their production van -- with its distinctive silhouetted "Lineup" on the sides -- pulling up to ready another shot. You never knew but that you might end up in a scene. It happened to me once, waiting in line for a 'kiddie matinee' outside the Paramount theatre, only they edited the scene just before the camera panned over me. Ah well, fame is fleeting, or so they say . . .

"The Lineup" owed its inspiration to the success of "Dragnet," of course, even to the characterizations of Guthrie and Greb (while Warner Anderson's stern asceticism could make Jack Webb's Joe Friday look like Chuckles the Clown, it's not hard to imagine Tom Tully's Matt Greb and Ben Alexander's Frank Smith knocking back a few rounds and swapping lies at a cop bar together); this is where the similarities ended. "The Lineup" was tighter, its pace more in keeping with that of daily SF life, and the dialogue was refreshingly free of the "natural speech" um's and ah's in "Dragnet." Fictional as it was, it nonetheless became a fairly faithful chronicle of its time and place

That time has long since passed, and so much of the sights and the sounds of the place have changed. Yet interestingly enough, a large number of those old Gamewells still stand . . . almost as though they're waiting for Guthrie and Greb to return.

Neither of those guys, after all, would ever carry a cell phone!

I remember seeing this show on Friday nights. What I remember best is that they were not kids shows but were still very enjoyable for the whole family. They were very tight half hour shows, in other words, it went by very quick. I wish these shows would be on some cable channel that would show programs of the fifties like this one.

This show had a rather leisurely aspect that I enjoyed on our first TV in the 50s. Dragnet was tenser. Suspect whines: Hey, I want to see a lawyer. Friday: Don't worry... Suspect: Huh? Friday: You'll need one! (Dum da dumb dumb) The Lineup featured a row of lowlifes on the police stage with an ironic Greb officiating: OK, next is Harry Jones... step forward, Harry. Take off your hat. Seems you got into a little trouble last night, Harry, got caught with your hand in a safe where it didn't belong. How'd that happen? Suspect: Ahh, it's a bum rap. Greb: Sure, Harry, that's what they all say...OK step back. The witness wasn't peeking through a one-way mirror, but sat in the audience, and the suspect was identified by name and crime. No way that would hold up today. Of course, like Dragnet terse justice was essential in a half-hour show. After the last commercial they had a a really short wrap-up: Victim: Lieutenant, what's going to happen to Smith? Guthrie: Oh, he was sentenced today. Gas chamber. The End. Followed by 20 years of appeals.

I grew up on San Francisco Beat. It was a family event each week. It was the precursor to Streets of San Francisco, Dirty Harry, and Ironside. Besides Perry Mason (back in the day)it was the only compelling crime series on at the time. Shot in B&W it and mono it delivered fast passed gritty episodes on a weekly basis.

With local location shots as a SF native it delighted all who watched it. Although predictable story lines lead to obvious conclusion given the era the scenes along with the plot kept the audience captivated.

As the original San Francisco crime show it paved the way for the next generation of S.F. police dramas such as the aforementioned Raymond Burr series Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco with Karl Malden an Michael Douglas and Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Series.

As a testimony to how well this movie/series was cast, many of the actors went on to perform in some of the later Crime Drama series on television. Warner Anderson as the hard driving Lt. Ben Guthrie delivered grounded performances as he did throughout his extensive career.

Marshall Reed as Inspector Fred Asher went on to roles in Dragnet, and Adam 12.

Does anyone know where I can get it on DVD?

As a young boy,"San Francisco Beat" was my favorite TV show.I loved and still do, any film that uses pre-1970 San Francisco as a background.I still can remember the opening shot at the top of Hyde St. with the O'Farrell,Jones & Hyde cable car going down the hill as the old Ford squad car comes up and turns into Lombard St.Later when the show was renamed "Lineup" the scene was the same except a Dodge was used as the squad car and the cable car had changed to a Powell & Hyde car.Has anybody noticed the view outside their squad room window is not correct?It was impossible to get that view from the old "Hall of Justice".I think that shot was taken from the top of "Nob Hill".It was still a great show.I wish I could see this show again!!!