Highway Patrol

I remember watching this series with great fascination as a youngster in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1962. We didn't have a TV set yet, but we looked at shop windows displaying TV sets. In Spanish it was called "Patrulla de Caminos". Although I can't give a current evaluation of its quality, I do remember liking this show much more than others. It's a great shame that America, who gave us so much quality TV doesn't appreciate it enough to show it to new generations. How else can vintage TV and films be "preserved" except by showing the stuff? There's too much fascination with new, with color and high resolution than with QUALITY. But even regardless of quality, exposure to "old stuff" has its own charm. Show the darned show, will you! And show "Mama" and "The Goldbergs" and "Our Miss Brooks" and all the golden oldies that I missed. I started watching TV on a regular basis at age 23!!! I need to catch up with the old shows I missed, and which are so much better than the recent ones.

This is an unforgetable series. Broderick Crawford set the standard for toughness with a badge. Sgt. Joe Friday couldn't carry Dan Matthews socks...Broderick was tough, scary and that rapid fire dialogue is burned into the memory of anyone who even thought for a nano-second of being a cop and interrogating a suspect. This is an American legand. Long Live ZIV!

This series did for the California Highway Patrol what "Dragnet" did for the LAPD; i.e. established a mythology and a standard of professional conduct. I knew two retired CHP officers (both retired in the late 1960s) who loved this series. It is no small joke that in the Dan Aykroyd movie comedy Dragnet, Harry Morgan is watching "Highway Patrol" on TV when Aykroyd's character calls him on the phone. I, too, wish the old tapes had been saved for posterity.

Although I often watch this show because I remember watching it as a little girl and still enjoy the plots and acting, my husband watches because he enjoys seeing all of the 1950's cars. He drools over them because they are in pristine condition, a condition that is impossible to find even at car shows. He especially likes the the late 50's Chrysler Corporation cars. He also enjoys seeing the Los Angeles area locations, especially Griffith Park where so many of the chases take place. He also enjoys all of the train stations. Many of them are no longer there, and the ones that remain aren't in the beautiful condition they are in this show. Surprisingly quite a few shows have people getting on and off passenger trains. I would recommend this show if you enjoy police procedural and 1950's ambiance.

This show was my very favorite as a boy, and had such an influence on me, that I grew up to become a Pennsylvania State Trooper. I recently retired from the force after a rewarding career. The stories and action of the Highway Patrol always showed the good guys, the police, prevailing over the bad guys. I also enjoyed the open highway atmosphere in which these stories took place. I would very dearly love to get tapes of this show for old times sake, but have not been able to do so.